Despite decades of progress, barriers to justice remain deeply entrenched. One in three women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime - yet most will never receive formal help or justice.
"Balancing the scales" is a collective call to ensure every woman and girl is safe, heard, and free to shape her own future.
Date: Thursday 5 March
Time: 6 pm to 8 pm
Where: St Kilda Town Hall
Our guest speakers:
Leila Gurruwiwi:
Leila Gurruwiwi is a Yolngu woman of the Galpu Clan from Northeast Arnhem land, a cultural awareness advocate and mentor.
As well as dabbling in some acting in both award winning series Glitch Season 1 and 2 and The Secret River (both ABC series) and KAGE theatre production Team of Life, Leila has combined a successful media career, including 11 years as a reporter and newsreader on The Marngrook Footy Show, with community pursuits in her former roles mentoring young girls in the Wirrpanda Foundation's Deadly Sista Girlz program and being an Indigenous Support Worker at the Pavillion School, a school for young people who have been disengaged or excluded from mainstream education.
Leila is the Education Officer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education at Catholic Education Melbourne where she helps Indigenous student excel in school and supports their families. She hopes to foster a sense of strong identity in Indigenous students and throughout schools in the Melbourne Diocese, a strong knowledge and embracing of Indigenous culture.
Leila is also now a proud mum to her son Uzoma who she hopes to instil strong cultural connections to both his Indigenous and Nigerian cultures.
Rabbi Allison Conyer:
Rabbi Allison RH Conyer has been a pioneer for women in our region. As the first woman rabbi in New South Wales and the first woman to be employed as a Senior Rabbi in Victoria, currently serving Temple Beth Israel, she has helped to redefine societal expectations of the Rabbinate. Since her ordination at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1998, Rabbi Conyer has worked as a congregational rabbi in both Sydney and Melbourne, taught in Jewish Day Schools, and worked as the Executive Director at Santa Barbara Hillel (a Jewish not-for-profit organisation working with university students).
She currently chairs the Assembly of Rabbis and Cantors of the Union for Progressive Judaism across Australia, Asia, and New Zealand. Rabbi Conyer holds a Master's degree in Psychology, has received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from Hebrew Union College, and continues to practise part-time as a psychologist.
global recognition for her leadership, Rabbi Conyer continues to bring her expertise, warmth, and inclusive spirit to create a welcoming and vibrant community for our entire region.
Professor Nicole Kalms:
Nicole Kalms is a Professor in the Department of Design and founding director of the Monash University XYX Lab which leads national and international research in Gender and Place. Nicole is the Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture. Professor Kalms regularly writes for a diverse non-academic audience, and is frequently invited to speak to the public about identity and urban space at major national and international cultural institutions. Kalms has been interviewed on BBC World TV (2018) and France 24 TV (2019). Kalms was the keynote speaker at the Planning Institute of Australia Congress (2019) and the Autonomy Mobility Summit in Paris (2019). Dr Kalms serves on a variety of advisory boards, committees and panels in relation to public policy, urban safety and placemaking.
