2016 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MEETING ‘Hope in the Dark’€¦ · Encountering the Anthropocene The role of the Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences 2016 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Encountering the Anthropocene

The role of the Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences

2016 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MEETING

‘Hope in the Dark’

Thursday 20 – Sunday 23 October, 2016 University of Sydney

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MEETING

2016 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MEETING

A National Environment Meeting has been held annually since 2014, and strives to be a forum for environmentalists across Australia to meet, network, and discuss key issues facing the environmental movement. This year, NEM is expanding to include academic and public streams, an exciting development that will broaden the focus of this event and allow many different environmentalists to share their knowledge and skills.

Over these four days, a series of panels, workshops and guest speakers will speak on challenges facing the environmental movement, new ways of adapting to changing conditions, and provide essential skills for combating key issues in our sector.

Conveners

Associate Professor Charlotte Epstein, Department of Government and International Relations, University Sydney

Professor David Schlosberg, Co-Director –Sydney Environment Institute, Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney

David Ritter, CEO Greenpeace Australia –Pacific

Kate Smolski, CEO Nature Conservation Council of NSW

SPONSORS


TRUTH & BEAUTY: Talking about the Environment

In association with Sydney Ideas Thursday 20 October 2016 Law Foyer, New Law School | University of Sydney 6.00 – 7.30PM

Our relationship with the environment can be expressed in terms of our love for the transcendent beauty of nature, or the scientific building blocks of life, or the mundanities of everyday experience.

Our panels of distinguished speakers come from a wide variety of fields, including literature, science and the arts, to discuss how we can communicate about the environment at a time when the natural world has never been under greater threat.

Speakers:

Don Watson, prominent Australian author and public speaker. Don has written extensively on on the Australian landscape, including in his recent Book of the Year (NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2015)The Bush: Travels in the Heart of Australia

Rod Lamberts, Deputy Director of Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) at ANU, and a former National President of the Australian Science Communicators. Rod is strongly committed to science communication accessible for the public, and is a regular public commentator on ABC and The Conversation.

Sophia Brous, an Australian musician and performer. Sophia is also a recognised curator and and artistic director, curating the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, and currently founder and curator of Supersense: Festival of the Ecstatic at the Arts Centre Melbourne.

Berndt Sellheim, an extensively published poet and novelist. Berndt's newest poetry collection Awake at the Wheel will be out in November 2016, of which he will be reading an excerpt at the National Environment Meeting.

Gretchen Miller, award winning radio producer and presenter at ABC Radio National with a passion for stories of the landscape and environment

Professor Iain McCalman, (panel chair), Co-Director, Sydney Environment Institute

http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/


Movements and Researchers: Defining the

Questions Workshop Friday21 October 2016 Holme Building | University of Sydney 9.00 – 5.30PM

Wifi Access: Username: environmeeting Password: hostcoholme 9.00 – 9.30 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS David Ritter, Greenpeace Australia – Pacific David Schlosberg, University of Sydney

9.30 – 11.00 Justice and the Environment. Chair: David Schlosberg, University of Sydney What role does the idea of environmental justice play in recent movement campaigns? How has this important discourse had an impact on groups, and what is unique about environmental or climate justice in the Australian context?

Larissa Baldwin, SEED Archie Law, Action Aid Lauren Rickards, RMIT Brendan Sydes, Environmental Justice Australia Dinesh Wadiwel, University of Sydney

11.00 – 11.30 MORNING TEA 11.30 – 1.00 New forms of Political Organising – The Impact of Social Media

Chair: Stewart Jackson, University of Sydney

How has the rise of social media campaigning engaged audiences – old and new? What lessons can movements learn from recent research on the relationship between new media and political campaigns?

Ariadne Vromen, University of Sydney Carolyn Hendriks, Australian National University Felicity Ruby, Digital Rights Watch Kajute O’Riordon, GetUp! Field Director


Movements and Researchers: Defining the

Questions Workshop continued

1.00 – 2.00 LUNCH 2.00 – 3.30 Everyday Life and the Australian Environment

Chair: Robert MacNeil, University of Sydney Much environmental organizing now engages practices of everyday life – food, energy, transport, and more. What does this shift (or expansion) from the environment as ‘outside’ to the environment as everyday experience mean for organizing? Jenny Gray, CEO of Zoos Victoria Rebecca Huntly, Author Kate Johnston, University of Sydney Tania Lewis, RMIT Bronwen Morgan, University of New South Wales

3.30 – 4.00 AFTERNOON TEA 4.00 – 5.30 Hope in the Wake of Climate Change

Chair: Rebecca Pearse, University of Sydney

‘This is an extraordinary time full of vital, transformative movements that could not be foreseen. It’s also a nightmarish time. Full engagement requires the ability to perceive both.’ Rebecca Solnit. Discuss. Peter Christoff, University of Melbourne Tim Doyle, Adelaide University David Ritter, Greenpeace Australia Pacific Rev Dr Seforosa Carroll

5.30 – 6.30 NETWORKING DRINKS


Movements and Researchers: Defining the Questions Workshop

Biographies (in alphabetical order) Larissa Baldwin is a Widjabul woman of the Bundjalung nation and the National Co-Director for Seed, where she leads campaigns empowering Indigenous youth to create change. She is a firm believer of the importance of self-determination and grassroot leadership, both in environmental and social justice issues. Reverend Doctor Seforosa Carroll is a Fiji born Rotuman who spent her formative years growing up in Lautoka. She is an ordained minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, one of whose significant projects is Leadership in a Changing Climate, which adopts a holistic approach to engaging the challenge of climate change in the Pacific. Peter Christoff is a political scientist and Associate Professor in the School of Geography at the University of Melbourne. Prior to academia, he worked in government and not-for-profit, notably in the environmental field with Greenpeace and ACF. Tim Doyle is a professor of politics and international studies at the University of Adelaide. He has been a dedicated environmental and human rights activist since the 1980s, and currently is Immediate-Past-Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group based in Mauritius. Charlotte Epstein is an associate professor at the University of Sydney. Her interests are in international relations theory, notably around post-structuralist approaches and discourse theory, critical security studies and global environmental politics. Jenny Gray is the CEO of Zoos Victoria, and has a wide range of public and private sector experience and brings a passion for animals and the environment. Jenny also has a PhD in ethics on “An Ethical Defense of Modern Zoos.” Carolyn Hendriks is based at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. Her work examines democratic aspects of contemporary governance, and her current research explore alternative modes of political participation. Rebecca Huntly is a writer and researcher on social and consumer trends, with a background in publishing, academia and politics. For nearly 9 years Rebecca was the Director of The Mind & Mood Report, Australia's longest running social trends report. Stewart Jackson is a lecturer at the University of Sydney, focusing on Green politics through the Australia and Asia-Pacific region. He also has a strong interest in green political theory, environmental feminism and the intersection of social movements and parliamentary. Kate Johnston is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney where she explores sustainability discourses and practices through the case study of tuna. She advocates an ‘integrated’ model of sustainability that blends cultural and environmental issues.


Movements and Researchers: Defining the Questions Workshop

Biographies (in alphabetical order) Archie Law is the Executive Director of ActionAid Australia. He has work for the United Nations in Peacekeeping Operations, as well as in development programs with South Africa. Tania Lewis is an author and the Deputy Dean of Research & Innovation at RMIT. She works on emerging trends in lifestyle & consumption and is a chief investigator on the ARC Discovery projects funded by RMIT. Robert MacNeil joined the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney in 2013, and focuses on the intersection of environmental politics and neoliberalism. Bronwen Morgan is a socio-legal scholar at the University of New South Wales, with an interest in the socio-political implications of ecological crisis and practices. She has worked and studied internationally, notably in the UK and USA. Kajute O’Riordon is the Organising Director with GetUp!, and lead the Federal election organising work that saw more than 213,000 calls made and helped unseat some of the most conservative right wing MPs in Parliament. Rebecca Pearse is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Australian National University. Her interests are in the political economy of climate and energy policy, and socio-political dimensions of environmental change. Lauren Rickards is co-leader of the Climate Change and Resilience research program at RMIT. Lauren's research examines the rise of Anthropocene and resilience thinking, and their implications for different human and non-human groups. David Ritter is the CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific. David previously spent five years working for Greenpeace in Europe, and is also a recovering lawyer and legal academic who formerly practised in the areas of general litigation and Indigenous land rights. Felicity Ruby is a doctoral candidate at the University of Sydney, looking at transnational political movements against mass surveillance. She has been a political adviser to Senator Ludlam, Greenpeace International, and a Director of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom’s. Brendan Sydes heads the team of Environmental Justice Australia, a not-for-profit legal practice dedicated to justice for people and the planet. He is a former chair of Victoria’s Federation of Community Legal Centres, and has a strong commitment to combining social justice and environmental advocacy. David Schlosberg is a professor of environmental politics at the University of Sydney and co-director of the Sydney Environment Institute. His work focuses on the intersection of political theory with environmental politics and movements, and is currently researching climate justice.


Movements and Researchers: Defining the Questions Workshop Biographies (in alphabetical order)

Ariadne Vromen is a professor of political sociology at the University of Sydney. She has completed extensive research on youth political engagement, and looks at the emergence of online advocacy organisations. Dinesh Wadiwel is a lecturer of human rights at the University of Sydney. He has 15 years of experience in anti-poverty campaigns and the disability rights movements, and is currently researching the relationship between animals in production systems and capitalism.


MAPS ‘The Refectory’ - Holme Building – please use main entrance on Science Road.


‘Hope in the Dark’ Saturday 22 October 2016 Law Foyer | University of Sydney 9.00 – 6.00PM

WIFI Access Username: nem_meeting Password: 03508213

9.00 – 9.30 Opening & Welcome to Country

David Ritter, CEO - Greenpeace Australia – Pacific Alex Greenwich, MP - State Member for Sydney Uncle Chicka Madden, Gadigal Elder

9.30 – 10.45 Keynote: Politics and the Environment - Making Environmental Progress in 2016

What happens in Parliament decides the future for our endangered wildlife, the places we love and whether our kids will have a safe climate. Hear directly from those who’ve spent years walking the halls of power to really understand how to inspire our politicians to care about nature and how this may be changing in modern politics. Dr John Hewson, Former Liberal Party Leader Christine Milne, Former Leader of the Greens Party The Hon Bob Carr, Former Premier of NSW (Chair) Jonathan Holmes (former presenter of Media Watch)

10.45 – 11.00 Overview of the afternoon | Call for Nominations for the NCC Executive Kate Smolski, CEO – Nature Conservation Council, NSW

11.00 – 11.30 MORNING TEA

11.30 – 12.45 WORKSHOPS facilitated by the Change Agency

Choose one workshop from the six offered. All workshops will be repeated in the afternoon to give you the chance to catch the one you missed! (Exception: What can the University do for you?)


LIST OF WORKSHOPS:

Economic and the

Environment

Room: New Law

Seminar 100

Have you ever suspected that the economic case

for destroying the environment might not be as

strong as the coal industry suggests? Learn how to

fight econobabble with hard economic facts.

Rod Campbell

The Australian

Institute

Facilitator:

Alison Killen

Building powerful

narratives across

our movement

Room: New Law

Seminar 020

Hands on workshop drawing on recent research

from communications, psychology, academia and

campaigning. ACF will share their recent Narrative

Project research.

Phil Freeman, WWF,

& Angela Rutter,

ACF

Facilitator: Vicky Fysh

Engage our

Community with

New Technology

Room: New Law

Seminar 102

Social media is a powerful tool for activists and

campaigners. This workshop will cover all the basic

principles of social media campaigning including

choosing the right platforms, creating great

content, and finding your organisation's voice.

Ruby-Rose O’Halloran, GetUp!

Facilitator:

Lindsay Soutar

Building

community power

using the Circles of

Commitment

Room: New Law

Seminar 105

Does your campaign rely on getting a large number of people involved? Or perhaps you have a small core team and there’s more to do than you can handle? The Circles of Commitment model can help! Join this interactive workshop to explore how we can build up our supporter base and get people taking deeper responsibility for winning our campaigns.

Ray Yoshida,

350.org

Emilie Carey, Solar

Citizens

Facilitator:

Ian Lisser

A guide to working

with Aboriginal

and Torres Strait

Islander peoples

Room: New Law

Seminar 117

This workshop will challenge environmental movement norms for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and challenge concepts on how to work collectively and be a good ally.

Paul Gorrie, CANA

Facilitator:

Fee Mozeley

What can the

University do for

you?

Room: New Law

Seminar 115

This workshop focuses on academic resources

available to environmental organisations. How can

you identify research questions, researchers, and

funding – and help Universities develop research in

the public good? (no afternoon session)

David Schlosberg,

Sydney Environment

Institute

Facilitator:

Tanya Ritchie


‘Hope in the Dark’ (continued)

12.45 – 1.30 LUNCH

1.30 – 2.30 Panel 1: Making Our Narrative Heard in a Changing Media Landscape

Does the nightly news still drive politics? What about the pressures of the 24 hour news cycle? Are people too busy looking at cat videos to care about real issues? The way we create and digest media has changed dramatically in the past 20 years, posing real challenges and opportunities for protecting nature. Join experienced journalists and communications experts to discuss how to make headlines in our changing media landscape. Peter Lewis, Director of Essential Media Communications Lenore Taylor, Editor of Guardian Australia Peter Hannam, 2016 Kennedy Award Winner Eric Beecher, Australian journalist, editor and media proprietor (chair) Kelly O’Shanassy, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation!

2.30 – 3.45 WORKSHOPS facilitated by the Change Agency

Choose one workshop from the five offered.


LIST OF WORKSHOPS:

Economic and the

Environment

Room: New Law

Seminar 100

Have you ever suspected that the economic case

for destroying the environment might not be as

strong as the coal industry suggests? Learn how to

fight econobabble with hard economic facts.

Rod Campbell

The Australian

Institute

Facilitator:

Alison Killen

Building powerful

narratives across

our movement

Room: New Law

Seminar 020

Hands on workshop drawing on recent research

from communications, psychology, academia and

campaigning. ACF will share their recent Narrative

Project research.

Phil Freeman, WWF,

& Angela Rutter,

ACF

Facilitator: Vicky Fysh

Engage our

Community with

New Technology

Room: New Law

Seminar 102

Social media is a powerful tool for activists and

campaigners. This workshop will cover all the basic

principles of social media campaigning including

choosing the right platforms, creating great

content, and finding your organisation's voice.

Ruby-Rose O’Halloran, GetUp!

Facilitator:

Lindsay Soutar

Building

community power

using the Circles of

Commitment

Room: New Law

Seminar 105

Does your campaign rely on getting a large number of people involved? Or perhaps you have a small core team and there’s more to do than you can handle? The Circles of Commitment model can help! Join this interactive workshop to explore how we can build up our supporter base and get people taking deeper responsibility for winning our campaigns.

Ray Yoshida,

350.org

Emilie Carey, Solar

Citizens

Facilitator:

Ian Lisser

A guide to working

with Aboriginal

and Torres Strait

Islander peoples

Room: New Law

Seminar 117

This workshop will challenge environmental movement norms for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and challenge concepts on how to work collectively and be a good ally.

Paul Gorrie, CANA

Facilitator:

Fee Mozeley


‘Hope in the Dark’ (continued)

3.45 – 4.00 AFTERNOON TEA

4.00 – 5.00 Panel 2: Building Alliances with Justice

At the heart of campaigning to protect nature is a cry for justice. The root causes of environmental destruction are often the same as those fueling entrenched inequality. By building powerful alliances with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Australians, religious communities, unions and justice advocates, we not only become stronger ourselves, we create a stronger movement for a fair-go for all. Brendan Sydes, CEO of Environmental Justice Australia Larissa Baldwin, National Co-Director of SEED Reverend Elenie Poulos, National Director of Uniting Justice Australia Ben Davison, Chief of Staff at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (Chair) Professor Don White, NCC Chairperson

5.00 – 6.00 Close and Conference Photo

David Schlosberg, Co-Director of the Sydney Environment Institute

6.00 – 7.30 NSW ENVIRONMENT AWARDS

Master of Ceremonies: First Dog on the Moon, Political Cartoonist Protecting the places and wildlife we love doesn’t happen by chance; it happens because people take a stand for what they believe in. Join First Dog on the Moon, Australian political cartoonist, for a night to celebrate the true champions of NSW as we award the 2016 winners of the NSW Environment Awards.

7.30 – Late NCC Annual Conference Dinner

ThaiRiffic Newtown – 109 King St, Newtown


‘Hope in the Dark’ Biographies (in alphabetical order) Larissa Baldwin is a Widjabul woman of the Bundjalung nation and the National Co-Director for Seed, where she leads campaigns empowering Indigenous youth to create change. She is a firm believer of the importance of self-determination and grassroot. Eric Beecher is a journalist, who, at age 33, became the youngest-ever editor of the Sydney Morning Herald. He has been a founding shareholder and chairman of several online media ventures, and is also chairman of The Wheeler Centre. The Hon Bob Carr is a former NSW Premier and Foreign Minister. He introduced the world’s first carbon trading scheme and curbed the clearing of native vegetation. He retired from state politics in 2005, and now leads the Australia-China Relations Institute at UTS. Ben Davison is the Chief of Staff at the Australian Council of Trade Unions, responsible for day to day running of ACTU, and is passionate about the union movement. Alex Greenwich is the independent member for Sydney in the NSW Legislative Assembly, and is additionally Co-Chair of Australian Marriage Equality. Peter Hannam is Environment Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald. He covers broad environmental issues ranging from climate change to renewable energy for Fairfax Media. Notably, he is the winner of the 2016 Kennedy Award for excellence in journalism John Hewson is a former Liberal Party Leader and long serving Federal member for Wentworth. John is also an economic expert who has worked for the Australian Treasury, the Reserve Bank, the IMF, and as an Advisor/Chief of Staff to two successive. Jonathan Holmes is a British-born Australian television journalist, and was formerly the presenter of ABC's Media Watch Peter Lewis has been the executive director of Essential Media Communications since 1999, and has over 20 years’ experience in public affairs and media.

Uncle Chicka Madden is a Gadigal Elder and a Cultural Representative of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC), who are traditional custodians of the Land, Air, Water and Culture within their boundaries. Christine Milne is a former leader of the Australian Greens, and has focused her career on driving action on global warming and building an equitable society. Currently, she is involved in a number of groups and councils around environment and democracy. Kelly O’Shanassy is the CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation. She has worked in business and government, and is now in the community sector which she sees as crucial to creating positive change.


David Schlosberg is a professor of environmental politics at the University of Sydney and co-director of the Sydney Environment Institute. His work focuses on the intersection of political theory with environmental politics and movements, and is currently researching climate justice. Kate Smolski is CEO of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, and has over fourteen years’ experience in environmental advocacy, grassroots organising and lobbying. Brendan Sydes heads the team of Environmental Justice Australia, a not-for-profit legal practice dedicated to justice for people and the planet. He is a former chair of Victoria’s Federation of Community Legal Centres, and has a strong commitment to combining social justice and environmental advocacy. Lenore Taylor is editor of the Guardian Australia. She is the winner of two Walkley awards, andtwo Paul Lyneham awards for excellence in press gallery journalism. Elenie Poulos is the National Director of Uniting Justice Australia. She is the Church’s lead spokesperson on human rights, social justice and environmental issues. Don White is a consultant engineer and lectures in engineering at the University of Sydney. He is additionally the Nature Conservation Council's chairperson


Annual General Meeting

Sunday 23 October 2016

Venue: Law Lounge, University of Sydney WIFI Access Username: nem_meeting Password: 03508213

8.45 – 9.05 Registration 9.05 – 9.15 Annual General Meeting Opening (Chair) 9.15 – 9.30 CEO Report (CEO) 9.30 – 9.50 Other Report, Discussion and Questions (Chair & Treasurer) 9.50 – 10.10 Penny Sharpe, Shadow Minister for the Environment - NSW 10.10 – 10.30 MORNING TEA 10.30 – 11.30 Business Motions (Chair) 11.30 – 12.00 Election of NCC Executive for 2016/17 12.00 – 12.45 LUNCH 12.45 – 1.05 Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Greens Environmental Spokesperson 1.05 – 2.05 Business Motions & General Business (Chair) 2.05 – 2.25 Late & Carried Over Motions 2.25 – 2.30 Closing Address (CEO) 2.30 CLOSE


MAPS Sydney Law School

Documents

2016 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MEETING ‘Hope in the Dark’€¦ · Encountering the Anthropocene The role of the Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences 2016 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT