Women in Climate and Health – women's networking breakfast
7:30-9:30am, Tuesday 16 March 2021
Senate Rose Garden, Parliament Square & King George Terrace, Parks ACT

The Congress was proud to host this free event in collaboration with Dr Sophie Lewis (ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and Environment), and Dr Arnagretta Hunter (physician and cardiologist, ANU Climate Change Institute).

The breakfast was an opportunity for women and gender diverse people to come together, connect, and collaborate in a safe and welcoming space. In addition to diverse ACT and region women, we invited all women federal MPs and senators, and ACT MLAs and we were delighted to welcome Julie Owens (ALP, MP for Paramatta), Alicia Payne (ALP, MP for Canberra) and Senator Janet Rice (ALP, Victoria) as well as ACT MLAs — Marisa Paterson (ALP), Elizabeth Lee (Canberra Liberals) and Emma Davidson (ACT Greens).

Congress Founder, Dr Janet Salisbury, welcomed guests, and Sophie and Arnagretta led an alfresco panel discussion and Q&A about the ongoing impacts of and recovery from the 2019-20 bushfires, and the health and other community implications of climate change overall.

Dhani Gilbert (former Young ACT Citizen of the Year, Wiradjuri woman and environmental science student) spoke without notes and enlivened us with her aspiration to build the connections between ancient Indigenous knowledge and western science to deal with the climate challenges ahead.

Felicity McCallum (an Awabakal woman from the Hunter Valley and Reconciliation Scholar at Charles Sturt University) spoke movingly on climate change and the bushfires through a lens of Indigenous/non-Indigenous relationships and talked about how to reach out to those with whom we disagree with humour and tenderness. Here’s a link to Felicity’s presentation.

Dr Liz Hanna (Honorary Senior Fellow, Fenner School of Environment & Society, and Climate Change Institute; Chair, Environmental Health Working Group, World Federation of Public Health Associations) brought some of us to tears reminding us of the terrible bushfires of 2020 and their ongoing impact. Here’s a link to Liz’s presentation.

Speaker bios:
Dhani Gilbert, is a proud Kalari (Lachlan River) Wiradjuri young woman who’s focused on achieving just and sustainable outcomes for First Nations Peoples, Country, community, and young people. Dhani is currently a second year university student studying at the ANU, the Co-chair of the ACT Youth Advisory Council, a community outreach educator with the Woodlands & Wetlands Trust, and working with young women in ACT schools to facilitate culturally safe learning and community connection through weaving workshops. Dhani is a community driven young person passionate about doing what she can where she can to address inequality, First Nations injustice, protect our environment, empower young people, and contribute to lasting change that allows all people to thrive and flourish. Dhani’s contributions in community has been recognised and awarded 2018 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year, 2018 ACT NAIDOC Youth of the Year, 2018 ACT NAIDOC Scholar of the Year, 2019 ACT Miss NAIDOC, 2019 Austcover Young Landcare Leadership Award, and a 2020 finalist for ACT Young Woman of the Year.

​Felicity McCallum has 25 years of experience in education in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in Australia and France. Felicity is a Awabakal woman (Mid-North Coast region of NSW). Her doctoral research focuses on the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. She lectures at the Australian Catholic University on the common good, dignity, solidarity, preferential option for the poor and care for creation. Felicity is a facilitator in formative spirituality and non-executive Director on a number of national boards in Australia, including the National Council of Churches.

Dr Elizabeth (Liz) Hanna chairs the Environmental health Working Group of the World Federation of Public Health Associations. Prior to that, she was President of the Climate and Health Alliance.

Late in 2008, she joined the ANU to convene Australia's National Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Human Health. She continues to be contracted by governments here in Australia and across the pacific to design and conduct climate change vulnerability assessments and present keynote addressed at international and national conferences. She is a recipient of multiple awards for her research and advocacy on climate change impacts on human health.

Dr Arnagretta Hunter is a physician and cardiologist with an interest in environmental health and the impacts of climate change. She is the inaugural Human Futures Fellow at the ANU College of Health and Medicine.

​Dr Sophie Lewis is the ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment. She is also a climate scientist and is a lead author on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, which are used worldwide to develop policies around climate change.
Dr Lewis was named 2019 ACT Scientist of the Year in recognition of her research, particularly on weather extremes and how climate change contributes to events such as bushfires and droughts.

Dr Janet Salisbury is the founder of the Women’s Climate Congress. Formerly she founded and build up the Canberra business Biotext Pty Ltd, which became an Australian leader in writing, editing and designing science content for government and other organisations. This gave her a strong interest in dialogue around public policy issues and has initiated, facilitated and supported many initiatives to promote collaborative conversations in the Canberra community.