Communities of Change
Western Sydney Now and Into the Future
Conversations for Shaping the Delivery of Services
Tune in to a series of digital events to highlight, discuss and act on the big questions
facing communities and the community sector.
Join us live for these interactive sessions or view later at your convenience.
TUESDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2020 | 10.30AM – 1.00PM
10.30AM
WELCOME TO COUNTRY
Aunty Carol Cooper
Aboriginal Elder of Western Sydney
10.45AM
WELCOME & OPENING ADDRESS
Communities of Change
Billie Sankovic
CEO, Western Sydney Community Forum
11.00AM
KEYNOTE INTERVIEW
NSW Government Priorities and
Perspectives for Western Sydney
The Hon. Shayne Mallard
Member of the Legislative Council
Representing The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of NSW
Interviewed by
Dr Andy Marks
Chair, Western Sydney Community Forum
11.15AM
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION AND Q&A
Ironic Points of Light and an Ever-Changing World
Professor Jim Ife
Western Sydney University
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Professor Jim Ife will look at the socio-political context in which we are working and within the world more broadly. He will look at the stories we tell ourselves and the alternative stories we need to find and tell. Where are the ‘ironic points of light’? How can we find them, and create them in Western Sydney? This presentation is critical for all those engaged in community and social work in Western Sydney. Within an ever-changing world that has experienced so much crisis in recent years, our focus as practitioners is often at risk of being diluted. What does social and community work look like now and into the future, at policy and practice levels, and how can we collectively move forward as an industry?
12.00PM
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Members Meeting | Friends Welcome
Western Sydney Community Forum Report on 2019/2020
Election of Board Members
12.50PM
DAY ONE WRAP UP
WEDNESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2020 | 10.30AM – 12.30PM
10.30AM
WELCOME DAY TWO
Tom Nance
Western Sydney Community Forum
10.45AM
SERVICES IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Lightning Talks
Informal and informative
Sharing of ideas and information
Speakers:
Ken Zulumovski DHSc – What does leadership look like through a culturally safe lens? Hear from Gamarada Universal Indigenous Resources.
Karen van Woudenberg – The Luke Priddis Foundation is seeking to challenge the conversations about what inclusive social and employment spaces look like to ensure kids and young people with autism get choices about where, and how, they work and play.
Dr Kate da Costa – Gambling impacts so many aspects of life. We cannot leave reducing harm just to gambling experts. Together, we have an historic opportunity to achieve overdue gambling reform in NSW. Hear from the Alliance for Gambling Reform.
Jess Gardner – Girls in Business initiative: a social enterprise @ Liverpool Neighbourhood Connections.
11.15AM
PANEL
Regeneration in Western Sydney: Spotlight on Elephant and Castle (UK)
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Western Sydney is experiencing the largest growth of any region in Australia. With new release areas, greenfield and urban developments, the question of regenerating established areas is critical, socially and economically. Join the panel discussion as they look at East London’s Elephant and Castle model which enjoyed success in delivering an integrated model of social and economic and housing regeneration. Hear directly from project staff as well as Western Sydney based panellists who saw this initiative firsthand. The panel will reflect on learnings from the project and how successes may be adapted to the Western Sydney context.
Host:
Tom Nance
Manager Policy and Programs, Western Sydney Community Forum
Panellists:
Kristy Lansdown
Project Director, Lendlease Development Europe
Billie Sankovic
Chief Executive Officer, Western Sydney Community Forum
Stephen McIntyre
Chief Executive Officer, Wentworth Community Housing
12.00PM
SERVICES IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Lightning Talks
Informal and informative
Sharing of ideas and information
Speakers:
Anna-Marie Kanaan – Temporary Visa Program and Peer Link Program @ Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre.
Young people from BYSA – Youth led practice through the lens and experience of young people in Blacktown.
Jayke Burgess – What is the Western Sydney Recover College? What do they do and how can people be involved?
12.20PM
DAY TWO WRAP UP
TUESDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2020 | 10.30AM – 12.30PM
10.30AM
WELCOME DAY THREE
Anita Hanna
Western Sydney Community Forum
10.45AM
SERVICES IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Lightning Talks
Informal and informative
Sharing of ideas and information
Speakers:
Clement Meru – Hear what SydWest Multicultural Services found in their online survey assessing the impact of COVID-19 on culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Deliana Iacoban – All Together Now will cover the tactics which media commentators have used this year to perpetrate racism, and provide recommendations for ways forward.
Jane Bringolf – What is the role of universal design in creating social and economic inclusion? Hear from the Centre for Universal Design Australia.
Jonathan Goodall – Sharing a resource created by Sector Connect to help assist organisations to create online volunteer roles for people on the Autism spectrum.
Kim Scanlon – Hear from the Mountains Youth Services Team about its operations and emerging issues, to raise awareness of what’s happening in this space in the Blue Mountains.
Kelly Lee – Talking about the Youth Enhances Support Service (YESS) @ Parramatta Mission.
11.15AM
PANEL
Our Experiences – Young and Aboriginal in Western Sydney
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Being young and Aboriginal in Western Sydney often comes with challenges. Just as importantly, it also comes with hopes and aspirations for the future. Hear directly from Aboriginal young people about what’s important to them as they discuss their priorities and perspectives, their experiences and their hopes and dreams. Gain a rare insight into cultural perspectives and learn about the role you can play in supporting Aboriginal young people and communities in Western Sydney.
Host:
Renee Thomson
Panellists:
Luke Hodge
Renee Thomson
Trae Jaeggi
Adina Brown
Cultural Supervisor:
Ken Zulumovski Hon DHSc
Gamarada Universal Indigenous Resources
12.00PM
SERVICES IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Lightning Talks
Informal and informative
Sharing of ideas and information
Speakers:
Beverly Baker – How do we change societal attitudes towards older women? Hear from the Older Women’s Network.
Kim Landouw – Big Yellow Umbrella talking about referral pathways for crisis clients facing homelessness or affordable housing.
Tanya Chapman – Introduction to the Elder Abuse Service from Legal Aid NSW – what it is, why it was established, and the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach when providing assistance to older persons experiencing abuse.
12.20PM
DAY THREE WRAP UP
WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2020 | 10.30AM – 1.00PM
10.30AM
WELCOME DAY FOUR
Billie Sankovic
Western Sydney Community Forum
10.45AM
SERVICES IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Lightning Talks
Informal and informative
Sharing of ideas and information
Speakers:
Bec Reidy – Hear from Bidwill Uniting on the issue of digital inclusion and exclusion, and their work within the Wester’ly coalition.
Debbie Graham – Macarthur Disability Services presents a talk on the SWS Recovery College and available services by using lived experience in delivery.
Eric Wright – Collaborative design, hybrid delivery mode, and skill development for 17-24 year olds; learn about this new Western Sydney-wide Community College training initiative from Nepean Community College.
Turkan Aksoy – Welcoming Cities to share how to incorporate inclusion and diversity into your current practices when working with multicultural communities.
Paula Ben David – Hear from Settlement Services International about Welcome2Sydney, a new project that promotes the culture of worknig together in the sector.
11.15AM
PANEL
Intersections in Community
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When Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, American lawyer, civil rights advocate, philosopher, and a leading scholar of critical race theory, developed the theory of intersectionality in the late 1960s, the framework influenced how activists and academics understood the ways culture, gender, race, sexuality, ability – and all other primary identifiers – worked in vastly different ways. In an age where we cannot afford to keep getting it wrong for communities, understanding power and privilege has become more urgent than ever. Is Western Sydney working from an intersectional lens – or are certain members of the community still existing on the fringes? This panel will explore how everyday social work practitioners, business owners and community leaders can practically use an intersectional framework – and what is at stake when they don’t.
Host:
Catherine Madziva
Western Sydney Community Forum
Panellists:
William Trewlynn
BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation
Juliana Nkrumah AM
Settlement Services International
Alex Long
Multicultural Youth Affairs Network NSW
12.00PM
WORKSHOPS
Build Beyond Bricks Action Labs
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Join one of the five concurrent Build Beyond Bricks workshops to explore and take steps to support community health and wellbeing in the context of immense change, complexity, and challenge.
12.50PM
CLOSING REMARKS & WRAP UP
