Gregory Phillips

Gregory Phillips is a Waanyi and Jaru medical anthropologist. He has developed an accredited Indigenous health curriculum for all medical schools in Australia and New Zealand, and has published on addictions and post-traumatic stress syndromes in Indigenous communities. He is Executive Director of ABSTARR Consulting.

Session Outline

Aboriginal health and technology: relationships, respect and responsibility. Gregory is a keen translator of knowledge systems between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. He will talk about how to understand differing knowledge systems, and to mediate for their impact on cultural safety and respectful working relationships.

Janet Hunt

Janet Hunt is a Fellow at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) at the Australian National University where she manages the Indigenous Community Governance Project, an ARC Linkage Project with Reconciliation Australia.

Her background is in education and international development and she has lectured in International and Community Development at RMIT and Deakin Universities. She has worked for many years in international development with a particular focus on the Pacific and South East Asia. She was Executive Director of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid and the International Women's Development Agency, and has worked more recently with a range of local and international non-government organizations in East Timor. She has a long standing interest and involvement in Australian and international Indigenous human rights and policy issues and has been active in ANTAR.

Session Outline

Janet will set the theme for the first day of the conference by exploring the similarities and differences between community development work internationally and in Australia's remote Indigenous communities.

She will consider some of the predominant themes in recent debates about the complex relationship that the non-Indigenous Australian population has with Indigenous citizens, and how 'development' can occur among Indigenous Australians, particularly in the more remote parts of Australia. Janet will stimulate debate and prepare delegates for a day of discussion, dialogue and learning.

Dr Matthew Clarke

Senior Lecturer within the Masters in International and Community Development program, Deakin University.

Dr Clarke has co-written and edited or co-edited a number of books, including: Economic Growth and Social Welfare: Operationalising Normative Social Choice Theory, (with S Islam, North Holland, Amsterdam), Measuring Genuine Progress: Application of the Genuine Progress Indicator (with P. Lawn, Nova Science, New York), Understanding Human Well-Being (with M. McGillvray, United Nations University Press, Tokyo), and Aid in Conflict, (Nova Science, New York). He is presently co-editing two new books: Education for the End of All Poverty (with S. Feeny, Nova Science, New York) and Sustainable Welfare in the Asia-Pacific: Studies using the Genuine Progress Indicator (with P. Lawn, Edward Elgar, London).

Dr Clarke has also published over 30 book chapters and refereed journal articles. He also contributes to The Canberra Times and The Age newspapers.

Dr Clarke undertakes regular evaluations of community development projects in the Pacific and South-east Asia for various non-government organisations, with a particular interest in HIV/AIDS and health-related projects.

Session Outline

For the last sixty years, the international community has worked to improve the lives of the poor. Yet, today there are one billion of the world's population living in poverty existing on less than US$1 a day (more than 2 billion live on less than US$2 a day).

Poverty is characterised by premature death, preventable illnesses, limited access to clean water and sanitation, economic insecurity, and often illiteracy. While it is possible to despair at the lack of progress in eliminating poverty, it is also possible to review this history in order to inform current development practice.

This presentation will provide an overview of the mainstream approaches to development over the past six decades and identify the lessons learned that are necessary if the international community is to see the end of poverty.

Christopher Dureau

Christopher Dureau is an experienced practitioner in international development. He is currently Project Director for two large bilateral Australian Government funded projects both with a primary focus on capacity building at all levels of society and government. Chris has contributed to the design of a monitoring and evaluation framework for a new capacity building program in Indonesia and is capacity building advisor to a bilateral education project in Papua New Guinea.Session Outline

A Strength Based Approach to Capacity Building
Many aid initiatives in developing communities are based on a problem solving paradigm. A program design is constructed by outside solutions to overcome perceived obstacles to progress. Such an approach has considerable limitations when applied to capacity building programs. The most important of which is its failure to ignite local incentive and resources for change. This presentation will look how capacity building in developing countries demands a different way of engaging in development and the comparative advantages of using a strength based approach. The presentation will look at how a strength based approach can draw from previous locally successful strategies and deeply held cultural values to formulate future directions; shift responsibility away from donors and project managers by building self esteem and a sense of the possible and by focusing attention towards utilising local resources. It also progressively reduces outside leadership roles in favour of partnership ownership and control. In term this leads to more holistic, indigenous and sustainable solutions. Examples of how this has happened in international development will be provided.

Jerome Bowen

Returned Volunteer, Engineers Without Borders
Jerome has worked with Engineers Without Borders for 4 years in the Programs area of the WA Chapter. He spent 5 months in Tenganan discovering and framing the Tenganan Water Supply Project on behalf of EWB. As the Community Liaison, he currently helps manage the Technical Assistance Network working on this project.
Jerome was trained as an environmental engineer and anthropologist, and currently works for WorleyParsons developing sustainability approaches to project delivery.

Session Outline

Volunteering in-country and from Australia: how an EWB Chapter sets up and executes a large construction project (the Tenganan Water Supply Project)

The Tenganan Water Supply Project, currently being undertaken by EWB, aims to supply clean water to 4,000 people in the community of Tenganan, Indonesia. Over 30 volunteer engineers are assisting with the project during their every-day lives in Australia (as part of the Technical Assistance Network), 6 volunteers have been in-country to the Tenganan community to frame the project and collect data alongside the community and 3 more are being sent immediately after the EWB National Conference for construction, commissioning and capacity development. This is a large-scale engineering design, community engagement, and construction project set up and undertaken by the WA Chapter of EWB.

In this presentation Jerome Bowen and Dr Katie Third (the project manager) will speak about the entire EWB project process used in the Tenganan Water Supply project in order to pass on the knowledge and lessons learned from this experience. This will include:

· Discovering the community who needed our assistance

· Scoping and framing the project

· Recruiting, forming and running a Technical Assistance Network including the challenges associated with designing for a development situation using Australian-based volunteers and conditions

· Funding, community engagement and other issues of stakeholder interaction

As a trial project within EWB for this project approach, for Technical Assistance Networks (TANs) and for funded-construction projects, there is much to learn.

Dr Mark Moran

Group Manager, Centre for Appropriate Technology, Alice Springs
Core Project Leader, Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, Alice Springs
Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Queensland, Brisbane

Dr Moran is a Group Manager with the Centre for Appropriate Technology, a Core Project Leader with the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, and an Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of Queensland. He has wide experience with development assistance projects in Indigenous communities in Australia and in international developing communities in China, East Timor and Lesotho (Africa). In Australia, he has long association with Doomadgee, Mapoon and Kowanyama communities in Queensland. Mark has an unusual combination of technical and social science research skills, with a first degree in civil engineering and a PhD in geography and planning. He has technical expertise in rural water supply, sanitation, rural roads, appropriate technology, housing, and community town planning. His social science research expertise includes human geography, participatory planning, governance and political economy.

Session outline

Transforming Physical Assets to achieve Sustainable Livelihoods in a Remote Aboriginal Settlement
The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework is a model of practice derived from international development that is increasingly being adopted in Aboriginal Affairs. Rather than starting with external inputs, the model draws practitioners to consider the range of assets that communities can strengthen and transform internally towards improving their livelihoods. Based on an intensive two-year study at one Aboriginal settlement in Central Australia, a modified Sustainable Livelihoods Framework was developed in collaboration with local leaders and the staff of local organisations. The routine inflow of resources into the settlement (e.g. money, fuel, food, housing, skilled workers, services) were largely inputs provided by the state. These inputs almost completely determined the local economy, yet their inflow was largely beyond local control. In terms of achieving sustainable livelihoods, asset transformations were found to be more important than inflows, because they were more in the sphere of local power and capability for action. An example of this was physical infrastructure, which was almost exclusively provided by external inputs. With the exception of some crowding in housing, the standard of physical infrastructure provided a reasonable baseline of environmental health, in keeping with mainstream standards. It was, however, very clear that access to such facilities had not led to comparable standards of health. When viewed in term of asset transformations, how then, can the practice of delivering physical infrastructure be altered in ways that improve health and livelihood outcomes?

Christina Hill

Christina has a degree in environmental engineering and a background in environmental management and policy development having worked for both consulting companies and the Victorian Government. She recently returned to study to pursue an interest in overseas aid and development and is studying for a Master of International Development at RMIT. Christina worked for Engineers Without Borders during parts of 2006/07 with the Programs team. Most of her work at Engineers Without Borders was as a volunteer. Christina now works with Oxfam Australia on Oxfam’s extractive industry advocacy program.

Session Outline

The ‘Empowering Women in Mining Affected Communities’ session will outline Oxfam Australia’s work with women from mine affected communities. Oxfam has found that women are particularly affected by mining projects yet women are often excluded from the decision making processes that relate to mine development. The session will focus on a recent Oxfam initiative – the 2007 Pacific Women and Mining Conference. The conference allowed women from across the Pacific to come together to network, share their experiences of mining, develop skills, and share tools and ideas that may be used to advocate for change in their communities/countries. Locally specific strategies and solutions were also developed to address issues of concern for women from mine affected communities/countries. The conference provided an important space for women to come together, and was aimed at empowering women from mine affected communities.

Merilyn Parker

Merilyn Parker is a Director of Jasper Coffee; A leading Australian Fairtrade Licensed and Organic Certified Coffee Roaster.Since 1989 Jasper Coffee has grown from a small niche roaster to become a major force in the Australian Coffee Market.
As an Australian Owned Family business Jasper Coffee aims to foster well-being and sustainable economic success in all its trading partnerships through its daily choices and operating practices.
Jasper Coffee's commitment to Economic Social and Sustainable business practice, lead to the Company becoming the First Commercial Coffee roaster to become Fairtrade Licensed in October 2003. ince that time by promoting the Principles of Fairtrade through their coffee sales in the market place they have been partnering Fairtrade coffee growers in the Rehumanising of the food chain that FAIRTRADE embodies.

This led to Merilyn to visit Peru: where she saw first hand the impact of FAIRTRADE on the lives of the people who grow the coffee Jasper sells, and met the inspirational women of the remote Penachi region of Northern Peru who have realized their dream to sell their Café Femenino Coffee to the world. Speaking the story of these remarkable women is one of her favourite activities.

Jeremy Mather

B. Arch (Hons) B. Env. Des. RIBA

Jeremy completed a first class honours degree in Architecture at the University of Western Australia where he majored in the development of self-sustainable relocatable housing for remote areas.

He commenced his architectural employment with a small health and residential specialist architectural firm in Sydney. Following this he moved to London where he worked on and managed a range of residential, health, office, retail and infrastructure projects throughout the United Kingdom including the Hull Transport Interchange which was recently awarded a Green Apple award for the Built Environment and Architectural Heritage from the Green Organisation.

Recruited through Australian Volunteers International in 2006, he then went on to work as the government architect for the Ministry of Public Works in the Republic of Kiribati, managing the government's Outer Island Development Strategy, a range of foreign aid-funded projects as well as providing technical training to local staff within the ministry.

He has recently returned to Australia where he maintains his links with Kiribati by providing continued technical assistance to the Ministry of Public works and other organisations in country.

Amanda Cahill

Amanda is currently completing her PhD in Human Geography at the Australian National University on the relationship between power and local economic development in the central Philippines. This research is based on her work on AusAID funded project designed to stimulate local economic development in four sites across the Philippines and Indonesia. Previously Amanda worked for a range of non-government organisations, local government units and universities in Brazil, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Immediately prior to commencing her PhD, Amanda worked on health-related projects with Indigenous communities in Queensland. She has degrees in anthropology, geography and adult education, and her honours thesis focused on the transferability of participatory research skills to engineers working on infrastructure projects in remote Indigenous communities in Australia. Amanda is currently lecturing in the development studies program at the University of Queensland. Her research interests include alternative economic development, livelihood development, microfinance, health inequalities and participatory research techniques.

Participatory Approaches Session Overview

Participatory approaches have emerged in response to the failure of top-down planning models to ensure sustainable development outcomes. Participatory approaches are interactive and often visual techniques that are used for a range of purposes including to:

- Collect data for planning processes
- Consult with communities about proposed projects
- Ensure adequate participation of marginalised groups within communities
- Establish whether project methods and outcomes are appropriate to local needs, geography and culture
- Identify existing resources within communities
- Build rapport with community members
- Monitor and evaluate project processes and outcomes
- Foster community ownership over project processes and outcomes

Because participatory approaches build on local knowledge and resources, they contribute to sustainable outcomes in the long term. During this session, participants will be introduced to the basic principles guiding participatory approaches. The main objective of the session is for participants to gain not only an appreciation of why participatory approaches are important, but also insights into the wide range of possible applications. Participants will work in small groups to apply participatory methods to scenarios that engineers typically face when working on development projects. The session will conclude with reflections on the applicability and complexities of using participatory approaches in engineering work.

Nerida Beard

Nerida Beard
Water Research Engineer,
Centre for Appropriate Technology (CAT) and
Technology Transfer Officer, Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment
Alice Springs, Australia

Nerida holds an Honours degree in Environmental Engineering from Griffith University and has a six-year research background in hydrogeology, water chemistry, aquatic ecology and rural water supply research. Three years ago, she was drawn to CAT upon hearing that access to water and sanitation was a major issue in Indigenous settlements of Australia, to learn, offer her skills and explore these issues in ‘our own backyard'. CAT is an Indigenous science and technology organisation in Alice Springs. For the past three years, she has worked alongside mostly rural and remote Indigenous people in the NT, WA, Qld and SA to cooperatively develop workable solutions to their water supply and sanitation issues. Her work involves responding to technical requests for assistance and conducting research on key rural water issues, including water treatment, management, policy and governance. The position is funded by the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment under the Rural and Regional Water Supplies Program. As well as to improve and share knowledge, the research also aims to inform water industry and governments of the ways forward to improve access to water for rural Indigenous settlements. Through this work Nerida has gained exposure to Indigenous history and contemporary development issues, and continues to find it an incredible learning experience and a challenging adventure. As an active member of EWB, she sees an incredible opportunity in the membership and philosophy of EWB to harness the attitudes and skills of their members to learn, develop their understanding and assist in building the social bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia.

Session Outline

From little things: crucial context for engineers and project managers working in discrete Indigenous communities in Australia

Consulting engineering firms are a popular career destination for graduate engineers in Australia, and since the 1990s these firms are increasingly winning project management, construction and other engineering services contracts within discrete and largely remote Aboriginal communities. The development context in these Indigenous settlements requires the practising engineer to reconsider many of the standard urban engineering and project assumptions to ensure appropriate, sustainable and effective outcomes for remote residents from engineering projects. With State-Federal bilateral agreements recently negotiated or under negotiation for infrastructure and services delivery in most states with sizeable rural Indigenous populations, and boosts to funding for additional housing and infrastructure as part of the current Australian Government intervention into Northern Territory Indigenous communities, the consulting engineering sector will increasingly be applying its services in remote community contexts. Evidence suggests that without adequate consideration of acute differences in the operating environment, infrastructure projects can actually do more harm than deliver benefit. Based on experiences of water supply and sanitation projects, service delivery and research in remote Indigenous communities, this workshop-style session will discuss key considerations, differences and approaches for engineers working in, for and with discrete Indigenous communities. The session links engineering practise in Indigenous communities to the Engineers Australia code of ethics, which calls for practitioners to develop a well-informed conscience, act in the interests of community and in doing so uphold the integrity of the engineering profession. The workshop is aimed at consulting engineers, project managers, EWB volunteers and others interested in working in engineering and development in discrete Indigenous communities.

Jason Glanville

Jason Glanville is a member of the Wiradjuri peoples from south-western New South Wales. He is the Director of Policy and Strategy with Reconciliation Australia, an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2000 by the former Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Reconciliation Australia is a civil society organisation that draws its legitimacy from the Australian people, including the many partners, donors and supporters who work with us for change. Jason is a Director of the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre, Co-Director of the Ngiya Institute for Indigenous Law, Policy and Practice and Member of the National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Celebration Committee.

Over the last fifteen years Jason has worked in a range of positions in community-based Indigenous organisations, State and Federal Governments and non-government peak organisations.

Rick Coleman

Rick Coleman, Southern Cross Permaculture Institute, Leongatha, VictoriaTitle The Role of Permaculture in Attaining Sustainable Aid Projects

Rick will speak on the use of appropriate and readily transferable technologies to create sustainable, effective solutions to common third world problems. Using examples from his own experience as an aid consultant and project manager, he will show how the permaculture design approach has impacted on aided communities in a positive way, empowering communities to identify their issues and create achievable solutions. He will discuss simple technologies designed to alleviate need and promote sustainable solutions in these communities, and why they must be integrated, culturally appropriate and consciously designed.

Rick Coleman, of Southern Cross Permaculture Institute, is a permaculture designer teacher and consultant. He and his wife Naomi have developed their 10 acre property in Leongatha, South Gippsland, as a permaculture demonstration site, from which they regularly conduct permaculture courses. Rick has taught permaculture on every continent and consults with aid agencies to develop sustainable development projects, including work in Nepal, Ethiopia and Peru. More information including examples of his reports can be seen on the SCPI website at www.southerncrosspermaculture.com.au

Mickey Sampson

Mickey Sampson is the Country Director and founder of Resource Development International - Cambodia (RDIC), a US registered private, nonprofit organization. He has lived and worked in Cambodia with his wife and four children for the last 10 years concentrating much of his efforts in the area of drinking water and sanitation. He obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Louisville and was an assistant professor of chemistry in the University of Kentucky College system. Mickey is currently an adjunct Professor with State University of New York at Buffalo.

Under Mickey's oversight, RDIC has: established a quality ceramic water filter manufacture and distribution system - producing 25,000 filters in 2006, produced a young children's Cambodian television series to promote literacy and healthy living, overseen the development of a drinking water quality index for policy, donor, and implementation organisations, and worked extensively to promote the risks of drinking arsenic laden groundwater. RDIC has also developed and implemented agricultural, drinking water, health and educational programs in villages throughout Cambodia.

Mickey has coauthored a number of publications, and continues to support research in partnership with international universities through RDIC's onsite water research laboratory. He is also a member of the technical working group for the Cambodian Government on how to address the UN Millennium Target to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.

Glen MacLaren

Glen MacLaren is a Director of Environmental Systems Solutions (ESS) - a Melbourne based company that utilises database technology, the Internet and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to build cultural and natural resource information management systems. Glen has a degree in Forest Science from the University of Melbourne and has worked extensively with GIS to develop Catchment Management Decision Support Systems and Farm Management and Planning Solutions. Glen has developed recreation modeling software used by Parks Victoria and worked with the University of Washington and the US Forest Service to deliver online tools for the monitoring of visitors in National Parks and other Wilderness Areas. Glen has also worked at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Chief Roi Mata's Domain in Vanuatu and the Shoalhaven Defence Estate in New South Wales to develop Cultural Heritage Information Management Systems customised to conform existing cultural protocols and management objectives. Currently Glen is working with a number of Tribal groups from the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in North Queensland and the Jawoyn Association in the Northern Territory to develop similar systems.

Troy Mallie

Troy Mallie is a consultant with Cultural Systems Solutions a small IT consultancy business that assists indigenous groups in developing information systems for cultural heritage management. Troy has worked for government and private sector in the cultural heritage, land management and information technology fields. He has been involved in the development of information systems for cultural heritage management at Uluru, Vanuatu and currently in the Wet Tropics World Heritage area in Queensland. In Vanuatu, Troy was a volunteer with VIDA (Volunteers for International Development from Australia) and was a member of a World Heritage nomination project team which assisted traditional owners in the mapping of cultural sites and also the development of an information system which has been used as a supporting document for the nomination. Troy has worked closely with Glen MacLaren from Environmental Systems Solutions during the development and implementation of information systems for indigenous communities. Troy is an Aboriginal, Kuku Yalanji traditional owner of the Daintree/Cape Tribulation area in North Queensland. Being an indigenous person he sees the important role information technology plays in the preservation of indigenous knowledge for future generations.

Dr Katie Third

Katie Third is a water and wastewater process engineer currently working with Sinclair Knight Merz in Perth as part of the W2W Alliance, which is an Alliance set up to assist the Water Corporation to upgrade their three major metropolitan wastewater treatment plants. Katie is responsible for the process design as well as driving sustainability and greenhouse gas emission redcution within all Alliance projects. Alongside her full time job, Katie has been managing the Australia-based design phase of the EWB Tenganan Water Supply Project since January 2007, co-ordinating all activities of the Technical Assistance Network (TAN). Prior to returning to Perth in late 2005, Katie worked in The Netherlands for almost 4 years as a water & wastewater consultant with a Ducth consulting firm Witteveen+Bos, where she worked on several infrastructure projects in developing countries such as Mali, Vietnam, Aruba and EU pre-accession countries such as Romania and Serbia-Montenegro. Katie completed her PhD in bioprocess engineering at the Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) and Murdoch University in 2002, after working in the States for a year following her undergraduate studies. Katie was an exchange student to Paraguay, South America, for 12 months in 1993 which sparked her commitement to supporting development in third world countries and sustainable engineering.

Anton Vikstrom

Anton Vikstrom is the Project Manager of the Alternative Technology Associations International Projects Group (ATA/IPG). The ATA is an Australian NGO, whose volunteer members have completed over 50 renewable energy projects in developing countries. Anton has trained as an environmental scientist and has a background in international development, urban agriculture and environmental advocacy. He has recently returned from East Timor where he has been involved in a number of solar power projects.

Session Outline

Quality lighting can make a difference to the lives of people in developing countries. The Village Lighting Scheme aims to make a difference by developing and trialing low cost solar powered lighting for remote villages. Through consultation and trial, this project aims to provide lighting for 200 rural households. Systems being trialed include battery recharge systems and small stand-alone solar powered lighting. Anton Vikstrom from the ATA will share experiences from the first phase of the scheme.

Dr Andre Renzaho

Senior Research Fellow within the School of Health and Social evelopment at Deakin University, Director of the International Centre for Refugee Public Health and Nutrition.

Dr Renzaho is a qualified and experienced Public Health specialist with highly developed leadership and management expertise with proven accomplishments in the area of development and humanitarian aid.

Over the last 15 years Dr Renzaho has been involved in various development and humanitarian aid initiatives at different levels including contractual agreement negotiations, government and multilateral agency representation, policy planning, analysis and development, advocacy, complex humanitarian emergency programming, UN, Government and NGO Relations, curriculum development and training delivery, program design, assessment and evaluation including Ex-post evaluation and establishing community partnerships and networks using participatory appraisal techniques.

He is internationally renowned for his work in Public Health in complex humanitarian emergencies and among migrants from developing to developed countries. He has travelled extensively covering Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Ecuador, Lesotho, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Vanuatu, Laos, Malawi, and South Africa.

Andre is a published author (with more than 40 papers, monographs, books and book chapters) including the sought after book: Measuring Effectiveness in Humanitarian and Development Aid: Conceptual Frameworks, Principles and Practice, New York, Nova Science Publishers which can be ordered from Nova Science Publishers

Session Outline

Displaced persons is a common outcome of conflict, both cross-border and internal. This paper focuses on health needs and care of refugees and internally displaced people and the lessons learned.

The number of people requiring humanitarian assistance has been increasing over the last four decades. Data by the UNHCR indicate that more than 17.1 million people are of concern to UNHCR of whom 26% are IDPs, 57% are refugees and 17% are others including asylum seekers and returned refugees. Where resources are available and a coordination of humanitarian assistance is possible, public health interventions have lead to immeasurable positive health outcomes. However, impaired public health infrastructures, insecurity and the dearth of resources and management capacity to respond to emergencies in affected countries combine with political factors dictating allocation of international humanitarian assistance to hamper the impact of public health interventions. This situation is exacerbated by the current move toward the militarisation of humanitarian assistance and war on terror. More research is required to devise frameworks that will enhance synergy between relief and development at the same time promoting long-term result-oriented programming, effective reporting of human right abuses and a continuation of investment in integrated approaches between donors and implementing and research institutions.

Mr. Abdullah Saleh Mbamba

Director, United Nations Information Centre Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific

Mr Abdullah Saleh Mbamba is the representative of the United Nations in Australia and Director of the United Nations Information Centre for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

Mr Mbamba was appointed to this position by the United Nations Secretary-General in June 2006 after serving as the Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia since October 1997. From December 1988 to September 1997, Mr Mbamba was Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Islamabad, Pakistan. Mr Mbamba joined the United Nations in New York in 1983 as an Information Officer in the Department of Public Information after a career as a broadcast journalist for the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) in London, and with the Voice of America in Washington, D.C.

Mr Mbamba holds a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Liberal Studies from Duquesne University in the United States and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and Labour Studies from the State University of New York.

Mr Mbamba was born on the island of Zanzibar in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Gheorghe Duta

Managing Director, Advanced Water Technologies

Gheorghe Duta was born in 1950 in southeast Romania where he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering and worked for the Romanian National Institute of Machine Tools. Gheorghe’s background in engineering spans 30 years primarily spent in R & D and includes work with private and publicly listed technology companies.

Highlights include positions as R & D Engineer at Archer Hydraulics where he developed lifting and transfer systems for the Collins submarines, and Head of Research for VosTech Limited where he developed a spray fry technology. Gheorghe has directly worked on and contributed to over 15 patents.

More recently, Gheorghe has provided consulting engineering services to Quantum Filtration, a company developing a filer media used to effectively extract iron and manganese from water. In 2005, Gheorghe founded Advanced Water Technologies to commercialize a new technology called Rapid Catalytic Oxidation (RCO).

Gheorghe is Managing Director of Advanced Water Technologies (AWT) who are preparing to publicly list on the stock exchange in 2008.

Gheorghe is married with 3 grown children and is passionate about technology that can make a difference to peoples lives.

Session Outline

AWT will present on Rapid Catalytic Oxidation (RCO) which is a new patented process that has been tested and validated to extract metals and metalloids from water more efficiently and more cost effectively than any incumbent process.

It is a process that can be used as a stand alone process or combined with other existing technologies to greatly enhance the treatment of water matrices containing multiple contaminants. The RCO process is used to treat water for consumption reuse or disposal and has considerable potential to provide potable cost effective drinking water solutions worldwide especially in developing countries which don’t have ready access to safe water.

Kris Robinson

4th Year Research Student, Australian National University

Kris began studying in 2001 a Bachelor of Information Technology and a Bachelor of Systems Engineering at the Australian National University in Canberra. He majored in Telecommunications and Renewable Energy Systems and has just completed his honours project and Thesis for Engineering. Kris graduated in Information Technology in 2006 and will be graduating in Engineering in December 2007. Kris took time off during his studies to travel around the world which included backpacking for three months throughout some poor regions of South America. From his travel experience in poor regions and knowledge in renewable energy, Kris has a keen interest in applying what he has studied to helping the more disadvantaged people in the world. In his engineering honours project, Kris generated and evaluated a solar-powered water pump concept design for improving the accessibility to clean and safe water for a remote village in Nepal.

Session Outline

Pamlatum, a remote and impoverished village located in the Humla district of Nepal, is in need of improved access to clean water. A village assessment and field survey was conducted in April 2007 by Rural Integrated Development Services Nepal (RIDS-Nepal), and Engineers Without Borders (EWB). This provided the groundwork for the formulation of a number of customer requirements for an improved water service system. The Quality Functional Deployment process was used to translate the customer requirements into measurable engineering targets which provided the framework to generate, develop and evaluate a range of concept designs for developing a suitable water service system for Pamlatum. This lead to the development of a solar-powered water pump concept design incorporating a slow sand water filtration and purification system. The design has the potential to be appropriate and sustainable, however further work is required before the design can be selected and progressed to detailed design and installation. This project was completed under the supervision of Alex Zahnd who is the project director of RIDS-Nepal and assistant professor at the Kathmandu University in the field of Renewable Energy and Holistic Community Development. This project was part of his Engineering Honours year at the Australian National University.

Benjamin Preston

Marine & Atmospheric Research, CSIRO

Benjamin Preston currently works as a research scientist in the Climate Impacts & Risk stream of the CSIRO Division of Marine & Atmospheric Research, where his research focus is the development of tools for assessing the social and environmental risks of climate change. In addition, Dr. Preston is active in communicating climate science to a broad array of stakeholders and guiding thinking regarding how to manage risk. Prior to joining CSIRO, Dr. Preston was a Senior Research Fellow with the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change in Washington, DC, USA where he provided scientific advice to policymakers, the media, and the general public. His background also includes research experience in environmental toxicology, public health and environmental justice. Educated in the United States, Dr. Preston received a BSc from the College of William & Mary and a PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Session Outline

Climate Change in the Asia Pacific, Community Impacts and Design Solutions
It is increasingly clear that global climate change and sustainable development are inherently linked. The adverse impacts of climate change are likely to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and development challenges in many nations and individual communities. Yet there are ample opportunities to address the energy, water and public health challenges in the developing world in a manner that also yields benefits in reducing current and future climate risk.

Alex Mayora

Alex Maroya is Government & Economic Coordinator at the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, the Australian National University. At ACFID, Alex is responsible for government relations, international trade & finance, human rights and Middle Eastern issues. Alex’s PhD was on the subject of the British legacy in the Middle East. Alex taught extensively in ANU's development studies and international relations programs during his PhD studies. Prior to this, he worked in a number of policy roles for the Australian Government and as a private consultant.

Dr Chakriya Bowman

Dr Chakriya Bowman is Trade Advisor to AusAID’s Pacific Group. She has responsibility for trade policy issues ranging from the WTO and “aid for trade” through to Pacific economic integration, trade agreements and bilateral trade issues. Previously Chakriya worked on trade policy for AusAID’s Asia regional program, where she managed trade and APEC programs. Immediately prior to joining AusAID, she worked in the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University on projects including the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research and the Advancing East Asian Integration series of policy maker meetings. She is the author of “The Naked Investor: Uncovering the Secrets of the Australian Financial Markets” (Text Publishing, 2005), and speaks regularly on the topic of trade and development. At some stage in her distant past she was a computer systems engineer and worked for CSC and Boeing.

Kala Senathirajah

Kala Senathirajah is the Manager of Operations Support at the Water Corporation of WA where she manages a team in the South West Region. She holds a Masters Degree in Infrastructure Engineering and Management from Monash University, a Bachelor of Engineering (hons) Degree in Environmental Engineering and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Land and Water Management from UWA. She was awarded the Highly Commended Young Engineer of the Year Award last year. Kala's experienced in the water industry. She has a longstanding interest and involvement in humanitarian activities and is a registered member of a number of humanitarian organisations. She spent the second half of 2006 in the Republic of Maldives, as an EWB volunteer on secondment to UNICEF WES office. She hopes to actively contribute to a local indigenous project in the coming year.

Dr Richard Denniss

Dr Richard Denniss is an economist with a particular interest in the role of regulation in achieving sustainable and equitable economic and social outcomes. He is currently employed as Strategic Adviser to the Australian Greens. He has previously worked as the Deputy Director of the Australia Institute, was Chief of Staff to the then leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, and lectured in economics at the University of Newcastle. He has published widely on the topics of regulation and sustainability and recently co-authored Affluenza with Clive Hamilton.

Session outline

Much is made of the tradeoff between policies to protect the econonmy and policies to protect the environment. Dr Denniss will attempt to dispell the myth that any such conflict exists. While there is no doubt that some environmental protection policies have adverse imapcts on specific industries, he will argue tha there is no evidence that such policies are harmful to the oeverall economy. Examples of environmental regulation that were opposed by industry but have delivered significant environmental improvements without economic collapse include removing lead from petrol, removing CFCs from aerosol cans, banning the use of asbestos and preventing industry from disposing of chemicals directly into river systems.

Rassel Chisango

Rassel Chisango is a development Project Planning and Managemnet professional, founder member and Chief Projects Officer of the Royal Youth Organisation (RYO), a youth for youth empowerment for sustainable development organisation. RYO advocates for meaningful youth participation in such critical development issues as the Millenium Development Goals and currently prioritising Youth mobilisation in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe. Rassel manages the Royal Youth Sport, Art, Livelihood and Training (RYSALT)Program for HIV and AIDS Prevention and Mitigation in the Harare Metropolitan Province of Zim. The program thrives on Youth for Youth Services - otherwise known as Youth Peer Education Services. These have been tried and tested not only in Zimbabwe but globally and have proven to be effective particularly for behaviour change programmes related to HIV and AIDS prevention and impact mitigation. Rassel is also the Coordinator of the International Young Professionals Foundation`s HIV and AIDS Network (IYPHAN) and an acknowedged Youth Advocate and soap star in Zimbabwe. As a result of his Youth and Community Development practice, he is also an Oxfam International Youth Partnerships Action Partner for the period between 2007-2010
Session Outline

On the eve of World AIDS Day, Rassel Chisango will present at Engineers Without Borders 2007 National onference. The forum will explore the impacts of HIV/AIDS on development programs and focus on the ractical and innovative approaches to education and prevention in Zimbabwe. Rassel will also share on the round experince gained through rolling out their organisation`s unique RYSALT Program for HIV and AIDS Prevention and Mitigation. This is a scale up from the Improved Urban Youth Reproductive Health Program his organisation implemented as a key implementing partner of the Zimbabwe National AIDS Council with UNAIDS support, between 2002 and 2005.He will also share a didactic and exciting musical CD recently produced in aid of his organisation`s RYSALT Program.

Tim MacTaggart

Manager Projects and Programs, Solar Systems

Tim joined Solar Systems in March 2007 with the responsibility of implementing project management systems and providing overall project and program management control at the company. He has overall responsibility for controlling the company's project portfolio and also manages the rollout of the company's technology through the construction of power station project across the country.
Tim has worked in a variety of industries on infrastructure projects including electrical and gas pipeline construction, telecommunications networks and engineering design projects. He also specialises the design and implementation of project managements systems, having created systems for companies as varied as Alinta and Solar Systems.
Tm holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in civil engineering and an MBA as well as currently being a doctoral candidate at the Deakin University Business School where he is examining the nature of innovation in Australia and in the renewable energy technology sector in particular.

Ben Groom

As Australia's Youth Representative to the United Nations, Ben has addressed the UN General Assembly and worked at the Australian Mission to the United Nations in New York for 2 months. Prior to New York, he undertook a 5-month "listening tour" of Australia. This was a 33,000 km journey of consultation that involved visiting 34 towns, cities and communities (in every state and territory) and meeting with over 4,000 young Australians.

Ben is a 23-year-old Law/Economics student at the University of Tasmania. He has volunteered at the Australian Red Cross since 2003. During this period he has been a member of the Youth Advisory Committee, a Community Speaker, a staff International Humanitarian Law trainer, and he led the ARC's delegation to an international youth exchange in Israel in 2005. In 2005 he also spent 6 months in Geneva, Switzerland. During this time he studied International Policy at the Graduate Institute for International Studies (a school of the University of Geneva), studied International Health Policy at the World Health Organisation and interned at the United Nations Environment Program and the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development.
He plays Australian Rules Football, takes his running pretty seriously and is addicted to travel.

Tim O'Shea

Tim is a 4th year Medical Engineering Dean's Scholar at Queensland University of Technology and the 2006 recipient of the Dean's Scholarship for the Developing World (DSDW). He is an executive member of the QUT Chapter of EWB and actively participates in their various projects. During January and February of this year Tim spent six weeks at the Schieffelin Institute of Health Research & Leprosy Training Centre, Karigiri, India working in conjunction with hospital staff on a pressure mapping study involving the orthotic material MCR and the design and construction of a functioning baby incubator. Tim's passion for appropriate medical technology developed from observing the misuse of donated medical equipment during his stay at Karigiri Hospital. In January 2008, he will return to India as the mentor and leader of the DSDW Program and will be working with bioengineering staff at the Christian Medical College in Vellore to develop appropriate medical technology solutions for rural community health clinics.
Session Outline: Appropriate Medical Technology in the Developing World

The QUT Dean's Scholarship for the Developing World


At present the implementation and sustainability of suitable medical technologies in hospitals and health centres throughout the developing world is a major challenge. Although medical equipment and resources are becoming increasingly affordable, available and effective in treating and diagnosing patients, their use in clinical practice has not always generated the expected or desired outcomes. Ultimately, Medical Engineers have, for various reasons, not adapted their medical equipment design practices to meet the specific demands of developing world conditions. The philosophy behind appropriate medical technology is simple, by becoming familiar with the source of previous medical device failures, it is possible to eliminate the potential risk factors involved and install economically viable equipment that ensures safe and effective patient diagnosis or treatment. The Dean's Scholarship for the Developing World (DSDW) was an initiative established by QUT alumni and academic staff with the intent of creating an enrichment program for the students of QUT's Medical Engineering program. This scholarship provides students with the opportunity to work in an Indian hospital for a six week period during the summer holidays and develop appropriate medical technology solutions.

This session of the EWB 2007 National Conference will examine the principles of appropriate medical technology within a developing world context and draw upon the speaker's experiences at the Schieffelin Institute of Health Research & Leprosy Training Centre, Karigiri, India. Tim will discuss his involvement in various hospital projects including, the Karigiri MCR Pressure Study and Baby Incubator design, as well as highlighting the importance of capacity building exercises in the transfer of essential engineering knowledge to ensure the sustainable future use of this technology.

Rhett Butler

Rhett Butler is a professional engineer with over 20 years experience in the water industry. He has considerable experience in low cost water and wastewater systems and in particular, low cost potable water supply. He has travelled extensively in developing countries and has been directly involved in disaster relief and interim/ medium term water treatment systems. Rhett is the Founder and Chairman of the SKYJUICE FOUNDATION INC, a non profit registered organisation that specialises in sustainable water systems. The SkyJuice^TM Foundation has supplied over 300 water treatment plants in 14 countries over the past 8 years and has installations with most of the major international NGO's.

Session Outline

Rhett will discuss the overall economics of sustainable water systems and why technology based solutions can have a dramatic impact for affordable potable water. In particular, the assertion that citizens of developing nations should have access to "equivalent" quality potable water to developed countries. He will address and discuss some of the traditional paradigms relating to potable water and sanitation.

Dr. Indubhushan Patnaikuni

Dr. Indubhushan Patnaikuni is a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering at RMIT University. Dr. Patnaikuni is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. He has published 85 papers in various reputed journals and international conferences of which two papers received best paper awards; Chaired several technical sessions and delivered 9 of keynote addresses in international conferences. His expertise is in the areas of high performance concrete and sustainability is well recognised internationally. He was the Team Leader and co-inventor of a ‘Concrete Testing System' for testing high-strength concrete; received several prestigious international awards including ‘Eminent Engineer'; member of the International Committee on Concrete Model Code for Asia; member of the editorial board of the Asian Concrete Model Code; pioneer of migrant engineer education programs in Australia; member of the International Advisory Committee to advise the National Working Group of India on University Industry Science Partnership (UNESCO-UNISPAR Program); member of Scientific and Technical Committees of several International Conferences; Executive Committee Member of International Structural Engineering and Construction Conferences; Executive Committee Member of the Structural Engineering (Victoria Branch, Engineers Australia); received three awards as best research supervisor for the entire RMIT University; research interests include sustainability, high strength / performance concrete, fiber reinforced high performance concrete, sustainable construction methods, composite structures, engineering education, utilisation of building waste materials in concrete, utilisation of farm animal waste in concrete, maintenance management of pavements and railways, passive solar energy etc. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia.He was a Co-Chair of the International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference (ISEC-4) in 2007. He is a Co-Editor of the book "Innovations in Structural Engineering and Construction" published by Taylor & Francis/Balkema in 2008. He is currently the President of IDEAS (Indian Descendant Engineers and Scientists - Australia Inc.)

Dr. Patnaikuni received several research grants including prestigious ARC grants. At present he is working on EcoHome project funded by ARC as one of the CIs. He is also successful in obtaining ARC funding of $180,000 in 2005 for a sustainability related project on ‘Blended calcium-magnesium binders for improved and more sustainable building materials.

He carried out several consultancy works for industry both at University of Western Australia and at RMIT University.

Seona Candy

Seona is a PhD student with the International Development Technology Centre (IDTC) at the University of Melbourne. Her research involves using solar energy to improve food security in remote regions of Nepal.Her background is in aerospace engineering, holding a Bachelor degree from RMIT and a Masters degree from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She also has a keen interest in sustainable vehicle technology, having raced with the Nuon solar car team for the 2001 & 2003 World Solar Challenge, the Aurora team in the Phaethon event in Greece in 2004, and participated in the Vehicle Design Summit at MIT in 2006. She currently works part-time, alongside her studies, as a consultant with Going Solar on projects related to renewable energy and sustainable living.

Session Outline

John Gear

John Gear grew up in Ballarat, Victoria. He was a day student at Ballarat and Clarendon College and enjoyed rowing as a school sport. Outside of school his interests include, mountain biking, boxing and motor sport. After finishing school in 2001, John took a year off studies and worked at a friend's manufacturing company. He was always leaning towards undertaking an Engineering Degree, but it wasn't until this year of experience in industry that he was certain he wanted to become a Mechanical Engineer. Later that year he was accepted into both Engineering at Monash University, and also residence at Mannix College. John's experience at university was varied; he enjoyed the practical and design aspects of the course much more than mathematical theory side, and soon learned that he wanted to work in project management.

Session Outline

In his final year of Mechanical Engineering at Monash John decided to undertake his Fourth Year Research Project as an EWB Project looking into Cambodia's Water Sanitation and Supply (WSS). The project was to be a broad scope WSS paper, focusing on the specific technologies and solutions used in Cambodian projects. It would contribute to EWB's archive of country specific research and serve as a reference for future EWB Cambodian WSS projects. Many of the issues that factor into the success of WSS projects are non-technical issues. The cultural circumstances of the communities who benefit from WSS projects need careful consideration, and have significant input into the design of a particular system, or the way it is implemented. These cultural and socio-economic areas of study, and the way they go hand in hand with engineering design is not emphasised during mainstream study and EWB provides a valuable opportunity to explore this.

Peter Castellas

Peter is the joint founder and Managing Director of Clean Technology AustralAsia, a business established to accelerate the investment in and deployment of clean technologies in the Asia Pacific region. Throughout Peter's 20-year entrepreneurial career, he has worked at the leading edge of the sustainable development agenda and has advised leading corporations, governments and financial institutions. Peter is currently leading a major international project for the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate to develop a Strategic Action plan to increase the investment in and deployment of renewable energy in India.

Peter is also the Fund Manager of the Sustainable Melbourne Fund an initiative that provides innovative financing to projects that contribute towards Sustainable Development at the State and municipal level. Peter has pioneered a number of innovative financing models and turnkey solutions for the upgrade and retrofit of commercial buildings.

Alan Pears

Alan Pears has been an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University since 2000, and contributed to Environment and Planning's teaching program since 2001. Alan has worked in the sustainable energy and environment fields since the late 1970s for community groups, government and the private sector. While working for the Victorian government in the 1980s, he helped develop and implement programs such as the Home Energy Advisory Service, public information and education, appliance energy labeling and mandatory building insulation regulations.

Since 1991, Alan has been co-director of Sustainable Solutions, an environmental consultancy, and has been involved in building energy and environmental rating and regulation, green building projects, educational software, green appliance development, industrial and business energy and environmental management, and policy analysis.

Mosese Waqa

A geographer, economist and environmentalist by formal training, Mosese Waqa is a Pacific specialist actively involved in the field of conflict prevention and peace building for the last three years.

Most recently invited by the Hague based Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and supported for the setting up of the Australian platform of GPPAC. Founding member for GPPAC in the Pacific, Pacific People Building Peace (PPBP), and current member of its Steering Committee. Graduate of the Geneva-based United Nations Institute for Training & Research on its Programme on Conflict Prevention & Peace Building in 2007. A Fellow of the Asialink Leaders Program in 2007. Also currently engaged by the Institute for Community, Ethnicity and Policy Alternatives (ICEPA) to set up a Melbourne based Pacific Hub at Victoria University.

Worked as a researcher and adviser with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the Japanese Government's technical assistance to the Pacific before moving to Melbourne (2001-2003). Regional Director for the Central Pacific region for the Adventist Development & Relief Agency, ADRA (1998-2000). Worked as a volunteer, and consultant in the Pacific on rights of the child, microfinance, eco-tourism, community development, youth leadership, engaging men in the campaign against violence against women, environment management and conservation, community health, social justice, good governance and respect for the rule of just laws.

Mosese is also an active member of the Melbourne based Pacific Islands Network, and the international network of Initiatives of Change.

Dr Glen Simpson

Dr Simpson began his professional career in International Development in 1974 as a United Nations specialist advisor in Spain. Since then he has worked in more than 20 countries, spanning the globe from the Middle East to Latin America. He has worked for Coffey International Development for 28 years and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Coffey International Development, and an Executive Director on the Coffey International Limited. He holds a Bachelor of Agriculture Science (Hons) and a PhD. He is a Foundation Member and Council Member, Company Directors Association of Australia and Chairman of the Council for Australia-Arab Relations. Glen lives in Adelaide and has four children.

About Coffey International Development

Coffey International Development is committed to improving the lives of world communities. With more than 30 years experience, it is renowned throughout the world for their work in developing communities. Coffey International Development has offices in 9 countries and has over 600 dedicated personnel working with local communities in more than 60 countries. The company's expertise crosses three main sectors being 1) stabilisation and recovery, 2) public sector development and 3) private sector growth. Within these three sectors, Coffey International Development provides expertise in 12 main practice areas including agriculture, governance, social protection, water, education and training. For further information visit www.coffey.com

Natasha Crossman

Natasha began a Bachelor of Engineering at the Australian National University in 2004. In March of that year she was involved in a 2 week mission trip to the Philippines and was struck by the poverty in which many of its people live. This experience gave her a determination to use the knowledge and skills acquired through her degree to help the more disadvantaged people in the world. She continued with Engineering, majoring in Sustainable Energy Systems and Mechanics of Materials. For her 4th year project, Natasha chose to help a community in the Philippines by attempting to apply a clay water filter design developed by Tony Flynn from the Department of Engineering at the ANU. Natasha will be graduating in Engineering in July 2008 and hopes to work with Engineers Without Borders more in the future.

Session Outline
In Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, many local villages access their water by using pumps that bring up ground water. These pumps are often in close proximity to pit toilets and unsealed sewerage tanks which overflow during the frequent hurricanes. This taints the water with Escherichia coli (E. coli), bacteria that commonly causes diarrhoea. To address this problem, a water filter design developed by Tony Flynn, Department of Engineering, ANU, using clay and organic filler, was adopted and altered to suit the materials of Calapan with the aim of providing an inexpensive method of providing clean drinking water. Two local clays and two local fillers were invested. Although a suitable design was not determined, it is possible one could be found with more research.

Peter Kelly

In order to enhance sustainability AusAID, the Australian Government Agency for International Development, is, like most Donors, increasingly seeking to delivery its assistance through partner government systems.This assistance delivery model , commonly known as a SWAp (Sector Wide Approach) is a process in which funding for the sector - whether internal or from donors - supports a single policy and expenditure programme, under government leadership, and adopting common approaches across the sector. It is generally accompanied by efforts to strengthen government procedures for disbursement and accountability. A SWAp should ideally involve broad stakeholder consultation in the design of a coherent sector programme at micro, meso and macro levels, and strong co-ordination among donors and between donors and government.

Peter Kelly will discuss some of the opportunities and challenges facing aid donors when they adopt a SWAp in relation to infrastructure and service delivery in developing countries. His presentation will also highlight some observations made whilst working for AusAID in the Asia Pacific Region.

Dr Michael Coughlan

Head, National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology

Dr Michael Coughlan began his meteorological career as a weather forecaster in Darwin with the Bureau of Meteorology and subsequently worked in several positions within that organization. In the mid 1970's he turned his attention to climate matters and helped formulate the structure of the National Climate Centre, which was formally established in the Bureau in 1986. From 1990-2002, he worked overseas on the development of several international programs dealing with climate variability and change, occupying positions within the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington D.C., the World Climate Research Programme in Hamburg, and the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, where he was the Coordinating Director for Climate Programs. On return to Australia, Dr Coughlan took up his current position as head of the National Climate Centre. The National Climate Centre is responsible for the maintenance of Australia's climate record; carries out routine monitoring of climate variability and change; issues seasonal predictions of rainfall and temperature climate; and provides a wide range of climate data, information and consultative services to Australian government, industry, the media and the public at large.

Paul Pholeros AM

Paul is one of three directors of Healthabitat Pty Ltd. For over 20 years Healthabitat has worked to improve the living environments of Indigenous people in many suburban, rural and remote areas of Australia.

From 1999 to mid 2007, Housing for Health projects have improved over 5,500 houses nationally, employed local Indigenous people and formed the basis of three editions of the National Indigenous Housing Guide. Paul also runs an architectural practice working on urban, rural and remote area architectural projects throughout Australia and internationally. He is currently the Adjunct Professor of Architecture at the University of Sydney.

Paul has received the Royal Australian Institute of Architects President's Award, the Australian Public Health Association's Impact Award and, in 2007, became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to architecture, and contributing to improving the living environment of Indigenous Australians.

Don Henry

Executive Director, Australian Conservation Foundation

Don Henry has been executive director of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Australia's leading national, not for profit environment organisation, since 1998. Previously based in Washington DC, he served with the World Wildlife Fund as director of the Global Forest program (1996-98), and as director of the WWF Asia-Pacific and South Pacific programs. In Australia, Don Henry has held the post of director at both WWF- Australia the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. His honorary positions have included commissioner with the Australian Heritage Commission and president of both the Australian Committee for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Moreton Island Protection Committee. He holds a Global 500 Environment Award from the United Nations Environment Program for his services to conservation.

Tim Prohasky

Executive Director & Board Member, Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Australia

Tim has been working with EWB for almost two years now in the role of Executive Director and Indonesian Program Manager. This role is responsible for the implementation of Board Strategy and the overseeing of the continued growth of EWB. Tim has a background in finance at the ANZ, and has completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Acc.&Fin.) at Monash University. He has worked in various roles across the ANZ including Business Analyst, MIS Analyst and Business Manager before becoming the General Manager of a small medical services company. He then joined EWB whilst retaining other part-time business interests. He is currently completing a Masters of International Development at RMIT University in Melbourne.

Tim's interest and passion for development spurred from a 15,000 km road trip down the west coast of Canada, America and into Mexico and Central America. "The American border crossing at Tijuana must be the most visible contrast of the developed and the developing world anywhere on the planet. On the American side you have the silky smooth six lane superhighway of Interstate 5 that winds its way down from San Diego, and on the other you have a crowded poorly maintained single lane street leading into Tijuana and beyond. You go from driving with Mercedes' and Porches to carts and old Cadillacs within a distance of 100 metres. The change happens instantaneously because you don't even have to stop as you cross the border into Mexico due to the Free Trade Zone!"

Evan Thornley

Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier of Victoria

Evan Thornley was elected in 2006 to the Legislative Council in the Victorian Government and is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, responsible for the National Reform Agenda and Innovation.

Evan has been active in business, education, the community sector and public policy. He is National Secretary of the Australian Fabian Society and was, until his election, a council member of The University of Melbourne, and a founding director of www.getup.com.au. He is a board member at the Brotherhood of St Laurence, founding board member of Per Capita think tank and proprietor of Pluto Press.

He co-founded and is a former CEO of internet search advertising company LookSmart. Prior to LookSmart, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. He has degrees in Law and Commerce from the University of Melbourne, where he also served as president of the SRC and as a founding officer of the National Union of Students.

Daniel Almagor

CEO, Engineers Without Borders
Daniel Almagor is the founder and President of Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB) and the Managing Director of Medivax. Through his travels Daniel became increasingly interested in working with people in developing countries. After obtaining his Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and Bachelor of Business Administration from RMIT, Daniel was frustrated by the limited opportunities for young engineers to get involved in development projects in third world countries because of their lack of experience. This drove him to establish Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB). More broadly, Daniel saw Engineers Without Borders as responding to the engineering community's demand for ways of using their engineering skills for a good cause. In 2003, Daniel won the Churchill Fellowship to investigate EWB branches and potential projects overseas.

Engineers Without Borders' incredible growth since then prompted Daniel to be named in the 100 most influential engineers inAustralia in 2005 and was recognised in a list of the most inspiring young engineers as well as the RMIT Alumni Hall of Fame. Daniel lives in Elwood with his wifeBerry and dog ‘Pablo'. He loves the outdoors, travelling and learning about practically anything..

Stewart Davies

Program Director, Engineers Without Borders Australia

Stewart is a graduate from Monash University in Commerce and holds a Master of Social Science in International Development from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He has worked for a variety of organisations including Oxfam Australia, both in Australia and overseas. While his passion for community development was inspired by living and working in a remote community in the Northern Territory, he has also worked in Central America and Africa.

Stewart’s current focus is on further developing the work of EWB Australia. Stewart is committed to building strong long term relationships with EWB members, partner organisations and the communities with whom EWB works. He envisions a positive role for EWB in connecting engineers with developing communities both in Australia and abroad. His belief is that the name ‘Engineers Without Borders’ does not simply imply ‘across geographical borders’. Instead Stewart sees it is a metaphor for EWB’s role in providing volunteers with access to opportunities and experience that far exceeds the technical aspect of engineering alone while making a positive impact through the work of EWB.

John St James Stewart Buckeridge

Professor of Natural Resources Engineering and Head of the
School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering at
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.

John is President of the International Union of Biological Sciences, (and chairs the IUBS Bioethics Committee), he is President of the International Society of Zoological Sciences, a member of the Victoria Biotechnology Ethics Advisory Committee, a Councillor of the Royal Society of Victoria and has acted as consultant on environmental ethics to UNESCO’s COMEST (World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology). In 2004 he was appointed honorary professor at Wismar University, Germany, in recognition of his work in engineering ethics. He has wide interests in both engineering and the natural sciences, having been a visiting professor in China, France, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Turkey and the USA. John has published more than 200 books, journal articles and reports, in subject areas ranging through geology, geological engineering, palaeobiology, engineering systems, ethics, marine biology, forensics and natural resources management.

Session Outline

The role of the engineer has been variously described as taking the dreams, hopes and desires of humanity, and making these a reality. Australian society generally views engineers as honest and trustworthy practitioners; in light of this, it is perhaps surprising that we are so under represented in government. This lack of representation will have severe implications in the future, as it becomes increasingly evident that solutions to many of the environmental and social crises that we currently face, and will face, must be solved through prudent use of technology. This paper also addresses the notion that engineers are not born, but are made, and consideration is given to the “world view” that undergraduate engineering curricula has traditionally provided, with comment about new models being trialled in Australia (RMIT) and Germany (Wismar).

Dr Natteri V Chandran

Natteri V Chandran is a Melbourne-based psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, and educator at the University of Melbourne. His work in these areas as well as his contributions to the charitable and community service sectors have been recognised in international publications like Who's Who in Medicine and Who's Who in the World.

Born in 1946 in Madras, India, he studied medicine as a national merit scholar at JIPMER in Pondicherry. In 1971, Dr Chandran left for Australia to study and work. In 1992, acting on his desire to give something back to the community that raised him, Dr Chandran founded The East West Foundation of India (TEWFI), a charitable and educational organisation committed to helping those in need in India.

He also set up The East West Centre (TEWC), dedicated to helping the mentally unwell among the poor and disadvantaged in Australia, and The East West Overseas Aid Foundation (TEWOAF) in Australia. He was awarded the "Hind Rattan" award in New Delhi in 2004 for his dedicated service to the community.

Brett Solomon

Brett Solomon is the Executive Director of GetUp!. He has worked both in Australia and internationally on a range of social justice and human rights issues.

Prior to working at GetUp!, Brett was the Campaign Coordinator for Amnesty International Australia. At Amnesty, his main focus was the refugee campaign, which called on the government to put an end to mandatory detention, temporary protection visas and the so-called Pacific Solution.

Brett honed his social justice career at Oxfam Australia, where he founded the International Youth Parliament, an international network of young social justice activists tackling issues such as poverty, conflict and globalisation. Brett has a Bachelors degree in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney and a Masters degree in International Law from the University of New South Wales.

Nick Harley

B. Engineering (Hons), B. Economics

Nick Harley is a founder and the inaugural president of the South Australian Chapter of Engineers Without Borders Australia and has maintained involvement in various roles ever since. This lead to his placement as a VIP at Resource Development International in Cambodia where he worked on developing technical resources for ceramic water filters and their manufacturing process.

Nick is also the immediate Past Chair of the Young Engineers Australia National Committee and is a graduate engineer at Santos Ltd where works on facilities in Indonesia and Australia.

 Session Outline

I've always been brought up to be aware of people around the world who don't have the same living standards or opportunities as me, but I never took any self initiated steps to do anything about it. I would raise money for charity through school and do community service when required by school or my parents (although this only amounted to a few weeks).

Throughout first and second year university, there was nothing that ever inspired me to get directly involved in anything that would help the disadvantaged around the world and nor was I particularly aware or concerned about the issues the world faces. I never thought for a moment that I would be one of those adventurous people (as I thought at the time) who ventured over to a poor and dangerous country to help the people living in poverty.

So what changed that suddenly made me want to start an EWB chapter and get involved? What suddenly made me interested in sustainable development and wanting to change the problems that I saw around the world? This presentation is a self reflection of how I changed to become aware, what I learnt along the way and what eventually inspired me to go and volunteer overseas.

Lizzie Webb

Lizzie Webb is the Director of Education, Training and Research for Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB). Through this role, Lizzie is responsible for coordinating EWB's education initiatives for members, university students and schools and providing support for chapter education activities.Lizzie graduated as an Environmental Engineer from The University of Queensland in 2002. Since then, she has worked as a consulting engineer in Australia and Austria, developing water quantity and quality management plans for projects in the urban development and mining sectors.

Lizzie become involved in EWB soon after its establishment in 2004 and helped set up the Queensland Chapter. She joined the EWB staff in September 2006 and now works full time as the Education Director. This year, Lizzie's work has focused on the inaugural EWB Challenge student design competition. Through this program, Lizzie has been working with nearly 30 universities and student chapters around Australia and New Zealand.

EWB National Conference - Session Description

2008 EWB Challenge Launch Event

Friday 30 November
(1:50 pm - 2:10 pm)

Join us for the official launch of the 2008 EWB Challenge student design program. During this event, we will celebrate the achievements of the 2007 program and announce the student projects for 2008. A formal ‘handover' will take place between representatives of the 2007 and 2008 EWB Challenge Program Partners - Dr Chandran, Founder of The East West Overseas Aid Foundation (TEWOAF) and Dr Mickey Sampson, Founder of Resource Development International Cambodia (RDIC). Presentations will also be made by the EWB Challenge Corporate Sponsors BHP Billiton and Thiess Pty Ltd.

This year over 3,500 students at 20 universities participated in the inaugural EWB Challenge. The EWB Challenge is a new design program for first-year university students. It aims to inspire students and build their core competencies in sustainable design through real projects focused on EWB's work with disadvantaged communities.
This year, students' worked on a range of projects identified by TEWOAF that assist the development of Uluru Children's Home in southern India.

In 2008, students will work on projects identified by RDIC that will support community development initiatives in Kandal Provide, Cambodia. Project themes include water supply and treatment, sanitation, wastewater management, permaculture and agriculture, rural electrification and bridges, household and medical technologies.

Redefining Engineering Education

Saturday 1 December
1:00 pm (Parallel session)

"The future sustainability of the global community will depend on the engineers we educate today". First-year university student, 2007

The way in which we educate our future engineers is key to the profession's ability to play an effective role in leading society towards a more sustainable future. During this interactive conference session, Lizzie Webb (EWB Director of Education) will illustrate how EWB works with students, graduates and experienced professionals to enhance engineering education.

EWB works with universities, professional associations, high schools and industry to deepen understanding of sustainable development, appropriate technology and poverty alleviation. Through its education initiatives, EWB aims to expand the dimensions of experience for students and professionals and encourage leadership to address human development challenges.

Key EWB Education initiatives include the EWB Challenge design program, Development Experiences in the Philippines and India, undergraduate research projects and a broad range of chapter-lead initiatives include various school outreach activities.

Alan Finkel

AM, PhD, FTSE

Alan received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Monash University in 1981 then worked for two years as a neuroscience Research Fellow at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra.

In 1983 Alan founded Californian company Axon Instruments, which rose to international pre-eminence as a supplier of electronic and robotic instruments and software for cellular neurosciences, genomics and pharmaceutical drug discovery. In 2000 Axon listed successfully on the Australian Stock Exchange and Alan continued to serve as CEO until Axon was acquired in 2004. Soon afterwards Alan co-founded Cosmos Magazine, a popular magazine of science in society, and G Magazine, a lifestyle magazine for sustainable living.

In his public interest capacity Alan is the Chairman of the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse, a governor of the Clunies Ross Foundation, Chairman of the Australian Course in Advanced Neuroscience and a board member and governor of the Florey Neuroscience Institutes. Alan has recently been appointed as the Chancellor of Monash University, commencing January 2008.

Suzanne Young

Suzanne Young - Chemical Engineer - PB (Parsons Brinckerhoff)

An engineering career has enabled Suzanne to combine her passion for environmental sustainability and community equity with engineering problem solving techniques. She is currently a part of the Gippsland Water Factory Alliance delivering environmental sustainability in the Gippsland region.
Suzanne graduated from the University of Melbourne with a double degree in Chemical Engineering (Honours) and Arts (History major). Since graduating, she has worked with international engineering, environmental and planning consultancy PB (Parsons Brinckerhoff).
In October, she received a High Commendation for the Engineers Australia 2007 Young Professional Engineer Award.


The Gippsland Water Factory pioneers water treatment
The Gippsland Water Factory will be an innovative wastewater treatment and recycling facility located in the Gippsland region of Victoria.
In the current debate surrounding climate change and water-shortages, the Gippsland region is pioneering a local solution which will provide lasting community benefits and set the standard in Victoria for industrial water reuse. The facility is much more than an infrastructure project - it's creating a social and environmental legacy for future generations.
Suzanne's presentation will consider how engineering design solutions can be more sensitive to environmental needs, as well as engaging community in the process. By demonstrating the processes involved in water management, engineers can engender a greater respect for the resource and promote the necessity for reduced consumption to complement technological innovation.

Jane Pound

Jane joined Social Ventures Australia in 2005 as Director - Victoria of
SVA with responsibilities for corporate and investor support, government
relations and venture support. She has 10 years experience in corporate
law and corporate advisory roles. Prior to joining SVA, Jane worked for
five years in Sydney as a senior corporate lawyer at leading law firm
Gilbert & Tobin. She specialised in structuring transactions, mergers
and acquisitions, joint ventures, shareholder arrangements and capital
raisings.Before that, she worked for Ernst & Young as a Senior Manager in a
corporate advisory role, and as a lawyer for a number of years in
Melbourne. During her career, Jane has undertaken pro-bono work
including representing an asylum seeker and providing advice to
not-for-profit organisations on a range of issues.

Session Outline :Exploring a new model of social investment

An independent non-profit organisation established in 2002, SVA is a new and unique model of social investment that aligns the interests of philanthropists with the needs of social entrepreneurs to combat some of Australia's most pressing community challenges.
This session will explore the new model of engaged philanthropy and social investment.

Some of the concepts covered include:
• moving from cheque book charity to engaged philanthropy
• a focus on accountability and impact
• Practical capacity building for non-profit organisations.

SVA unites people in the belief that we need to do more as a community to provide all Australians with the opportunity for:
• Sustainable economic participation - by increasing the number of people with access to, and engaged in, productive and purposeful activity within the community.
• Meaningful social connection - by building connections with marginalised, diverse and disparate groups to increase the number of people participating in the community with a sense of ownership and belonging.
• A lasting sense of personal significance - by increasing the opportunity for contribution and reciprocity, building a sense of self-worth and value in all people in our community.

Anh Tran

Anh Tran is the Education Officer of Engineers Without Borders Australia working with engineering students and professionals to raise the awareness and knowledge of alternative and appropriate technologies and its role in driving sustainable development and poverty reduction. She completed her Bachelor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland and is currently completing a PhD. In 2006, she was president of the UQ chapter and her team successfully integrated EWB projects into the first year engineering course at UQ - the pilot course that pre-empted the EWB Challenge in 2007. Anh volunteered in Cambodia as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) working with the rural poor to improve their livelihood on projects involving water and sanitation, food security, income generation and education. She represented Australia at the Youth Encounter for Sustainability (YES) workshop in Switzerland where 35 young leaders from multi-cultural, multi-discipline backgrounds discussed the challenges and visions for a sustainable future. Anh believes that education is one of the most powerful tools to drive local and global change and that the engineering profession has a pivotal role in our sustainable future.

AYAD Returned Volunteer: Guns, democracy and the well of hope in Cambodia
For the last nine months, Anh was in the rural province of Cambodia as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD), working on poverty alleviation projects involving water and sanitation, food security, income generation projects and education. She lived (slept in wooden huts), ate (rice, coconuts & tarantulas), spoke in the local language (Khmer) and using participatory approaches, worked closely with the rural villages to improve their livelihoods. In this session, Anh will retell how she became involved in development and ended up being medivac out of Cambodia. She will discuss her failures and successes in development and amuse you with anecdotes of controversial issues such as "Development - is it a business?", "Does aid assist or impede a countries' development" and "Aid and democracy - do they truly co-exist in Cambodia?" Be prepared for a lively debate.

The EWB Challenge: Education that Can Make a Real Difference
2007 saw the inauguration of the Engineers Without Borders Australia Challenge (EWB Challenge), an international design competition for first-year university engineering students. This landmark program aimed to develop students' learning experiences and key attributes through a team-based design approach utilising real, inspirational sustainable development projects. The EWB Challenge in its first year was hugely successful with 20 participating universities in Australia and New Zealand, engaging over 3500 first year engineering students in developing sustainable projects for the Uluru Children's Home in India.
"The EWB Challenge has been one of the greatest mind opening and skill developing projects I have undertaken," said a student participating in the program. "It's a good feeling being involved in any activity or anything worthwhile. It gives a sense of purpose and a meaning to my education."
This session reviews the benefits of an international first year design competition as an educational tool to drive local and global change.

Bruce Sinclair AM

Bruce Sinclair was born and brought up in Sydney, and studied engineering at Sydney University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.He worked for a range of employers, public and private, before starting his own firm, Sinclair and Knight in 1964. S K's successor, Sinclair Knight Merz, is now Australia's largest consulting technology company, with some 5000 staff worldwide.

Bruce was active in the Institution of Engineers, Australia, being a Councillor for many years and National President in 1979-80. He has worked and lived in a number of countries in South and South-east Asia, and was instrumental in developing a significant export market for Australian engineering expertise.

Since retiring to Canberra in 1990 he has been founding Chairman of RedR Australia (Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief), during which time RedR Australia developed into one of Australia's leading humanitarian NGOs. RedR Australia trains and deploys engineers and other professionals with particular technical skills to assist UN and other humanitarian organisations in their relief work in any part of the world.

In recent years he has ser