the graduate union newsletter
APRIL/MAY 2020
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remembering Dr richard harcourt
Everyone suddenly burst out singing: And I was filled with such delight As prisoned birds must find in freedom, Winging wildly across the white Orchards and dark-green fields: on--on--and out of sight. Everyone’s voice was suddenly lifted; And beauty came like the setting sun; My heart was shaken with tears: and horror Drifted away. . .O, but Everyone Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done. — Siegfried Sassoon
The above poem was read out at the funeral of Dr Richard David Harcourt by his wife and Honorary Life Member, Mrs Alison Harcourt, on Sunday, 12th April 2020. Please turn to page 21 to read the valete of Dr Richard Harcourt.
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Contents GU Important Information 5 COVID-19
A Message from the CEO/Head of College
GU Collegiate 25 Postponed Events
dates ahead
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS
6 International Days
26 February and March 2020 Listings
Other
features 10 Emotions and Academic Success
by Caroline MacCann, Amirali Minbashian and Kit Double
28 First Nations
Koorie Oral Histories Online
29 First Nations
Stolen Generation Redress
12 Toilet Paper Hoarding by Jay L Zagorsky
30 Innovation
Ancestor of all Animals identified in Australian Fossils
14 Tips for Self-isolation by an Anonymous Resident Member
16 Jessica Liew
31 Innovation
Termite Mounds Show the Way to a Low Emission Future
Keen to learn how to build a future
reviewS 18
Graduate House Monthly Luncheon Review with Ms Helen Parker OAM
32 One Thousand and One Nights Serial
The Story of the Fisherman and the Jinni continued
34 The UN Sustainable Development Goals How Norway is Working to Support Gender Equality
VALETE 21 Dr Richard David Harcourt
37 Fund Lifelong Learning
The Evolution of Online Crowdfunding
Graduate house news 22 Parkville Storytelling Project 24 Seen at Graduate House 24 Annual General Meeting (AGM) Update 25 Feedback
Please note: This publication is an amalgamation of the April and May 2020 Newsletters. Our next issue will be published in the last week of May for the month of June.
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GU IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note that all photographs were taken well before the Victorian Government State of Emergency. www.graduatehouse.com.au
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GU IMPORTANT INFORMATION
A message from the ceo/head of college
Dear Members and friends of our Association and of Graduate House,
In these tough times, we ask for your support and hope that you will be able to make a financial contribution, however large or modest to assist It is indeed a challenging time. us in keeping alive our Association and Graduate No matter where you are in this world, you House. We are facing significant staff reductions, will be seeing and feeling the devastation to particularly for our casual and part-time staff, communities everywhere. the majority of whom have families to support. Without staff to support residents and a return We do so hope and pray that you are all OK. to usual operations once this pandemic closes, we We welcome strong, swift and decisive actions by face closure. our federal, state and local governments to curb Of course, you are all facing financial challenges the transmission of COVID-19; and have been with drops in investments and superannuation implementing each initiative in advance of its official rollout. Our doors are now closed to non- funds, loss or reduction in employment/income and loss and reduction of other supports, such as resident Members and the public until further grants for your research or your enrolment. We notice. do not want anyone who is experiencing financial This means that we are no longer able to difficulty to give – and we have willing donors welcome you for breakfast, lunch and dinner in who really must not give again at this time. the main dining room. All GU-Collegiate events However, our residents and staff are particularly are cancelled. We shall thus not be hosting vulnerable and we are very much reliant on both Monthly Luncheons, College Tables, the Welcome to continue our operations. If you can help, please BBQ, Italian Conversation Dinners, Bridge nights, give to our COVID-19 Financial Relief Fund – see Special Morning Breakfasts, the Women’s Forum the link below my message. and the Ramadan Iftar Dinner. We will overcome this challenging time. Our annual Influenza and Vaccination Day – originally scheduled for 28th April – has also been I look forward to welcoming you all back to Graduate House or to communicating with you cancelled for 2020. In discussion with the CEO through our website, email, telephone and social of the Influenza Specialist Group, it was agreed that the risks in proceeding outweighed the risks media in opportune time. Though the staff and I are extremely stretched at the moment, I do so in cancelling. It was also acknowledged that the hope to keep hearing your beautiful voices and social distancing and other measures taken to seeing your beautiful faces as regularly as we can. prevent the transmission of COVID-19 have been reducing the transmission of influenza in Yours sincerely and take good care, other countries, and that we may see a similar Dr Kerry Bennett reduction here. CEO/Head of College Graduate House remains open only to residents. Their health and safety is paramount, as is the Donate Here: health and safety of our staff who are at the frontline of service delivery. As mentioned COVID-19-RELIEF-FINANCIAL-DONATION previously, we have been, and will continue to, adhere strictly to the guidelines from the https://www.graduatehouse.com.au/covid-19-reVictorian Department of Health and Human lief-financial-donation/ Services.
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COMING DATES
April international days April Fool’s Day 1st April
April Fool’s Day dates back to the sixteenth century when Europeans transitioned from the pre-Gregorian calendar. Previously, the calendar year started around spring. Those who continued to celebrate the new year at the start of April were labelled ‘fools’. The day is associated with pranks and practical jokes, symbolic of the nature of spring.
International Children’s Book Day 2nd April
International Children’s Book Day aims to inspire a love of reading and to lift the profile of children’s books. Founded on the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen, a famous fairytale writer, the day is organised by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). IBBY selected Slovenia as the 2020 International Children’s Book Day sponsor.
World Autism Awareness Day 2nd April
World Autism Awareness Day was established in 2007 to further advance the rights and well-being of those with disabilities, including people with learning differences and developmental disabilities. Increased knowledge of autism and of the autism spectrum is enabling people to enjoy equal opportunities and to participate more fully in society.
National Walk to Work Day 3rd April
National Walk to Work Day is an international day to encourage people to walk to work and improve their health by incorporating exercise as part of their daily routine. The day has the dual impact of being beneficial for the person walking, as well as promoting mindfulness of the individual’s carbon footprint.
World Health Day In 2020, World Health Day’s theme is on the vital role that nurses and midwives play in providing healthcare around the world, and calls for a strengthening of 7th April
these workforces. This year, the first ever State of the World’s Nursing Report 2020 was released on this date, providing a global picture of the nursing workforce. In this time of COVID-19, we are indebted and deeply grateful to these workers on the front line.
Passover 8th April
Passover, a major Jewish holiday, celebrates spring, birth and rebirth, freedom and the taking of responsibility for oneself, the community and the world. This Feast of the Unleavened Bread commences on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan and lasts for 7-8 days.
Good Friday 10th April
Good Friday, considered to be the most holy day in the Christian calendar, recognises the crucifixion of Jesus. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known use of the day’s name is found in the South English Legendary from 1290.
International Day of Human Space Flight 12th April
In 2011, the United Nations (UN) launched this day as a way ‘to celebrate each year, at the international level, the beginning of the space era for mankind’. The UN also produced the ‘magna carta of space’ – a treaty on the Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space; and launched an agency for this area called the Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).
EASTER SUNDAY 12th April
Easter Sunday commemorates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD and as written in the New Testament of the Christian bible. The word ‘Easter’ is believed to have been derived from ‘Eostara’, the goddess of rebirth.
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COMING DATES
ORTHODOX EASTER 19th April
Orthodox churches use the older, Julian calendar to determine when Easter is each year, whereas Western churches use the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar for much of the world.
Chinese language Day 20th April
Chinese, one of the official languages of the UN, is celebrated annually on this important day of Guyu (the 6th Chinese solar term). During Guyu, tribute is paid to Cangjie, an important figure in ancient China, who, it is claimed, was the official historian to the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters.
Earth Day 22nd April
The goal of Earth Day is to ‘build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and the planet’. Founded in 1970, the day is committed to diversifying, educating and activating the environmental movement worldwide of more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries.
International Mother Earth Day 22nd April
The purpose of International Mother Earth Day is to remind us of the earth and its ecosystems, and thus of life and our sustenance. The day aims to raise our collective awareness and responsibility to nature and to promote harmony with the earth in balancing the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations.
English Language Day 23rd April
One of the two working languages of the UN, English Language Day is observed on both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. The purpose of this UN language day and of those established for each of the six official UN languages, is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity.
Ramadan begins 24th April
Every year, the most sacred month in the Islamic calendar - Ramadan - is ushered in and heralded by the sighting of the new crescent moon. Ramadan is determined by the lunar calendar, and so the date varies on the Gregorian calendar by 11 days every year. This month is of fasting, prayer, reflection and community.
World Malaria Day 25th April
In 2020, World Malaria Day aims to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment towards malaria prevention and control. It follows the 2019 grassroots campaign launch of ‘Zero malaria starts with me’, to keep the illness high on the political agenda, mobilise additional resources and empower communities to take responsibility for malaria prevention and care.
ANZAC Day 25th April
ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp and marks the day when Australian and New Zealand forces (the colloquially named ‘Anzacs’) landed and suffered heavy and tragic losses on the shores of Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. ANZAC Day is now the day Australians commemorate all those who died in all wars.
International Jazz Day 30th April
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) designated International Jazz Day in 2011, emphasising the power of ‘jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe’. The day unites communities, schools, artists, historians, academics and jazz enthusiasts in learning about jazz and its roots, and in raising awareness of the need for intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding and the strengthening of international cooperation and communication. 7
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COMING DATES
may international days World Press Freedom Day 3rd May
World Press Freedom Day was established in 1993. The day helps to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and recognise journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Mother’s Day 10th May
Mother’s Day recognises the work of mothers in the home and for society more broadly. Australia follows the same Mother’s Day tradition as the United States, celebrating the day on the second Sunday of May.
International Day of Families 15th May
The International Day of Families aims to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. Recognised as the basic unit of society, the UN acknowledges how families have changed over time, both in structure and due to global socioeconomic trends.
International Day of Light 16th May
The International Day of Light celebrates the role light plays in science, culture and art, education and sustainable development, as well as in such fields as medicine, communications and energy. The day is designed to enable these different sectors of society globally to participate in integrated activities that help to build the foundations for peaceful societies.
World Information Society Day 17th May
Also known as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, World Information Society highlights the possibilities that the internet and other information and communication technology (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as ways to bridge the digital divide. Held on 17th May, the day marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and creation of the International Telecommunications Union.
World Bee Day 20th May
World Bee Day seeks to lift awareness of the importance of pollinators. Increasingly under threat from human activity bees contribute significantly to sustainable development, food security and to conserving biodiversity. The date coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, who pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in Slovenia.
International Day for Biological Diversity 22nd May
The International Day for Biological Diversity was established in 2000 in recognition of the ‘Convention on Biological Diversity’ which documents the importance of “conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources”. This Convention is ratified by 196 nations.
Ramadan ends 23rd May
Ramadan ends at sundown on Saturday, 23rd May. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and ends a month of fasting, prayer and self-evaluation for Muslims. The end of Ramadan is celebrated by Eid al-Fitr, which translates (from Arabic) as ‘the feast of the breaking of the fast’.
National Sorry Day 26th May
National Sorry Day is held annually on 26th May, in recognition and acknowledgement of members of the Stolen Generation. The first National Sorry Day was held on 26th May 1998 to commemorate the anniversary of the landmark Bringing Them Home report and to remember the grief, suffering and injustice experienced by the Stolen Generations.
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COMING DATES
april - Dr Georgina Sweet
may - Sir robert menzies
Images from our 2020 calendar which is available for purchase. 9
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FEATURE
Understanding emotions is nearly as important as IQ for students’ academic success by Caroline MacCann, Amirali Minbashian and Kit Double
The ability to understand emotions contributes almost as much to students’ grades as their IQ.
emotional intelligence with items like “I am motivated to succeed”.
Past studies show two personal qualities are important for student academic success – intelligence and conscientiousness.
Others tested emotional intelligence directly by measuring participants’ emotional abilities with skill-based tasks. For example, test takers might be asked to identify which emotion is expressed in a face.
IQ scores explain about 15 per cent of the differences between students’ grades. Conscientiousness, such as having the diligence to do enough study, explains about 5 per cent.
We found that, overall, emotional intelligence explained about 4 per cent of differences in students’ academic achievement. But some emotional intelligence types were more important than others.
Our recent research has found emotional intelligence explains 4 per cent of differences between students’ achievement. However, the ability to understand emotions, a component of emotional intelligence, explains about 12 per cent of differences in students’ grades.
Skill-based emotional intelligence, such as reading people’s faces, explained 6 per cent of differences in academic achievement, but selfratings of emotional abilities explained 1 per cent of differences. So, emotional skills assessed from the outside are more important for students’ academic performance than students’ self-ratings (or self-beliefs) about their emotional skills.
What is emotional intelligence? Different researchers use slightly different definitions of emotional intelligence. Some define emotional intelligence as the ability to perceive, use, understand and manage your own and other people’s emotions. This is called “ability emotional intelligence”.
But some emotional skills were more important than others. The two most important emotional skills for academic success were understanding emotions and managing emotions.
Others also include character traits such as optimism, impulse control and the ability to motivate yourself. This is called “mixed emotional intelligence” because it is a mix of abilities and character traits.
Students who can understand emotions can accurately label their own and others’ emotions. They know what causes emotions, how emotions change and how they combine. Students who can manage emotions know how to regulate their emotions in a stressful situation. They also know what to do to maintain good social relationships with others.
We examined the findings of more than 150 studies on the link between emotional intelligence and academic performance. These studies included more than 42,000 students and 1,246 different estimations of the size of the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance.
Emotion management skills accounted for 7 per cent of differences in academic performance. Emotion understanding skills accounted for 12 per cent. That is, understanding emotions is more important for student success than conscientiousness (5 per cent) and almost as important as students’ IQ (15 per cent).
Some of the studies in our analysis used rating scales to assess emotional intelligence. Here, test-takers might rate their emotional abilities with items like “I am aware of the non-verbal messages other people send” or rate their mixed www.graduatehouse.com.au
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FEATURE
Emotionally intelligent students tend to be more intelligent as well as more conscientious. But our study found it wasn’t just that emotionally intelligent students were also more likely to be intelligent and conscientious. We applied a statistical technique called metaregression to examine what the effect of emotional intelligence would be if everyone had the same level of conscientiousness and intelligence.
boredom and frustration to master dull or difficult material. They can learn from negative feedback or failure rather than be derailed by disappointment.
For students who had the same levels of conscientiousness and intelligence, emotional intelligence was still linked with higher academic performance.
Second, students with higher emotional intelligence can form better social relationships with their classmates and teachers. They can get help with schoolwork or with social and emotional needs when they need it.
For students with the same levels of intelligence and conscientiousness: • self-ratings of mixed emotional intelligence (the one involving both skills and character traits) explained 2.3 per cent of differences in performance;
Third, many non-technical academic subjects require an understanding of human emotions and social relations as an inherent part of the subject matter. Analysing universal themes of love and betrayal in Shakespeare plays requires not just verbal skills but emotional knowledge and skill. Analysing the role of charismatic leaders in the rise of fascist regimes likewise requires social knowledge and analysis.
• emotion understanding skills explained 3.9 per cent of differences in performance; and • emotion management skills explained 3.6 per cent of differences in performance. Why is emotional intelligence linked to good grades?
Our results show that teachers, parents and students should focus on student’s emotional skills not just for student’s well-being, but for their ability to succeed academically.
There are at least three reasons why we believe emotional intelligence relates to higher academic performance. First, students with higher emotional intelligence can regulate their “academic emotions”. Students may feel anxious about tests and performance. They may feel bored when learning required dull material. And they may feel frustrated or disappointed when they try their hardest but still can’t quite get the hang of a task.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Carolyn MacCann is Associate Professor, University of Sydney; Amirali Minbashian is Associate Professor, UNSW; Kit Double is Research Associate, University of Oxford.
Students who can regulate these tough emotions will achieve more. Anxiety will not impair the test performance. They can push through the 11
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FEATURE
toilet paper hoarding Jay L Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Questrom School of Business, Boston University
100 rolls a year
The other day I went into Costco to buy some toilet paper. It came as a small shock when I couldn’t find a single roll.
The average person in the US uses about 100 rolls of toilet paper each year. If most of it came from China, this could be a huge problem because supply chains from that country have been severely disrupted as a result of COVID-19. The US, however, imports very little toilet paper –less than 10% in 2017. And most of that comes from Canada and Mexico.
The new coronavirus is inspiring panic buying of a variety of household products such as toilet paper in cities across the US and the world. While it makes sense to me that masks and hand sanitizer would be in short supply because of the outbreak, I wondered why people would be hoarding toilet paper – a product that is widely produced and doesn’t help protect from a respiratory virus like COVID-19. Toilet paper is becoming so valuable there’s even been at least one armed robbery to get it.
The US has been mass producing toilet paper since the late 1800s. And while other industries like shoe manufacturing have fled the country, toilet paper manufacturing has not. Today there are almost 150 US companies making this product.
As an economist, I am fascinated by why people hoard products that are not having supply problems. Toilet paper hoarding in particular has a curious history and economy.
Why people hoard So then why would people hoard a product that is abundant? Australia has also suffered from panic buying of toilet paper despite plentiful domestic supply. A risk expert in the country explained it this way: “Stocking up on toilet paper is … a relatively cheap action, and people like to think that they are ‘doing something’ when they feel at risk.”
Past panics This wouldn’t be the first panic over toilet paper. In 1973, US consumers cleared store shelves of the rolls for a month based on little more than rumors, fears and a joke. At the time, Americans were already worrying about limited supplies of products like gasoline, electricity and onions. A government press release warning of a potential shortage in toilet paper led to a lot of press coverage but no outright panic buying until Johnny Carson, a famous late night television host, joked about it during his opening monologue. Instead of laughing, people took it seriously and began to hoard toilet paper.
This is an example of “zero risk bias” in which people prefer to try to eliminate one type of possibly superficial risk entirely rather than do something that would reduce their total risk by a greater amount. Hoarding also makes people feel secure. This is especially relevant when the world is faced with a novel disease over which all of us have little or no control. However, we can control things like having enough toilet paper in case we are quarantined.
Americans aren’t alone in panic buying to ensure they have plenty of squares to spare. Venezuelans hoarded the commodity in 2013 as a result of a drop in production, leading the government to seize a toilet paper factory in an effort to ensure more supply. It failed to do the trick.
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It’s also possible we are biologically programmed to hoard. Birds, squirrels and other animals tend to hoard stuff.
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FEATURE
How to handle shortages
Modern economies run on trust and confidence. COVID-19 is breaking down that trust. People are losing confidence that they will be able to go outside and get what they need when they need it. This leads to hoarding items like toilet paper.
There are a number of ways to handle shortages, including those caused by hoarding. The best way is to convince people to stop doing it, especially with plentiful products like toilet paper. However, logic often fails when dealing with emotional issues.
While the government advises preparing for a pandemic by storing a two-week supply of food and water, there’s no need to hoard stuff, particularly products that are unlikely to suffer from a shortage. As for my local Costco, I stopped by a few days later, and the toilet paper aisle was fully stocked.
Another way is by rationing. Formal rationing is when governments allocate goods by specifying exactly how much each family gets. The US used rationing during World War II to allocate gasoline, sugar and even meat. China rationed a lot of goods including food, fuel and bicycles until the 1990s.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
Sometimes businesses enforce informal rationing. Stores prevent customers from buying all they want. The Costco I went to for toilet paper had a sign limiting shoppers to five packages per customer. 13
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FEATURE
Tips for Self-isolation from an Amateur By an anonymous Resident Member
to schedule your day as much as possible, but it’s okay if you don’t want to work. Don’t push yourself too hard. I managed to produce about 3,000 words at home when stuck in China, but now I realised they are a pile of worthlessness. I should not have ‘faked’ working when I wasn’t in the mood for work at all. Given another chance, I would idle those three weeks away in a much happier way, instead of squeezing my brain in front of the desk and producing nothing out of nothing. I would have written fiction, poetry or letters, for instance.
Self-isolation blurs day and night, and there isn’t much difference between yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It is like falling into a time loop. Knowing how to entertain one’s soul becomes extremely important. Yet I feel reluctant to ‘lecture’ others on how to get along with self-isolation for I am well aware of the complexities of the human condition. We all have our own concerns, different commitments and various plans for 2020. I think Westerners are naturally more averse to self-isolation, although it isn’t easy at all for Asians either, at least the Chinese people I know. I still remember how my parents always wanted to venture out and begged for a 30-minute walk but were always turned down by the three ‘jailers’ of the house: me and my brothers.
We may never have a better opportunity than now to work on some long-dreamed ideas on which we didn’t have the time for in the precoronavirus days. Don’t give up on exercise, work-outs and eating healthily. Video call someone whenever you grow anxious and need people. Take a walk in the park for some fresh air, remembering to keep a safe distance from others, of course, when you feel like you are about to burn out. Lastly, helping others is one of the best ways to overcome the sense of loneliness and even futility. But don’t get yourself too exposed to heart-wrenching coronavirus stories if you have already started to feel upset or experience self-blame for not being able to help enough. Be aware and cautious about compassion fatigue for we need to stay strong to win this battle and to sustain our humanity.
For me, social distancing isn’t that hard, as this is what I will have to practise for the next three to four years or even longer while studying in Australia. Sociality is important for all professions, but for most of the time, I need to put myself into solitude to be a deep thinker and an efficient writer. Compared with many other students, who cannot really work at home, I am fortunate to be doing literary studies and what I need most for my research is always books, books and books. I might be forced to apply for a leave of absence to protect my candidature if I cannot carry out my overseas archival research by this year, but I have chosen to hold on to hope.
Being stuck in China wasn’t easy for me, especially with so much uncertainty ahead and so much work to be finished in Melbourne. Despair, self-doubt, and aspirated hope each and every Wednesday afternoon as the travel ban was extended, manifested into insomnia. These thoughts dominate my memory of February, and they are still as fresh today.
Having said that, good books, a sip of quality coffee, movies (not at the cinema, of course), plants awaiting care and love (I managed to resuscitate three dying plants belonging to my former officemates – I am so glad that I didn’t abandon them for they instantly transformed my room as if by magic!), and writing are all good ways to enrich a difficult, solitary day. Try www.graduatehouse.com.au
But I finally learned to look at lockdown as an opportunity, despite all its drawbacks and sad 14
FEATURE
She was a terrible player but she never gave up the idea of winning, even just once. I finally see something in me that was inherited from her. We emptied one room to create a small gym with a table tennis table.
complications. It is indeed a good opportunity to slow down, to be self-reflective, to be retrospective, and above all, to be the daughter of my parents, the sister for my brothers, and the loving companion for my partner. I am not saying I wasn’t able to fulfil my responsibilities as part of the family when far away from home, but I got so used to saying goodbye that I forgot that they might want me to stay a little longer.
There were, of course, some discussions on the coronavirus and, as you might expect, some tears. Some fell from sorrow, some from anger, but some expressed our heartfelt gratitude I wish the coronavirus outbreak never for frontline doctors, nurses, and many others who risk their lives for the country. We knew happened. We tried our best to not allow it to they were scared deep inside, but they were close ourselves off by the care, optimism and empowered by a greater purpose and their love fun we created together. The Chinese New for others. We should all practise care and love Year was ruined by the virus, but the hours and minutes I spent with my family brought back to for others, and we need this to see us through us some good old days. We tried one new recipe these dire and trying days and months. That is every day, with some turning out surprisingly what Graduate House has been doing, and I am delicious and the rest a total disaster. We played proud of being a resident here. card games at night, with the open knowledge that my mum would finally lose all of her money. 15
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FEATURE
Jessica Liew Keen to learn how to build a future
When she was young, she would often go on site visits with her father and look at house plans with him. She even drew up the floor plan for her bedroom when her father was designing their old home for the first time. She initially found studying architecture challenging, having come from a science and theoretical background to something more intangible and creative, and having to learn to “switch that side of my brain on”. While studying for her degree in 2001, Jessica won an architecture competition for codesigning, with Sherry Anne Kwok, the fish and chip shop (Fish Bar Fish and Chippery) and the ice cream shop (Limonetto Gelati) at Newquay Promenade, Docklands. She was also invited to work in the offices of Plus Architecture (SJB + NFK previously) through the Developed Design and Documentation stages of the project until construction was completed in 2003. After completing her studies, Jessica returned to work with Plus Architecture (her “one and only job”) as a Graduate Architect. She has since moved her way up the company to become a director. Plus Architecture’s goal is “to design good spaces for communities where they can come together and enjoy the space holistically”. The company gave her a lot of opportunities and her advice to people starting out is to “work hard first, and once you have acquired the skills, you can work smart”.
“I’m a keen learner,” says architect, Jessica Liew, and she continues to have a lifelong love of learning. Jessica finished Form 5 (Year 11) in Brunei, then applied for a scholarship to study Year 12 in Melbourne at Taylor’s College. She then applied to do a Bachelor of Architecture at RMIT – her main reason being that her father is a builder and he had always wanted her to be a civil engineer. Her father, her biggest inspiration, started work at 14, ran away from home in Kuching, Malaysia to Brunei, worked hard and built a life there. He started as a hardware shop assistant, and worked variously as a plumber, sub-contractor, carpenter and builder.
Three years after starting with Plus Architecture, she successfully registered as an architect. The built environment – defined as “the humanmade space in which people live, work and Jessica was more interested in becoming a recreate on a day-to-day basis” – is important fashion designer than an engineer. Noting, to Jessica. She started off handling smaller however, that many fashion designers did not projects and then moved onto “larger and larger study formally, she chose instead to study and larger projects”, each more complicated and architecture as it was design-related – “designing each working with increasingly larger teams. As buildings” – and would keep her father happy! an Associate and then an Associate Director, her www.graduatehouse.com.au
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FEATURE
Fish Bar Fish and Chippery, Docklands Photo credit: tripadvisor.com
Limonetto Gelati, Docklands. Photo credit: weekendnotes.com
more and staying up-to-date with the everchanging advancements in architecture, such as in artificial intelligence and smart technology. “My thirst for learning is still there,” she said. “I don’t want to be at a point whereby I stop learning. I want to keep learning.”
main task was to “win projects” for the company. Now, as Director, her work mainly involves “how to run a business more than being an architect”. Her biggest challenge was the lack of female mentors or role models and dealing with difficult clients, from which she learnt this lesson: “It’s about having enough knowledge to be confident to be standing where you are. You need to have the background knowledge and the confidence. Also, the confidence to admit that you don’t always have the answers.” Jessica’s advice to new graduates is to “please ask a lot of questions”. And to females entering the workforce: “Learn to speak up a lot earlier. People need to learn how to speak up. Learn from a female mentor who is different to you.”
Her fundamental goal is to “keep learning and enjoying” and her next ventures are in architecture for computer games and for cinematography. “You can branch into a lot of things and I want to know where those branches can get me.” Jessica and her passionate team at Plus Architecture have been, and continue to be, committed to delivering impactful designs through exploration and collaboration.
Jessica’s next task is working on the next generation, grooming the next Director. She thinks it’s important to let the next generation have their turn, and for her to focus on learning
Learn more about Plus Architecture at: www.plusarchitecture.com.au
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REVIEW
March Monthly Luncheon Ms Helen Parker OAM
They say that nothing changes your life as much as having a baby, and our March Graduate House Monthly Luncheon speaker, Helen Parker OAM, can vouch for that.
The experience, however, was not solely about motherhood. Helen says it “opened her eyes to the reality that my story was being replayed in the life of thousands of women in this nation”.
As founder of The Babes Project, Helen’s own life experience contributed to her establishing this one-of-a-kind organisation that supports pregnant women and “creates communities for Australia’s most vulnerable women”.
While at the hospital, the midwife started a conversation with her around support - about the kind of support young women need while having a baby. Beginning this conversation at Box Hill Hospital, she found herself with a new opportunity, and this was working in a clinic for young women.
Talking about her first-hand knowledge of the gaps experienced by new mothers, Helen says that her own story is one similar to a lot of women. In her own case, Helen fell pregnant while at university, at the age of 20, in her third year of an architecture degree.
“One day, I went to have coffee with a midwife, and chatting to her, she called the head of social work, the head of maternity ward and some other midwives and they said to me ‘we can’t engage the women that need this clinic and we think you might be the key’.”
“I felt a little bit ‘all over the place’ wanting to do both leadership roles but also wanting to create more community in my university campus.” All these activities came to a “screaming halt when I found out that I was pregnant”, she says.
“And that began my journey into how to engage, vulnerable, young women,” Helen says. Working in a program at Box Hill Hospital, Helen says it was there that she realised that this issue was a vital part in how we were raising the next generation, that women were making brave decisions, and yet they were alone and scared. The ‘system’ was helping but only really putting on a band-aid. Many people were giving things to women but no-one was linking these things together or understanding what their needs were.
The pregnancy was her ‘wake-up call’ that forced her to live more by her values and made her reassess her relationship. “When every person around me told me that I really shouldn’t have the baby, and that I wouldn’t be supported, I knew then, I needed to change my path.” Moving back to Melbourne, she walked into the Salvation Army and asked for help. There is nothing more confronting than walking into a place like that when you are pregnant, alone and scared, Helen says. To their credit, however, they chose to walk alongside her.
Finishing with the program after four years, followed by a couple more years of parenting, she soon realised that every woman in her life was a single mum, and that she had become the person that people went to about single parenting. Helen says she looked around and realised that it was the same problem she saw at Box Hill Hospital.
“And so I had two young women from the Salvation Army ... they were not parents, they’d never been at a birth before, and they rocked up to Box Hill Hospital on Melbourne Cup Day. The horses raced – and I had a baby. I wish motherhood were that easy. And so began the greatest learning curve of my life.” www.graduatehouse.com.au
Knowing there weren’t many positive options for vulnerable people in the community, Helen decided to open The Babes Project in 2009. This 18
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The Babes Project ”creates communities for Australia’s most vulnerable women”
Ms Helen Parker OAM
and was on the verge of being homeless. Helen worked with her, describing how slowly the young girl came to trust Helen. Realising that the young girl had no one to birth with her, Helen went with her.
centre provided support for women at all stages of pregnancy and parenting, and adopted a holistic approach. Opening in Croydon in 2009, it was incorporated that same year. Helen says she and her team were very excited to see it turn into a safe space for women.
Now having celebrated its 11th birthday, Helen proudly says the Croydon centre has helped between 700 to 900 women and runs a full perinatal program.
“It was the longest labour ever. She just talked and talked and talked. I just thought – this is really hard to hear. When there is nothing else to do than just wait in a room, waiting to have a baby. And you just think – how did we get to this place? She is our most vulnerable, and the system has let her down, and then I had the most amazing moment where I watched this young woman – so desperate for family – birth her own family. She birthed her baby girl and I got to see her transition from this lost, broken, fragile little being and then become someone, because she was someone’s mother.”
“There are so many complexities to a woman’s story but when she becomes pregnant she instantly becomes more vulnerable. And so, all we want to do is provide that safe space for her, and walk it out with her.”
Helen realised then that a lot of women are scared to ask for help, because they are scared they will have their children removed and become part of the system that created the problem.
Helen describes a situation when she was confronted with a case of a young girl who was pregnant, who had been in the state care system,
“So how do we re-create the system? How do we re-create hope – for a generation that seems quite hopeless? For a group of young people that has very little, positive outcomes?”
The organisation proved a huge learning curve, and the day after their opening, they had their first client enter, in her school uniform, with her school bag on her back. “In that moment, I knew that our idea had validity.”
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REVIEW
Helen says the stories they see across all three centres are very confronting. Helping women with children with serious health conditions is also challenging, and they are frequently supporting women who are feeling very alone and isolated. “I guess, for me, I am all about making change in our nation. I think sometimes that can feel overwhelming but I say we will not stop till all women in Australia know that they can access support and it is absolutely not okay for them to go without it.” Determined to be proactive in making change, The Babes Project can only work by helping one individual at a time. Committed to looking after the vulnerable people in society, Helen says society has to stop its tendency to apply ‘band-aid’ solutions for people.
Ms Helen Parker OAM (right) with her daughter Ariel at the Monthly Luncheon
Committed to changing these outcomes, Helen says The Babes Project is dedicated to walking alongside women in the long term.
“I needed more, I needed to be told I could do it. I needed to be told that there was something in me, as a young woman, that could be all my child needed. I needed those people to show me I could do it.”
The Croydon centre became successful and so they decided to replicate the model. “Frankston, at the time, had the highest teen pregnancy rate in metropolitan Melbourne. It is very different from our Croydon centre. It has a high amount of drug and alcohol abuse in families, with lots of teens there. We’ve had our two youngest mothers there: 12-year-olds.”
Helen says no one had any vision for her, let alone her child. Society still tells people that single parenting is not okay. The Babes Project also released their Rewriting Motherhood book which was launched at the Victorian Parliament. The book tells the story of 10 women who have been helped by The Babes Project.
Helen is proud to say their Frankston centre was crowdfunded. “We shared our vision, we like to think with all of Melbourne, or what was more likely Frankston, and we raised $54,000 in 35 days ... and that centre has just been a remarkable space.”
“This International Women’s Day (8th March) let us think about how women become vulnerable just because of how our society functions. Let’s be alert to that. Let’s think about how we can participate in making positive change.”
Working on from that success, Helen says they then decided to partially remedy the ‘Victoriaonly’ problem that they had, and quickly opened a third centre in Cairns.
Devoted to helping the thousands of young women who are vulnerable and in crisis, and needing a community to support them, Helen says The Babes Project is all about creating safe spaces, and enabling these women to become whatever they imagine.
Describing it as a “really humid, in your face, challenging demographic”, the group was able to crowdfund $68,000 in 30 days for the centre. Receiving referrals from around the country, the organisation changed their structure so they Find out more or donate to The Babes Project at: could be national, developed an app and began https://www.thebabesproject.com.au/donate a national support service with a nurse and midwife available on the phone or via Skype. This service has now enabled their first baby to be born in Katherine, in outback Australia. www.graduatehouse.com.au
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VALETE
Valete Dr RICHARD DAVID HARCOURT 1931-2020
Both Richard and his wife Alison were residents at Graduate House for six weeks in 2018. This brought them both even closer to our family here in Carlton, and we were very honoured to get to know this incredibly interesting, warm and academically gifted couple at a deeper level. Both Richard and Dr Alison Harcourt AO were awarded Honorary Life Membership of The Graduate Union at the 2019 AGM meeting. The following is an excerpt from a tribute from his cousin: Richard was my cousin but he was far more akin to a brother and friend. John and I spent much of our childhood with Richard and his much loved sister, Di, at their place or ours, playing cricket and discussing all manner of things. Richard was a many dimensional person; he had a wonderful spontaneous wit and he and I spent many happy times adding one absurdity to another in sustained conversations. He was a good cricketer, specialising in the hardest challenge of all, leg spin. It was an enormous privilege to have known him .. .like I’m sure, so many others, I love him and I shall miss him dearly.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Honorary Life Member Dr Richard Harcourt who passed away on Friday, 10th April 2020. Dr Harcourt holds a Bachelor of Science and a Diploma of Education from The University of Melbourne. Significantly also, in 1961, he was the very first student to graduate with a PhD from Monash University.
Geoff Harcourt, 9th April 2020 We share Geoff’s sentiments. He is very much missed and we all here feel a great deal of sadness. Of course, too, he will not be forgotten. A full version of the tribute will be published in a coming edition of The Melbourne Graduate.
A regular patron to our dining room, Richard was popular and much loved by all staff at Graduate House. He had a clever wit, a never-ending bank of quotes and a unique, quirky sense of humour. Over the almost daily lunch for several years he debated vigorously his views on valence theory and the reasons why he should have been awarded both a Brownlow and the Nobel Prize! 21
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GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS
Parkville Storytelling Project Graduate House
In 2019, the Metro Tunnel Creative Program ran workshops with numerous organisations across the Parkville precinct to come up with a theme that resonated with all institutions in the area. The organisations agreed that showcasing the precinct’s ‘unsung heroes’ would be a great way to share some noteworthy stories that people may not have heard. Around 20 organisations contributed information, and these were turned into stories by local writer Sonja Dechian. The stories were then given to local illustrators who engaged with the written pieces to bring them to life in their own creative way. One of these organisations was The Graduate Union, and we were fortunate to work alongside Sonja, who was able to perfectly capture the essence and ethos of our Association. We publish below her story about Graduate House (originally published in the August 2019 Newsletter).
As each of these students pursued their own destinies, the association they had established also continued to flourish. In 1957 The Graduate Union purchased Gladstone Terrace – a series of seven terraces in Carlton which soon become Graduate House, a residential college set up exclusively for postgraduates, welcoming a diverse group of graduates from universities across the world.
*** Graduate House By Sonja Dechian On 4th May 1911, a group of young graduates of The University of Melbourne met to establish an alumni association, a group that would welcome postgraduate students of all disciplines, backgrounds, ethnicities and life stages.
During the 1970s a further three terraces were added, thanks to benefactor Stella Mary Langford – an English teacher and Head Mistress also known as an astute investor. Ms Langford, a graduate of The University of Melbourne, is said to have been passing by Graduate House one day when she was drenched in an unexpected storm. The warden invited her in to dry off, offered her a cup of tea and an umbrella before she went on her way. It’s said she was so impressed by The Graduate Union and the kindness offered, that she made provisions for it in her will.
They called it the Melbourne University Graduate Association. The chairman was a student named John Monash, who would go on to become one of Australia’s best-known war commanders. Also present that day was Helen Sexton, just the third woman to graduate from Medicine at Melbourne University, who would play a key role in setting up the Queen Victoria Hospital for Women and Children. Another founding member was a future Prime Minister – a young Robert Menzies. www.graduatehouse.com.au
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GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS
of an 11-storey residential building. With 136 new rooms, this will double the accommodation available, and continue to expand on The Graduate Union’s rich legacy as Melbourne University’s only graduate-only college, providing a home for graduates from all corners of Australia, and the world. *** Artist Alice Lindstrom transformed Sonja’s story into an illustration of Graduate House, showing “a place where diversity is celebrated and everyone is family”. This illustration is now on display on a panel on the hoardings of the Grattan St gantries. Alice Lindstrom studied Philosophy, graduating with a Bachelor of Humanities from the University of Adelaide. Shortly afterwards, Alice completed a Bachelor of Design at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). After working as a theatre designer in Sydney, Alice returned to the University of Adelaide and completed a Master of Museum Studies and a Graduate Diploma in Art History.
Throughout the 80s and 90s Graduate House continued to expand, with the purchase and redevelopment of further property. But for residents it was the sense of community spirit and the possibility of lasting friendships that made Graduate House a home.
Alice works in paper collage, using cut and paste techniques, painting and preparing the paper beforehand, before cutting and assembling it to create textured and painterly collages. Her aesthetic draws on diverse influences, including mid-century illustration and design, folk art as well as Modern art movements. Some of her clients include Penguin Random House New York, Disney, The City of Melbourne, MoMA, Penguin Random House Australia, Harper Collins Publishing, Soho House London, Victorian Women’s Trust, and ABC Radio National.
By the 2000s a larger and more modern residence was necessary, and so the new Graduate House was opened, with function rooms, a bistro and state-of-the-art kitchen. Today Graduate House remains a dynamic and exciting place to live, learn and meet new friends. Here, postgraduate students find security and friendship in a nurturing environment. Residents describe breakfast time at Graduate House as a “small United Nations” – a place where diversity is celebrated and everyone is family. Sixty years after its inception, in 2017, Graduate House launched a campaign to fund construction 23
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GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS
Seen at Graduate House 10 year ex-residents reunion stone grill Ex-residents who lived at Graduate House in 2010 and 2011 held a get together at Graduate House on 21st February and enjoyed our Stone Grill meals. All are now well into successful and productive careers. We wish them the very best as they continue on their graduate pathway journeys and look forward to welcoming them back in the near future. From left: Daniel Mudie, Mike Roy, Candice Tan, Mehmet Gurkan, staff member Bill Mihelakis, Leslie De Koninck, Hien Doan, Anna Thang.
Melba Group Lunch The Melba group met at the end of February for their first monthly luncheon for 2020. The Melba Group is a social gathering of women from diverse fields and occupations, who gather to discuss cultural and social issues that affect their work and the interests of women.
The February gathering guests were (L-R) Shiela Byard, Helen Hill, Elizabeth Owen, Pat Grimshaw, Marion Turnbull, Christine Harrison, Margaret Sawyer, Helen Clemson, Brenda Richards, Sara Murphy, Ruth McDonald and Pat Ryan.
The Annual General Meeting of The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne postponed due to covid-19 outbreak The global health crisis around COVID-19 has required Council to postpone the Annual General Meeting. Council members regret this very much but it has been made necessary because the Annual General Meeting could not take place under current restrictions without total reliance upon electronic means which, in turn, would make it difficult for many Members to participate. Please rest assured that the Annual General Meeting will be rescheduled at a later date in accordance with all regulatory guidelines to ensure the safety of Members, residents, staff and all guests of The Graduate Union. We have already sought approval from the regulator to postpone the meeting as many other organisations in our position have done. www.graduatehouse.com.au
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FEEDBACK/ POSTPONED EVENTS
Feedback Dining Room Feedback Organising our event at Graduate House is always an excellent experience. If I say the food was exceptional, it implies that it isn’t always? Can I say the presentation and flavour of the fish and veg was exceptional, and we’ll put it down to the ingredients available at this time of year? Also the fruit platters were very generous, and so full of flavour (again all the melons are great now), and a most interesting cheese selection. So many women send their compliments to the chef/ caterers for a really lovely lunch. We love your staff and feel very fortunate to have your services. Melba Group It is always so easy to organise a function here. Rosie is a joy to deal with and we feel very confident knowing that when we arrive, things will be in place. And if we forget anything or something is not quite right, it is easily fixed. It takes the stress out of events. All we have to worry about is the program. The food was delicious and plentiful. And all the staff are so friendly and helpful. Everything was perfect – our function room suited our needs and it is a joy to deal with the staff at Graduate House. Catherine Gosling, Association of German Teachers of Victoria Inc. Organising our event was excellent, as always. I can’t think of anything that needed improvement. Graduate House staff are always so responsive and helpful. Function rooms are suitable and food was excellent. Staff, as always, were very helpful. Penny Beeston, Geography Teachers’ Association Victoria.
Your feedback is important The lucky feedback winner for March is Ms Elizabeth Carvosso who won a bottle of De Bortoli Sacred Hill Brut Cuvée. All Dining Room Feedback Forms will be in the Monthly Draw and in the running for the Year‑End Prize of a $500 Coles Myer Gift Voucher drawn at the Members Christmas Party on Friday, 11th December 2020.
Postponed Events Due to stringent safety measures put in place to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Graduate House has postponed the GUCollegiate events listed here.
Special Morning Breakfast 14th April, 12th May, 16th June
Women’s Forum 15th April, 20th May, 17th June
Monthly Luncheon
1st April - John Basiran, 6th May - Cheryl Lacey, 3rd June - Alfred Poulos
College Table
Italian Conversation Dinner
GU Influenza and Vaccination Day
24th April, 15th May
7th, 21st April, 5th, 19th May, 9th, 23rd June
28th April
Bridge NIGHTS
GU Annual General Meeting and Dinner
1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th April, 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th May 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th June
28th May
We thank you for your cooperation and understanding during this period.
ramadan iftar dinner 8th May 25
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ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS
ACADEMIC and PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTÂ MEETINGS The following groups from The University of Melbourne have convened meetings, workshops and events at Graduate House during the month of February and March 2020. Department of Infrastructure Engineering
Faculty of Science Helen Freeman Awards
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education
4th, 14th February, 3rd, 12th March 164 attendees
11th March 12 attendees
21st February, 6th March 36 attendees
13th, 14th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th February 321 attendees
School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Research, Innovation and Commercialisation
26th February, 12th March 55 attendees
17th March 10 attendees
University of Melbourne Strategic Selling Workshop 19th March 30 attendees
UoM Operational Performance Group COVID-19 De-brief 4th March 16 attendees
The patronage of Organisation Members in charitable, not-for-profit, government and professional development sectors is acknowledged, as is that of our many Members who hold their functions at Graduate House.
Association of German Teachers of Victoria Inc. (AGTV)
Australian Asian Association (AAA)
Australian Calabrese Cultural Association (ACCA)
Australian Society for Music Education (ASME)
6th, 27th February, 12th March 103 attendees
10th February, 10th March 12 attendees
18th February, 17th March 14 attendees
12th February, 11th March 17 attendees
Australian School of Applied Management (ASAM)
Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM)
Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE)
Care Connect Ltd
13th, 14th, 24th, 28th February, 2nd, 5th, 16th, 17th March 236 attendees
11th, 12th, 19th February 57 attendees
5th March 27 attendees
20th February 15 attendees
Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV)
Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc (GTAV)
John Cain Foundation
League of Women Voters of Victoria
28th February 21 attendees
7th, 10th February 65 attendees
19th February 83 attendees
10th February 12 attendees
www.graduatehouse.com.au
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ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS
We thank all convenors and delegates of academic, professional development and research events for their contribution to the fight against the spread of COVID-19 by cancelling and postponing their functions. This is a very difficult time for all who organise such important learning and development group sessions and we very much understand how hard it has been to see so many people not come together as originally planned. We miss you all and very much look forward to seeing you later in the year. Wishing you safety, health and peace of mind.
Melba Group
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
Modern Greek Teachers Association of Victoria (MGTAV)
Mosaic Lab
28th February 13 attendees
3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21stt February 235 attendees
13th February, 11th March 11 attendees
4th, 5th March 20 attendees
Order of St John
Parkville Conference of St Vincent de Paul
Probus Club Inc Carlton-Parkville
Social Education Victoria (SEV)
3rd February, 2nd March 17 attendees
17th February, 16th March 20 attendees
11th February, 10th March 140 attendees
18th February 12 attendees
Rotary Carlton Rotary Club of Carlton Board Meetings, Book Fair and Heritage Cluster
The Graduate Union The Graduate Union Collegiate Events and Governance Meetings
11th, 18th, 19th, 25th February, 3rd, 10th, 11th March 149 attendees
3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th February, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th March 559 attendees
Social Work Department
University Lodge
Wellspring Community (Victoria)
Women & Leadership Australia
4th February 8 attendees
11th February 20 attendees
26th February 5 attendees
25th February 28 attendees
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FIRST NATIONS
Wominjeka (Welcome)
Koorie Oral Histories are Online
The generous support of Aboriginal Victoria and Viva Energy Australia has enabled new oral histories to be recorded and ensures that the existing Oral History Collections are properly stored and preserved for the benefit of future generations.
Since the late 1980s, Koorie Heritage Trust has worked with Victorian Aboriginal Elders to record and preserve their stories. Oral History is the oldest form of sharing knowledge and culture. Aboriginal people of Australia have been sharing their stories orally for 60,000 years or more. Sadly, if these stories are not shared, they will be lost, as the prehistory to this country is not written.
Listen to these oral histories and be sure to share with others! Oral histories can be found here: http://bit. ly/38V8gbZ
This online exhibition presents a selection of oral history recordings from this collection. www.graduatehouse.com.au
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FIRST NATIONS
Wominjeka (Welcome)
Victorian government implements a redress scheme for stolen generation The Victorian State government will establish a landmark Stolen Generation Redress scheme to address the trauma and suffering caused by the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.
many Aboriginal children from their families, creating what is today referred to as the ‘Stolen Generation’. In 2018, a survey found many Stolen Generation members still suffer health, social and economic disadvantage, with up to 70 per cent relying on welfare and more than half living with disability or a chronic health condition.
Announced by Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gavin Jennings, on 25th March 2020, the scheme will see $10 million invested towards a range of redress options.
Such a scheme was one of the key items raised at the first meeting of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, which was set up by the Andrews government to negotiate a framework for a treaty.
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gavin Jennings said, “This is about delivering members of the Stolen Generation the recognition, respect and support they deserve and acknowledging how deeply damaging this policy was for so many.”
The consultation process will begin this year, with the scheme to begin in 2021.
Recognising the scope of the redress, Premier Daniel Andrews said, “We say sorry, but the words are not enough – redress is about tangible support for people who are still suffering, many years on from this horrific policy.”
The Andrews government is deeply supportive of self-determination, putting Aboriginal Victorians at the centre of decision-making, ensuring they have control of their own lives and their own futures. The scheme will exist alongside other initiatives supporting Stolen Generation members like Connecting Home Limited and the Koorie Family History Service.
“Despite the wrongs done to them, Aboriginal children, families and communities remain strong in their cultural heritage and identity – and we will be guided by their voices as we take action to right these wrongs.”
“We can’t change the past, but this will make an enormous difference to the lives of so many Aboriginal Victorians who were so badly treated by their state and nation.”
Redress options include redress payments, funding for counselling, and funding for a funeral or memorial fund. The funding may also go toward assisting survivors tell their stories and ensuring that they are suitably supported in making redress applications.
Find out more about the redress scheme at: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/righting-pastwrongs-with-stolen-generations-redress/
Acting under past state laws, Victorian authorities previously forcibly removed 29
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INNOVATION
Innovation Ancestor of all animals identified in Australian fossils
Geologists think that an Australian fossil which lived more than 555 million years ago may be the first ancestor on the family tree that contains most animals today, including humans. This wormlike creature, called Ikaria wariootia, is the earliest known bilaterian, an organism with a front and back, two symmetrical sides and an opening at either end joined by a gut. The discovery was made in Ediacaran period deposits in Australia. The fossils are between 2 mm and 7 mm long, with the largest being the size of a grain of rice. Found by a team of University of California (UC) geologists, the discovery was published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Image source: https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2020/03/23/ancestor-all-animals-identified-australian-fossils
The discovery of Ikaria wariootia came after the UC team noticed minuscule, oval impressions near some of the burrows. A 3D laser scanner was thence used to reveal the regular, consistent shape of a cylindrical body about 1-2 mm wide and with a distinct head, a tail and grooved musculature. This creature was the perfect shape and size to have made the burrows.
This ancestor is one of the earliest complex multicellular organisms, including sponges and algal mats, that have variable shapes. Known collectively as the Ediacaran Biota, most are not directly related to animals that exist today. The development of bilateral symmetry was a vital step in the evolution of animal life as it enabled organisms to move purposefully. A multitude of animals, ranging from worms to dinosaurs to humans, developed in accordance with a similar bilateral body plan.
This tiny ancestor was named Ikaria wariootia to acknowledge the original custodians of the land where it was found. The genus name comes from Ikara, meaning ‘meeting place’ in the Adnyamathanha land. The species name comes from Warioota Creek, which runs from the Flinders Ranges to Nilpena Station.
Evolutionary biologists had previously predicted that the genetics of modern animals would come from a bilaterian ancestor that was simple and small, with rudimentary sensory organs. Preserving and identifying the fossilised remains of such an animal was regarded as difficult, if not impossible.
Regardless of its relatively simple shape, Ikaria wariootia was a complex organism in comparison to others from the period. Ikaria clearly moved by contracting muscles across its body like a worm and fed on buried organic matter, revealing that it probably had a mouth, anus and a gut.
For 15 years, scientists had agreed that fossilised burrows found in the 555 million year old Ediacaran period deposits in Nilpena (directly north of Adelaide), South Australia, had been made by bilaterians. Until recently, however, there had been no sign of the creature that had made the burrows. www.graduatehouse.com.au
Find out more about this discovery at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2020/03/200323152108.htm
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INNOVATION
Innovation Termite mounds show the way to a low emission future
Metallic blue crust in soils and on termite mounds found in Western Australia are now being seen as signposts, and indicators of hidden metal deposits, according to new research from the national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). These hidden metal deposits are seen as essential to support the world’s transition to low emission technologies. Conducted in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia, the study of new advances in sample analysis showed how metallic blue crusts, referred to as manganese crusts, display unique zinc signatures that indicate the presence of other base metals in nearby areas.
The blue metallic shine of manganese crust, shows clearly in the southern Pilbara region of WA.
up in a range of natural materials such as soils, termite mounds and vegetation,” Dr Spinks said.
These crusts are also found in rock and cave varnishes, making them simple exploration tools for base metals like nickel and cobalt, metals which will be needed to support a transition towards a low emission future.
“The zinc is altered as it moves from the metal deposit to the surface, which has traditionally made it unreliable as an exploration tool, but we’ve been able to apply recent advances in data analysis to understand it in more detail.”
Lead scientist of the research, Dr Sam Spinks, said the CSIRO’s new exploration tools and processes are helping to tackle the global challenge of sustainable energy and resources.
“This new research shows we can now measure zinc variations, or isotopes, so accurately that we can identify what metal deposit lies deep underground.” Termite mounds have previously been used in Australian exploration, with earlier CSIRO research finding that termites bring up small particles from ore deposits and store them in their mounds.
“Australian explorers need new, cost-effective techniques to find the next generation of deposits below the surface,” Dr Spinks said. “As the world transitions to a low emission future, there’s a need for more nickel and cobalt to build electric vehicles and batteries to store renewable energy. We’ve shown that analysing zinc isotopes found in manganese crusts has huge potential to be used to explore for these metal deposits, and others.”
“Australian exploration companies have been analysing samples from termite mounds in gold exploration in recent years. Now zinc offers another technique for use in broader environments and to find a range of metals,” CSIRO research group leader, Dr Yulia Uvarova said. These research findings have been published in the scientific journal, Chemical Geology. Find out more at: https://www.csiro.au/en/News/Newsreleases/2020/Termite-mounds-map-path-to-lowemissions-future
The study analysed termite mounds and soils close to a zinc-lead-silver deposit, comparing this data to samples from elsewhere, to prove the connection. “Zinc is commonly found in most base metal deposits, and over time, it is released and ends 31
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GRADUATE HOUSE SERIAL
Scheherazade and Shahryar by Ferdinand Keller, 1880
THE STORY OF THE FISHERMAN AND THE JINNI continued — One thousand and one nights serial
Dunyazad said to her sister, “Please finish this tale; you are not sleepy!” So Scheherazade resumed: “it has reached me, O auspicious King, that when the fisherman said to the jinni, “I will never believe you until I see you inside with my own eyes”, the evil spirit shook and became a vapour which condensed and entered the jar little by little until it was all inside when lo! the fisherman made haste to take the leaden cap and stoppered the mouth of the jar and called out to the jinni, “Choose what death you will die! By God, I will throw you into the sea and build myself a house here, and whoever comes here I will warn him against fishing here and say to them: “There is a jinni in these waters who gives, as a last favour, a choice of deaths and fashion of slaughter to the man who saves him!”
years. Now I will leave you there until the hour of Judgment. Did I not say to you, ‘Spare me and God shall spare you; and do not slay me lest God slay you?’ But you spurned my supplication and had no intention but to deal ungraciously with me, and God has now thrown you into my hands and I am more cunning than you.” The jinni said, “let me out and I make you prosperous.” The fisherman said, “You lie, you accursed! My case with you is that of King Younan’s Wazir and the sage Douban.” “Who was the Wazir of King Younan and who was the sage Douban? What was the story about them?” the jinni asked, whereupon the fisherman began to tell The Tale of the Wazir and the Sage Douban.
“Know, O jinni, that there was once in a city When the jinni heard this from the fisherman of Persia a powerful and wealthy king, named and found himself shut up in the jar, he knew Younan, who had guards and troops and that the fisherman had outwitted him. He strove auxiliaries of every kind, but he was afflicted to get out but could not because the Solomon’s with leprosy which defied the efforts of his seal prevented him. He began humbly to say, “I physicians and wise men. He drank potions did but jest with you.” But the other answered, and swallowed powders and used unguents. “You lie, O vilest of the jinni, and meanest and All to no avail and none of the physicians could filthiest!” He set off with the bottle for the sea, cure him. At last, there came to the city a great the jinni calling out “No! No!” and he calling physician, stricken in years, whose name was out “Yes! Yes!” The jinni softened his voice and Douban. He had studied many books: Greek, humbled himself, saying, “What would you do Persian, Roman, Arabian, and Syrian; and was with me, fisherman?” “I will throw you back skilled in astronomy and medicine — both into the sea,” he answered, “where you have theoretical and practical. He was familiar with been housed for a thousand and eight hundred all plants, herbs and grasses, whether harmful www.graduatehouse.com.au
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GRADUATE HOUSE SERIAL
the mallet and the ball. The King, accompanied by his Emirs and Chamberlains, Wazirs and Lords of the realm, went there. As soon as he arrived, Douban came up to him and handing him the bat said, “Take this mallet and grip it as I do; ride along the horse-course, and leaning well over your horse strike the ball with all your might until the palm of your hand and your body perspire. The medicine will penetrate through your palm and will permeate your body. When you have done this, the medicine remains in you. Return to your palace and enter the bath and wash yourself, then lie down to sleep. You will find yourself cured and peace be with you!”
or beneficial, and was versed in the learning of philosophers. In brief, he had made himself master of all sciences, medical and other. He had not been long in the town before he heard of the leprosy with which God had smitten the King and how all doctors and wise men had failed to heal him. He sat up through the night in deep thought and when dawn broke and morning appeared, he donned his best dress and went in to see King Younan. He kissed the ground before him, then prayed for the endurance of his honour and prosperity in fairest language and made himself known, saying, “O King, tidings have reached me of what has happened to you and how the host of physicians have proved themselves unavailing to abate it. I can cure you without making you drink any medicine or anointing you with ointment.” When King Younan heard this, he said in huge surprise, “How will you do this? By God, if you cure me, I will enrich you even to your children’s children and I will give you sumptuous gifts; whatever you wish shall be yours and you shall be my companion and my friend.” The King then gave him a dress of honour and entreated him graciously and asked him, “can you indeed cure me without drug and unguent?” and he answered, “Yes! I will heal you without the pains and penalties of medicine.” The King marvelled exceedingly and said, “O physician, when will you do as you have said? Haste, my son!” Douban replied, “I hear, and I obey; the cure shall begin tomorrow.”
King Younan took the bat from the Sage and grasped it firmly; then, mounting his steed, he drove the ball before him and galloped after it until he reached it, and struck it with all his might, his palm gripping the bat handle all the while. He did not cease malling the ball until his hand was moist and his skin, perspiring, imbibed the medicine from the wood. Douban knew that the drugs had penetrated his body, and bade him to return to the palace and enter the bath without delay. The King immediately returned and ordered them to clear the bath for him. They did so, the carpet spreaders making all haste and got ready a change of raiment for the King. He entered the bath and made the ablution long and thorough. Then he donned his clothes and rode to his palace where he lay down and slept. Such was the case with King Younan. As for sage Douban, he returned home and slept as usual and when morning dawned, he went to the palace and asked for the King. The King ordered him to be admitted.
The physician went down into the city and hired a house for better storage of his books and scrolls, his medicines and his aromatic roots. Then he sat to work and chose the fittest drugs. He made a polo mallet with a hollow handle into which he put the drugs. After that he made a ball for it — the two were prepared with consummate art.
Was the King cured of his leprosy? How does the tale of Douban and the King change things between the fisherman and the jinni? Stay tuned for the rest of the tale in our next Newsletter!
Next morning, he presented himself before the king and kissing the ground between his hands, bade him to go to the horse-course to play with 33
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
how Norway is working to support Gender Equality SDG Goals
Working towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality, Norway has developed an international strategy to eliminate harmful practices over a four year timeframe, from 2019 to 2023.
Norway views its role to combat harmful practices as one of a political advocate working in partnership with relevant countries and organisations, and one with ability to contribute financially to stakeholders and thus deliver results.
The strategy specifically addresses SDG 5.3, which outlines the goal to ‘eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM)’. The strategy also includes tackling son preference.
UN estimates show that by 2030, the total number of girls married prior to 18 will stay at the same level, while numbers affected by FGM will rise unless combat practices are fast-tracked. FGM and child marriage are most common in countries with widespread poverty, vulnerability and low socio-economic development, particularly in poor and rural ethnic groups.
Central to this strategy, Norway will raise the issue with the governments of the countries where the practice is most common, support UN programs that have been successful and work alongside civil society organisations that have effected positive change at the local level.
Of these harmful practices, child marriage is the most widespread, both geographically and numerically. However, the number of women being married as children has declined from one in four to roughly one in five, with the biggest decrease in South Asia.
Background and purpose of the strategy Norway’s new strategy builds on previous action plans which cover women’s rights, and, more specifically, on efforts to eliminate FGM and combat negative social control including forced marriage.
At the global level, FGM has seen a decrease in the proportion of girls subjected to the practice. It is associated with norms that believe a women’s sexual behaviour needs to be controlled. FGM is considered a violation of human rights. In recent years, there has been the rise of medicalisation of FGM, and this may serve to legitimise the practice and increase its acceptance. The UN estimates that unless efforts are intensified, the number of girls exposed to FGM will increase to 4.6 million in 2030.
Harmful practices are defined as ‘a type of violence that has consequences for the physical and psychological health of those affected, and undermines their ability to live full lives and constrains their life choices’. All of these harmful practices, occurring in many countries throughout the world, disproportionally affect girls, significantly affect their health, educational prospects and participation in society, and reinforce gender inequality.
The practice of son preference is a reflection of the low value placed on girls and women in some countries, and can range from sex-selective abortions to neglect, denial of education or even the killing of girls. Son preference is also embedded in many legal systems, where women are discriminated against by the tradition of inheritance through the male lineage. Again, this is often based on social norms.
Harmful practices are often embedded in, and maintained by, the shared knowledge of culture, religion and tradition. The carrying out of harmful practices on individuals with disabilities, sexual minorities or marginalised groups often worsen their vulnerability.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
How to eliminate harmful practices
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
18%
Eliminating harmful practices is very difficult. They have complex origins and need long-term, parallel efforts in multiple areas. While some of these practices have similarities, they differ in their drivers and impacts. Harmful practices vary between, and within, countries, and so the success achieved in each country differs significantly. Measures undertaken should be based on knowledge of the national and local contexts while preserving an evidence-based approach.
In Southern Asia, a girl’s risk of marrying in childhood has decreased by since 2000
of ever-partnered
40%
30%
women and girls
still, of women aged 20 to 24 years were married before age 18 (2018)
aged 15 to 49 years have experienced
The measures that are viewed as most effective are multi-sectoral approaches. Thus, donor contributions, political advocacy and the promotion of equality, education and health, are all effective strategies. These efforts, both directly and indirectly, reduce the prevalence of harmful practices.
physical and/or sexual
partner violence
At least
200 million parliamentarians 24% ofarenational women An increase from 19% (2010)
girls and women have been subjected to female genital mutilation
Targeted approaches are also needed, and should be long-term in nature. These measures should be part of an integrated theory of change, addressing factors that in combination result in improved practices.
Women represent but only
39%
27%
of the workforce
of managerial positions
Half of them in West Africa
The negative impact of son preference is hard to quantify. One measure is in the birth sex rate, where Access a higher proportion of men to women in the more data and information on the indicators at unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2019/ birth rate is seen. A significantly disproportionate birth sex rate, as well as a higher mortality rate for girls and women, leads to a whole missing cohort, or what is referred to as the ‘missing women’. This is most prevalent in India and China.
Research by the World Bank into son preference found that indirect measures to improve women’s status, opportunity and power seem to have the greatest impact. Working with civil society groups including human rights organisations and activists, women’s rights organisations, faith-based actors, interest groups, youth and diaspora organisations all help to decrease harmful practices. Civil society actors are central in holding states accountable to their political and human rights obligations, and in lobbying for progress and change in community attitudes. These organisations also have significant local knowledge and a long-term presence in countries where these practices are present. Thus partnering with civil society actors is crucial.
There is an estimated deficit of 126 million ‘missing’ women globally. In addition, excess mortality of girls and women does not receive the same amount of attention, despite the fact it is as much a cause for the ‘missing women’ as sex selection. Little is known about why many of the countries with the highest levels of child marriage and FGM are also countries engaged in conflict and humanitarian crisis. It is also documented that child marriage will increase in the context of a humanitarian crisis, but too little is known about the link between humanitarian crises and son preference, or whether crisis and conflict increase the incidents of FGM. Due to these risk factors, the Norwegian government has identified that harmful practices must be prioritised during a crisis or conflict.
Other larger international organisations, like the UN, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) also have specialist knowledge and numerous programs that specifically target harmful practices. Norway will continue to support these programs and work to improve them even further.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
• further efforts to combat sexual and genderRegional organisations are also supportive based violence in humanitarian contexts; platforms for advancing this area, with the African Union (AU) often focusing on harmful practices. • raise the topic of harmful practices in Demonstrating strong African leadership, the meetings, to increase the dialogue in AU has, on several occasions, outlined its support organisations, who are in a position to for women’s rights and equality, supported the contribute change; elimination of child marriage and launched its own • maintain a high level of contributions to initiative to eliminate FGM in 2019. organisations that work to eliminate harmful Norway is committed to strengthening the global practices; norm on harmful practices and the rights of • maintain strong cooperation with civil society girls and women. Yet to succeed in eliminating organisations who can effect change in harmful practices, it is important that countries communities; and take ownership of these practices, and have the political will to enforce integrated legislation, • begin dialogue with religious leaders and faithpolicies and implementation that is well-funded, based organisations to play a positive role in and performance monitored. changing practices at national and community level. What the Norwegian government will do Norway’s role as an advocate will:
In order to eliminate harmful practices by 2030, international efforts must be intensified. Norway has previously had an important role, both financially and politically, in combating FGM and is committed to this. Likewise, it will increase its efforts to abolish child marriage and raise awareness of son preference.
• promote the elimination of harmful practices through normative processes and participation in multilateral board meetings; • strengthen political cooperation with national and regional actors; • promote elimination of harmful practices in meetings with the authorities in countries where these practices exist;
Using a multi-sectoral approach, it will use avenues like health, education and gender equality in high-priority areas, working with the host government to increase its support for sexual and reproductive health and rights. In an added layer, Norway’s humanitarian strategy outlines protection against sexual and gender-based violence as a priority area.
• support national and local actors because local engagement and ownership are essential for successful intervention; and • promote data collection and research to strengthen and share the evidence base for strategies to eliminate harmful practices.
Previous efforts by the Norwegian government to combat FGM were assessed as successful by Chr. Michelsen Institute and these efforts will continue and be strengthened. It will accelerate its actions to prevent child marriage and, in cases where multiple harmful practices exist, it will ensure these are addressed by a range of different agencies, including the national government and civil society groups.
In combating son preference, Norway will continue to integrate measures that boost the status, opportunities and power of girls and women, measures which seem to be the most effective. The key players in this strategy include Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the Norwegian Foreign Service missions and other relevant ministries.
The Norwegian government will: • reinforce efforts to combat harmful practices in prioritised foreign and development policy areas;
Find out more: https://www.regjeringen.no/ en/dokumenter/eliminate_harmful_practices/ • encourage the inclusion of harmful practices in id2673335/ comprehensive sexuality education;
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Fund lifelong learning the evolution of online crowdfunding
The concept of online crowdfunding is not new. It almost mirrors fundraising in the physical world. In simple terms, Modern-Day Online Crowdfunding is an adaptation of the age-old concept of collection buckets, managed through one online platform. The concept of tin rattling at street corners has revolutionised into a sophisticated means of fundraising on the world wide web. There are many moments in history where public funding or crowdfunding has been used to finance projects or ideas. One of the most well-known crowdfunding projects is the Statue of Liberty where the fundraising campaign was published in the newspaper New York World. The campaign saw over 160,000 USD raised in the 1880s to finish the building of this monumental figure recognised all over the world today.
innovation and artists and involve the consumer or audience directly in their work.
Over time, fundraising campaigns transcended mediums and were advertised on television using videos. One of the first instances of this method of fundraising was widely used in India, when its first prime minister, Nehru, encouraged people to contribute to the war efforts.
Today, there are many ways to crowdfund and fundraise online, using different crowdfunding platforms designed for specific types of campaigns and ventures, along with the various social media and digital media platforms. While crowdfunding is a new phenomenon in Australia, it has become widely popular based on the success it has brought with it.
In 1996, crowdfunding was adopted for the first time over the Internet when fans came together and contributed over 60,000 USD to Marillion, a British rock band, for their US tour. Inspired by this, a fan-funding website was developed for artists. The platform ArtistShare raised part of the funds for 10 Grammy-winning music records and gained worldwide recognition.
Online crowdfunding allows campaigners to market and fundraise at the same time and provides creators the opportunity to allow their campaign to cross geographical boundaries in a matter of seconds to create a global audience.
The economic crisis in 2008 increased the popularity of online fundraising when entrepreneurs turned to friends and family on online social media platforms to raise funds for their businesses and ventures. Using this method to democratise fundraising, crowdfunding platforms were developed to empower
Fund Lifelong Learning is an online crowdfunding campaign developed by Graduate House to advance education, research, professional and sustainable development, social good and sustainability for People, Programs and Places.
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