Our relationship to our land is at the heart of being Australian. We live on land that has been tended by the longest continuous culture on the planet and we are fortunate enough that we can learn from the knowledge and wisdom gained from thousands of years of knowing Country. Our food, agriculture, property, land development and resource industries have played significant roles in how we work with and relate to our land. The ability for individuals, families and society to function well is deeply interconnected with our connection to land. Our current relationship to our land and resources has had an impact on many of the environmental and social issues that we are facing today. These days are a great way to come together, learn and join in conversations to shape our future, in the here and now, by looking back, embracing and learning from an ancient culture of healing through connection.
“We need collective action to restore resilient landscapes and build strong local economies for our future generations. It’s critical that we inspire transformation and innovations that are owned by local stakeholders and supported by science.” - Dieter van den Broeck, Science & Education, Commonland (Netherlands)
Tuesday 18 July 6.00 to 8.30 pm
Social Impact Festival Opening Night - This evening launches the Social Impact Festival. In this evening of talks and artistic performances we explore the themes of the festival Home, Land and Place. In last year’s Festival Opening we heard Dr Noel Nannup remind us that the purpose of being human is to care for everything. This year’s Festival Opening is our chance to prepare the conditions that we all need to create positive change. Join us to journey through the landscapes of Western Australia, hear stories of our past and present, and celebrate caring for our place. We welcome Vice Chancellor of The University of Western Australia Professor Dawn Freshwater to open this event and Dr Richard Walley OAM to perform the Welcome to Country. Hear from CEO of The Centre for Social Impact Professor Kristy Muir, followed by a range of presentations and artistic performances around the themes of the festival including Delson Stokes, the Hammond Park Primary School Choir, and Dwayne Mallard (Arjaway), to set the tone for the rest of the Festival and its impact for years to come.
Friday 21 July 8.30 to 9.00 pm
Impact School: Land - International, national and local guests sharing expertise and knowledge on the themes of indigenous Issues, cultural healing, native title, agriculture and climate change. This day is jam packed with lectures, panels and keynote addresses. Scroll down to see the full program. Some speaker highlights include Peter Newman, Jemma Green, Greg McIntyre, Leon Terrill, Pamela McGrath, Hannah McGlade, Graeme Martin, Susan Bailey, Dieter van de Broeck & David Pannell.
*$25 ($19 Concession) Day Pass gives you access to one or all events
Tuesday 25 July 9.00 to 12.30pm
Land Lab Session - The session will focus on our relationship to land and that landscapes that we walk, work and live on and in. We believe that it is important to bring together all the people who are caring for our land. This could be through indigenous cultural connection, healing and knowledge, regenerative farming, sustainable food initiatives, regenerative urbanism, revitalising under-used building spaces and bringing life back into our landscapes. This session is facilitated by Katie Stubley (CSI UWA), Dwayne Mallard (Arjaway), Dieter Vandenbroeck (Commonland) and John Stubley (MacroScope Solutions). The first step that we need to take is to come together to learn about each other and to collectively see what is happening. This is a point in time for everyone who cares for this land in all of these ways to come together, connect and set an intention for our future.
Tuesday 25 July 1pm - 4.30pm
Land Impact Gallery & UnWorkshop Session - The Perth CBD becomes our gallery for social impact. You can simply visit one of the ‘exhibits’ of the gallery to observe or interact, or join a guided walking tour. Or you take it to another level with the UnWorkshop hosted by Katie Stubley (CSI UWA), Dwayne Mallard (Arjaway), Dieter Vandenbroeck (Commonland), John Stubley and Ailsa GrieveF. You will travel through the city in groups, gathering insights and gaining empathy along the way. Some stations include an interactive workshop by ICEA Yarn at The Platform, and an art exhibition at FORM with a focus on the remote Western Australian landscape.
Thursday 20 July 6.00 - 7.30pm
Public Lecture | From Mabo to the Uluru Statement from the Heart with Greg McIntyre, Leon Terrill, Pamela McGrath, Hannah McGlade, Join us for a highlight of the Festival calendar as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision and reflect on the recent Uluru Statement from the Heart. Where are we now with Indigenous land rights, and what are the options for moving forward? Be part of the conversation with Adjunct Professor Greg McIntyre (John Toohey Chambers), Dr Leon Terrill (UNSW), Dr Pamela McGrath (National Native Title Tribunal), Dr Hannah McGlade (Curtin University) and others to realign our thinking, challenge assumptions, and set an agenda for change.
9am 10am
Paddock to Plate: Realigning and Redesigning our Food Systems Evelyn Collin, Andrea Gaynor, Elizabeth Pedler, Janet Carter Beyond a measure of sustenance and nutritional value, food is woven deep into our connective social tissue. Bringing together growers and producers, activists, politicians, community members, industrial giants and consumers alike, the social impacts of food are never far from sight. Kitchen table conversations are slowly changing as new seeds are planted. In this session three presentations will trace food histories, reflect on community initiatives and offer bold visions to transform food futures in WA and beyond.
9am 10:30am
Tipping Points: Climate Change and Social Impact in the Anthropocene Vanessa Rauland, Peter Newman & Jemma Green The planet is warming, oceans are acidifying, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has given an emissions scenario predicting further temperature rise at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has pulled out of the Paris Agreement and Australia remains in the top twenty carbon emitters globally. We are living in the age of the ‘Anthropocene’ where human activity is drastically transforming the planet’s ecological systems at a severe cost to social wellbeing. The future seems bleak, so what can we do? Join Peter Newman, Vanessa Rauland and colleagues from the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute in a discussion on climate change activism and achieving a climate-safe future for all.
9am 10:30am
The Healing Centres Project John Stephens, Reena Tiwari & Jane Matthews The establishment of Healing Centres that reconnect the Stolen Generation of Aboriginal people to country and culture addresses the trauma of their removal as children into the care of institutions away from the influence of their natural parents and Aboriginal culture. In Western Australia, Stolen Generation survivors return to their former native mission homes for these healing processes. In partnership with Aboriginal people, Curtin University is assisting in the restoration and regeneration of two former native mission sites at Carrolup/Marribank and Wandering to be used as healing places. This seminar explores how this is being managed, aspects of the sustainability of healing places and the impacts of this work on Aboriginal people. It elaborates on the community centric approach that positions the survivors as drivers and decision makers for this project. Can this approach build capacity for the survivors in the short and long term? What are the challenges ahead?
9am - 10am Social Impact Management in a Major Infrastructure Project James Kernaghan & Martin Edwards James Kernaghan and Martin Edwards from Circle Advisory will provide an in depth picture of how social impact theory and approach has been practically applied to a major linear infrastructure project, a 622 km gas pipeline between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa. In a remote area with a majority Aboriginal population that faces significant barriers to economic participation in such projects, potentially significant social impact is evident, requiring careful management. The presenters will take participants into a live project, with live issues that are in the process of day to day management in an environment of Aboriginal Land, Native Title, cultural heritage, the pastoral industry, competitive construction tendering, governments’ policy shifts, regulatory approvals and complex stakeholder management. Participants will learn what might be possible in such a context, understand the challenges that arise, early lessons learned and participate in solving a live issue facing the proponent and its social impact managers.
9am - 10am Optimising Native Title Asset Management Structures Ian Murray & Joe Fardin A range of new and expanded resource projects have been undertaken in Australia over the last decade in conjunction with the move to a post-determination landscape. A result of this activity has been the greater significance and the formation in greater numbers of native title asset management structures (NTAMSs) to receive, hold and distribute native title and related benefits. These structures represent material opportunities for Indigenous groups to articulate and pursue their visions for the future.
10:30am 11:30am
Indigenous Land & Economic Empowerment 25 Years After Mabo Leon Terrill The transformation of Australia’s property landscape over the last half-century has been remarkable. Until the 1960s, Australia was notorious for its failure to recognise Indigenous land rights. Through a combination of legislative schemes and native title, Indigenous groups have now achieved exclusive rights to more than 20 percent of the continent. This presentation looks at the impact of these developments on economic empowerment for Indigenous communities. It describes the extent to which economic empowerment featured among the aims of land rights and native title, how this is reflected in recognition processes and ownership structures, and the way in which ever-changing dynamics create new risks and opportunities for Indigenous landowners.
11am 12:30pm
Agriculture and Social Impact: Global Perspectives and Future Directions Graeme Martin, Susan Bailey, Dieter van de Broeck & David Pannell
What does the future of farming look like? Professor Graeme Martin from UWA’s School of Agriculture and Environment leads a discussion, featuring the Future Farm project that aims to meet the challenges of 2050. He is joined by Dieter van den Broeck (Commonland, Netherlands) and others for an important conversation about how agriculture can be designed for well-being and sustainability.
11:30am 1pm
Challenging Ideas on Measurement: Activating and Demonstrating Social Impact by Embracing Emotion Tony Hagan & Rebecca Bowman Do you struggle with communicating the changes your service is making in the world? Are you finding the case studies aren’t quite right, or your data is too dry, and they just don’t connect with your audience? Tony and Bec believe this is because the true impact of a program or an intervention can only be understood when you connect on an emotional and intellectual level. That is, only when you know how people FEEL. In this workshop you will learn how to move past sentiment and sympathy in your communications to true empathy and connection. Tony and Bec will take turns using oral storytelling techniques to demonstrate ways of connecting through humour, visual aids, music and mindfulness. In the second half of the session, Tony will introduce his storytelling framework, and invite participants to construct their own stories. Participants in this workshop will leave feeling more confident to share their organisations stories of change with the wider world.
1:30pm 3pm
The Impact of Law in Protecting Land and Water Alex Gardner, Jeanette Jensen & Isaac St Clair Burns Effective law can have a big impact on the sustainable management of the land and waters of the South West of WA. Three presentations from environmental lawyers will show how important it is to make and implement effective laws for managing the use of natural resources and conservation of the environment. Effective laws include duties and incentives to guide our management actions. ‘Environmental water provisions for Ramsar wetlands in Western Australia’, Alex Gardner ‘How to regulate diffuse source pollution from agriculture and its environmental, social and economic impacts’, Jeanette Jensen Using and reforming the law for large scale conservation in the south-west of WA – Isaac St Clair-Burns. This session will give attendees the chance to learn about and discuss the outcomes of recent research and goals of proposed legal research on these topics. The session explores strong public interest dimensions in environmental sustainability.
2:30pm 4pm
Landscapes of Change: Activism, Activation & Action Gina Lee, Danielle Brady & Angela Vurens van Es We can no longer think of “the environment” as something beyond us – something you find in nature reserves when you go for a drive on the weekend. We are intimately bound up in the environment, and it in us. As Native American Chief Seattle put it, “Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” Join us for a session that delves deep into the heart of community-environment relationships and their possibilities.
2:30pm 4pm
Land, Knowledge, Freedom: Indigenous Rights Re-framed Melville Thomas, Jenny Hunter & Tom Joyner In the current political climate of policymaking and debate on Indigenous rights in Australia, it seems that no-one can agree on the way forward. The path is unclear, with louder voices often steering the agenda and calling the shots on Aboriginal affairs with little community consultation. This session builds on several key issues around autonomy to revisit the intimate connection between land, knowledge and freedom for Indigenous Australians.
3:30pm 5pm
Agricultural Adaptation for Impact: Climate Change, Livelihoods and Indigenous Superfoods Tahlia Mandie, Petra Tschakert & Steven Schiilizzi
With climate change reconfiguring environmental systems around the world, the impacts on human lives and agriculture are profound. In this session we delve into what climate change means for livelihoods in rural communities, how Indigenous superfoods are transforming our knowledge of food systems, and how we can improve the connection between sustainability and food security now and in the future.
4pm 5:30pm
Integrating Land Use and Transport Planning to Promote Health and Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals Billie Giles-Corti In the 21st century, we are facing massive health challenges globally: population growth, rapid urbanisation, traffic congestion and climate change combined with increases in physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), road trauma, and obesity. Optimising city planning to promote physical and mental health and community wellbeing, in the face of rapidly growing urban populations is critical. A comprehensive set of integrated regional urban and transport planning and local urban design strategies is needed to achieve health-promoting cities that promote health and wellbeing, and to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. While local conditions will determine the mix of interventions, our overall goal must be to create safe, liveable, convivial and healthy cities that promote active lifestyles and reduce non-communicable diseases and other adverse health risks, while at the same time protecting growing urban populations from traffic, environmental pollution, noise, crime, and violence. This will require integrated metropolitan and regional urban and transport planning incorporating pedestrian- and cycling-friendly local urban design. There is an urgent need for more policy-relevant research undertaken in partnership with policymakers; as well as advocacy to ensure that the rhetoric of ‘healthy cities’, translates into well designed cities that can meet these 21st century challenges.
4pm 5:30pm
Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage Across the Regions: Mapping Outcomes and Service Expenditures in the Pilbara and the Kimberley Paul Flatau Indigenous disadvantage is a key concern in Australia, with the federal government producing key reports evaluating Indigenous outcomes and expenditure, such as the Productivity Commission’s Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Closing the Gap report. However, most of these analyses are conducted at the national and state levels, or comparing regions of similar geographic remoteness. The needs of regions, in terms of both service type and mode of service delivery, vary greatly. Consequently, analysis of expenditure and outcomes at the local level will facilitate better planning, service delivery, and ultimately, better outcomes for Indigenous Australians. This session will present an Australian-first analysis of expenditure and outcomes in the Statistical Area 2 (SA2) regions of the Kimberley and Pilbara.
4:30pm 5:30pm
Locating Value in Nature Mark Cooper When we talk about the natural ‘environment’, we may speak of its intrinsic value or we may speak of the economic value of its components. These two types of value seem to be at odds, so why do we describe both ideas with the same word – ‘value’? ‘Value’ is a word that is used when we describe something that matters – something that we care about. Nature matters to different people for different reasons, but this session contends that it is possible, using concepts taken from systems theory and thermodynamics, to point to a feature of natural systems that provides a fundamental locus of value. It is possible that this method of locating value may help to ‘bridge the gap’ between economic and ecological concerns.
4:30pm 6pm
Resources and Land Use in the Language of the Law Holly Cullen, Matthew Shier & Andrew Baker Since the arrival of settlers in Australia in the 18th century, land and ocean have been subject to the language of the law. The rhetoric surrounding our legal relationship with resources – agreements, partnerships, rights, native title, and so on – have often created more problems than they have solved. What are the opportunities that the law provides to scale social impact for mining communities, at-risk youth and Indigenous Australians? In this session Holly Cullen, Matthew Shier, Jim Atkinson and Andrew Baker offer some answers.
6pm - 8pm
From Mabo to the Uluru Statement from the Heart Greg McIntyre, Leon Terrill, Pamela McGrath & Hannah McGlade Join us for a highlight of the Festival calendar as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision and reflect on the recent Uluru Statement from the Heart. Where are we now with Indigenous land rights, and what are the options for moving forward? Be part of the debate with Adjunct Professor Greg McIntyre (John Toohey Chambers), Dr Leon Terrill (UNSW), Dr Pamela McGrath (National Native Title Tribunal), Dr Hannah McGlade (Curtin University) and others to realign our thinking, challenge assumptions, and set an agenda for change.