Impressive line-up of speakers for Curtin’s Human Rights Conference

The Ally Network, the Curtin Centre for Human Rights Education and the Curtin LGBTI Research Network are presenting the 2nd Australian Ally Network Conference that will be hosted at Curtin University in Perth on 27-28 September 2018, and the list of speakers announced for the event is looking very impressive.

The major conference theme is  ‘Activating Human Rights: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status’

Among the confirmed speakers for plenary sessions and panels is  the Honorable Michael Kirby AC CMG, Jax Jacki Brown -queer disability activist and spoken word performer from Melbourne, Braden Hill – Director of Aboriginal Education at Murdoch University, Curtin University’s Professor Baden Offord and Associate Professor Wendy Cumming-Potvin from Murdoch University.

Labor MP Terri Butler will also be appearing, as will Morgan Carpenter and Intersex activist and PhD scholar, from Sydney University,Professor Deborah Terry the Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University, Ro Allen – Commissioner, Gender and Sexuality from Victoria, Nick Lawrence – Chair, TransFolk WA, Professor Adam Shoemaker – Vice-Chancellor, Southern Cross University, Misty Farquhar – Non-Binary activist and PhD scholar at Curtin University.

Also on confirmed to speak is Dr Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli – academic, writer and activist based at Deakin University, Dr Shawna Tang who specialises in Gender and Cultural Studies at Sydney University and respected researcher Associate Professor Sam Winter who is a transgender health and human rights scholar based at Curtin University.

The 2018 Ally Conference aims to open up critical conversations on how to activate human rights in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics for all people well into the future, setting new pathways to policy, innovation and enduring change.

The Conference will bring together academic and professional staff, students, activists and practitioners from across Ally and LGBTIQ+ communities in the education sectors and industry and beyond, and will showcase best practice of Ally networks in diverse institutional contexts.

Submissions for papers to be presented at the conference are open until 22nd June and the organisers welcomepapers and presentations from all interested persons including academics, professional staff, activists, students, industry, and others.

This can include updates on projects, policies and practices; theoretical and/or applied research; creative and/or artistic explorations, creative artefacts, interactive Q&A, workshops, or short screenings with discussion that can be situated thematically within the list of suggested topics.

Suggested Topics

• Alliances and Solidarities
• The role of universities in relation to queer
• Queer histories of alliance and solidarity
• Queer spaces and conviviliality
• After marriage equality…
• Safe Schools and Universities
• Queer pedagogy
• Queer belonging
• Queer(y)ing the purpose of Ally
• LGBTIQ+ activism, advocacy, and education
• Identifying and addressing issues facing LGBTIQ+ students and staff
• Sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics and community engagement
• Australian and international LGBTIQ+ / Ally theory and realistic national and international benchmarking
• LGBTIQ+ Indigenous issues and lived experience
• Negotiating diversity and inclusion in University spaces and ultimate workplace transition for LGBTIQ+ students
• Lessons learnt from human rights and social justice in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics
• Interdisciplinary, trans-disciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics
• LGBTQI+ feminism and #MeToo movement
• Inclusive teaching and other strategies in Higher Education
• The role of student unions / guilds in supporting LGBTIQ+ students
• Learning from Ally Networks in the workplace / queering the workplace
• Visibility / transitioning in Higher Education
• Navigating LGBTIQ+ racism, sexism, ableism, xenophobia, and classism
• Supporting and engaging LGBTIQ+ international students
• Imagining Ally Networks in the 2020s
• Learning from the history of Ally Networks

Individual paper presentations are 20 mins long. Please submit an abstract including Title, Name, Organisation, Email, Abstract (250 words), Bio (100 words).

Panel proposals are also welcome. Panels need to include 3-4 papers. In addition to submitting a 250 word abstract for each presenter, please submit an abstract (100 words) and a title (15 words max.) for the panel as a whole. Please indicate lead panel contact person.

Submission must be sent via email to: [email protected]. Please include a short bio or bios (if panel) note at the end of your abstract or panel.

Find out more at their website.

Source: Media Release