HER EXCELLENCY THE HON. MARGARET BEAZLEY AC QC
Governor of New South Wales
Her Excellency is the 39th Governor of New South Wales. She previously enjoyed a long and distinguished law career spanning 43 years, during which time she served as a role model for women in law at both the state and national level. Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1989, in 1993 she was made a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, the first woman to sit exclusively in that Court. In 1996, she achieved the distinction of being the first woman appointed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal and, subsequently, as the first woman to be appointed as its President. She served, on a number of occasions, as Administrator of the Government of the State of New South Wales. She was made a Companion of the Order of Australia for "eminent service to the people of New South Wales, particularly through leadership roles in the judiciary, and as a mentor of young women lawyers". Her Excellency brings her deep commitment to education, youth leadership, human rights and social justice to her role in service of the people of New South Wales.
DR. BRIAN ADAMS
Director of the Centre for Interfaith & Cultural Dialogue at Griffith University
Dr Brian J Adams is the Director of the Centre for Interfaith & Cultural Dialogue at Griffith University with a background in mediation, conflict management and dialogue facilitation. His 20-plus years of work in Africa, Europe, North America and the Asia–Pacific bring a compelling international perspective to his work. As a former Rotary Peace Fellow, Brian is primarily focused on promoting respect and understanding across cultural, religious and organisational boundaries. He is a Founder of the G20 Interfaith Forum, providing recommendations on issues relevant to the G20 Leaders Summit. He is also the co-founder of the Commonwealth Dialogue Initiative and the author of the CURe Program for Productive Diversity. He is a father of 5 children, a husband to Carolyn, and Bishop to a congregation of 110+ young single adults in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
THE HON. DR. ANNE ALY MP
Member of the House Representatives
Dr Anne Aly MP has been the Federal Member for Cowan since 2016. Anne moved to Australia when she was two years old. Her mum was a nurse and her dad an engineer, but they both worked in factories in Australia before her dad later became a bus driver. By her late twenties, Anne was a single working mother of two young boys in Perth. Anne studied her Masters and PhD at Edith Cowan University and held a number of senior positions within the Western Australian Public Service. She worked at both Curtin University and Edith Cowan University with a focus on counter terrorism and countering violent extremism. Anne has been an advisor to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Directorate, a Board member of both the Council for Arab Australian Relations and the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and has addressed President Obama’s Countering Violent Extremism summit at the White House. Anne is also the Founding Chair of People against Violent Extremism (PaVE) a not for profit organisation focused on empowering communities to challenge violent extremism.
REV. TIM COSTELLO AO
Chair of the Community Council of Australia, and Director at Ethical Voice
Rev Tim Costello directs Ethical Voice and is one of Australia’s most respected community leaders and a sought after voice on social justice issues, leadership and ethics. For 13 years Tim was Chief Executive of World Vision Australia (WVA). He then completed over 2 years as WVA’s Chief Advocate. Currently Tim remains as Executive Director of Micah Australia and continues to place the challenges of global poverty on the national agenda. He is also Senior Fellow for the Centre for Public Christianity. He remains spokesperson for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, which campaigns for law reform to prevent harm from poker machine gambling. His is also the: Chair of the Community Council of Australia, Chief Advocate of the Thriving Communities Partnership and Patron of the National Youth Commission. In 2006 Tim was named Victoria’s Australian of the Year, in June 2005 was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO); in 2004, was named Victorian of the Year; and in 1997 was named as one of Australia’s 100 National Living Treasures.
AMY CHURCHOUSE
Founder of the Good Karma Effect
Amy grew up in Wellington, New Zealand. Being outgoing with lots of interests, she has done lots of different things over the years. By the age of 30, Amy had a BSC in sports science and psychology and explored a number of different industries and roles. Then at 31, she decided to follow her childhood dream of becoming a vet. After five years of vet school she moved to Melbourne in 2015 to start her veterinary career. After experiencing some challenges in her own life and seeing a lot of suffering in the lives of others around her, being a natural problem solver, Amy decided she wanted to try and make a difference to help people have better lives. She wanted to give others the opportunity to do the same. Amy started KGKN, Kensington Good Karma Network, to help people help each other, and the ‘Good Karma Effect’ was born.
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DR. ZENY EDWARDS OAM
Vice-president and Director for Community Engagement, World Citizens Association of Australia
Dr Zeny Edwards OAM PhD is an architectural historian, award-winning biographer and cultural heritage advocate. She has previously served as president of the National Trust of Australia (NSW); chair of UN Women Australia (NSW), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; trustee of Women’s Plans Foundation; and vice-president of the Institute for Global Peace and Sustainable Governance. Amongst her many current roles she is a member of the management committee of the Australian Council for Human Rights Education, a goodwill ambassador of the Institute for Economics and Peace, and a staunch advocate for advancing community cohesion in Australia.
DR. CHRISANTHI GIOTIS
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Media Transition at UTS
Dr. Chrisanthi Giotis’ work focuses on changing journalism practice to promote marginalised voices. As a working journalist she covered Indigenous issues in the Dubbo area, and as an academic her reporting on marginalised young people in Western Sydney won the UTS Dame Mary Gilmore Prize for Journalism. More recently she worked with Congolese refugees, seeking their input before reporting on refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This led to her current postdoctoral position at the UTS Centre for Media Transition, examining best practice journalism at the global-local interface and how this relates to trust in the media. Her current research project is entitled ‘Teaching each other trust in the fake news era.’ She is the winner of the 2020 Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia Research Grant.
JANE JEFFES
Independent Producer, Director and Writer; former EP at ABC Religion & Ethics and co-founder of War On Slavery
Jane Jeffes is an independent Producer-Director-Writer. She has developed, produced and directed a range of successful documentaries and formats through her own company (Firefly Productions) and with other production companies for broadcasters including the ABC, SBS, Al Jazeera, C4, RTE, Arte, ORF and blue-chip organisations such as the International Red Cross, NSW Law Society and Unilever. She has previously served as: Head of Programmes at Unique Broadcasting (UK); Executive Producer, ABC Religion & Ethics Unit; Communications & Impact Director for the G20 Interfaith Forum, creating the G20 Anti-Slavery Taskforce 2018. In 2019, she co-founded War On Slavery and this year created Recipes for Ramadan, celebrating the diversity of Australian-Muslim heritage. She is a Board Director of Taldumande Youth Services and was an Advisory Board Member of Griffith University Centre for Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue (2014-2020) and of the Multicultural NSW COMPACT project 'The Middle Ground.'
PROF. STEPHEN PICKARD
Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
Stephen Pickard is Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Canberra; Director of the Strategic Research Centre in Public and Contextual Theology and Professor of Theology at Charles Sturt University, Canberra. He is an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Canberra & Golburn. He has served in a range of ministerial and academic appointments over three and half decades in Australia and the United Kingdom.
RAY MINNIECON
Pastor & Director of Bunjil Consulting
Pastor Ray Minniecon is a descendant of the Kabi Kabi nation and the Gurang Gurang nation of South-East Queensland, and is also a descendant of the South Sea Islander people with connections to the people of Ambrym Island and Pentecost Island. He is a community Pastor with St. John’s Anglican Church, Glebe where he is developing a unique and ambitious Scarred Tree ministry with St. Johns members and community. He is also a Director of Bunji Consultancies, which supports Aboriginal leadership and business. He is the founder and consultant on programs for the remaining men of Kinchela Boys Home (KBH) and the survivors of the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home, the first designated home for Aboriginal babies of the Stolen Generations in NSW. Ray earned a BA in Theology from Murdoch University, and helped establish there the Aboriginal Education Unit. Ray has worked for World Vision Australia's Indigenous programs for twelve years and was its National Director for six of those years. In 1995 he intervened at the UN on behalf of Indigenous Peoples at the first hearing of the Draft Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva. In 2001, he spoke in Italy at a Global Forum on Ethics and Economics, where he also had a private audience with the Pope.
HUGH RIMINTON
National Affairs Editor with Network 10 Author, Journalist & Social Commentator
Hugh Riminton is an award winning journalist, humanitarian, news presenter and foreign correspondent of many year's experience. Currently the National Affairs editor for Network Ten, Hugh has been a foreign correspondent for CNN and the Nine Network and the political editor at Channel Ten. He is a foundation board member of Soldier On, which supports Australian Defence personnel who have suffered through their service in recent wars, and a foundation board member of the John Mac Foundation. Hugh has received numerous awards, including two Walkleys, a Logie, honours from the Human Rights Commission and the UN Association Media Award.
DR. KIRK ZWANGOBANI
Chair of the Australian Capital Territory Multicultural Advisory Council
Kirk Zwangobani works as a Humanities executive teacher in Canberra and is an early career researcher. In his doctorate research Kirk theorised extensively on the emergence of an African Australian identity and experiences of belonging amongst youth, working across a number of fields including postcolonialism, philosophy, cultural studies, and education. Kirk is a member of the ACT Multicultural Youth Affairs Network. He is also a Fellow with the Australian Council for Educational Leadership, and is currently serving as the ACT President and as a national Director.
IDA WALKER
Director of Public Discourse for the Australian Baha’i Community
Ida Walker represents the Baha’i community in its engagement with the Australian Government, religious communities and civil society organisations at the national level on matters which have a bearing on the betterment of Australian society. This involves promoting and collaborating on addressing issues of social importance including social cohesion, the equality of women and men, the role of religion in society, inter-faith relations, and the role of youth in society, amongst others.
KHAYSHIE TILAK RAMESH
Youth Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission
Khayshie Tilak Ramesh is a passionate advocate for the inclusion of youth voices and diverse communities. Khayshie is an active member of her local community in Bendigo, as Youth Mayor and Chair of the City of Greater Bendigo Youth Council. She also co-founded and served as Vice-President of Young People for Refugees, a youth advocacy service in Bendigo. Khayshie is a Board Director of Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services and ARC Justice; a member of Ambulance Victoria Community Advisory Committee and City of Greater Bendigo Economic Strategy Committee; and was a member of the Victorian Government’s Multicultural Youth Network. She is also a Multicultural Ambassador for Bendigo Foodshare. Khayshie was recognised as Young Citizen of the Year in 2017 and was named in the Top 100 Future Leaders. In 2019, Khayshie was awarded the Law Institute of Victoria’s Law Student of the Year.