The limitations of poverty as a development concept with Chris Nelson
Right click here to downloadChris Nelson
Chris Nelson is a development economist and the Director of the Performance Systems and Support Branch at AusAID. In this role, he is responsible for the quality reporting system, annual program reviews and evaluation support for the agency. Prior to this role, Chris worked with AusAID’s Asia program in an evaluation support capacity. He has held various positions in private, public and academic fields including time with the OECD in Paris, the University of Mozambique and the Institute for Sustainable Futures in Sydney. In each of these roles, Chris has maintained a particular interest in how development can better bridge the nexus between the private and public sectors and how developing economies can avoid rent-seeking behaviour. He is in the last stages of completing a doctorate on using alternative methodologies for effective evaluation.
Session Outline
The international development aid system is premised on an assumption that poverty alleviation is the only driver for effective aid. This presentation looks at the merits of this assumption and argues that this ‘single’ approach diminishes the complexity of the development process. Through a robust critique of the ‘poverty dilemma’, it is hoped that a more systemised understanding of development will emerge and that new methodologies will be embraced to explore how development takes its course
Comedy Debate: Business is more likely to save the world than non profits.
Right click here to downloadChair: David Thornton
Affirmative: Rob Skinner, Richard Dennis and Monique Conheady
Negative: Anna Rose, Jan Owen and Anton Hermann Dave Thornton (Debate Chair )
Dave Thornton
Hi, my name is Dave Thornton. I am a stand-up comedian who stands up and comedies. With his accessible humour and free flowing style, Dave’s success as a comic has quickly broadened into a range of performance credits on TV, radio and stage. Dave showed another side by acting in an ongoing role in ABC’s Bed of Roses, which aired in 2008, and was a regular performer on Comedy Inc. - The Late Shift 2007. His stand-up comedy has been televised on Good Morning Australia (Network TEN) and the Melbourne Cup special on Stand-up Australia (The Comedy Channel). Most recently he performed stand-up comedy on Rove (Channel 10). 41 His solo debut performance in at the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival garnered a nomination for ‘Best Newcomer’ for his show Euromission. With this year’s comedy festival show, Info, Dave then toured with the MICF Roadshow to numerous places in Northern Territory, Queensland and Singapore. He is a Sagittarian who enjoys long walks in the park and getting caught in the rain.
My Story by Cheryl Buchannan
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Cheryl Buchanan
Cheryl studied at the University of Hawaii as a scholarshipholder.Upon her return to Australia she became involved in the BrisbaneTribal Council, and attended the University of Queensland.During 1974 Buchanan worked as the race relations field director for theAustralian Union of Students and spent several months visiting communitiesin the Northern Territory and Western Australia, encouraging their strugglefor land rights. In 1975 she moved to Melbourne, Victoria, where she became director of the Black Resources Centre (BRC). The Centre later moved to Brisbane, and Cheryl became one of the principal campaigners for the acquittal of ‘The Brisbane Three’,two Aboriginal men and a Chilean charged with conspiracy over an alleged extortion attempt.
The three were acquitted due partly to the support of BRC periodical Black Liberation from975 to 1977. Buchanan was one of the main contributors to this publication, writing articleson a range of issues including history, politics, education, land rights, prisons and welfare.In 1980 she published Kargun, the first of a series of poetry volumes by Lionel Fogarty. Thispublication led to the development of Murrie Coo-ee, an Aboriginal publishing firm atCoominya which continues to operate under Buchanan's directorship.
Session Outline
Cheryl will be providing us with an inspirational account of her personal story.
Eric Campbell - reporting on the World
Right Click here to downloadEric Campbell
Eric Campbell is one of Australia's most experienced international reporters.In a 20 year career he has worked in more than 50 countries, and coveredsome of the biggest breaking stories of the past decade. Eric was the ABC'sMoscow Correspondent from 1996 to 2000, covering upheavals in the former
Soviet Union as well as the conflicts in Afghanistan and Kosovo. His storiesinclude the coming of the Taliban to Afghanistan and their ousting five years later, both ofRussia's wars in Chechnya, the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo and the overthrow of Milosevic.Eric has won a Logie Award for news reporting and two New York Festivals world medals forenvironmental reporting. He was a two-time Walkley Awards finalist for his coverage of theKosovo war.
In 2005 his book 'Absurdistan' was published, documenting the highs and lows of being areporter in some of the strangest, most dysfunctional places on Earth.
Session Outline
Eric will be reporting on the world, drawing from his extensive experience as a veteran journalist.
Development; What have we learned so far? with Pip Chandler
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Pip Chandler
Pip has worked for a number of years as a consultant for a range of NGOsand development companies in the areas of evaluation, learning,communications and advocacy. Prior to working in international development,she worked in film, television and interactive media, bringing her love for
storytelling and all things creative to the field of development. She specialises in using creative and participatory techniques such as Digital Storytelling,Participatory Video, and Photo Voice as tools for community engagement, evaluation, andadvocacy. Pip has a Master of International Development & Environmental Analysis, and aBachelor of Arts (Communications), and has worked in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Thailand, Timor-Leste, UK, Germany and Australia.
Session Outline
50 years of ‘development’ and we’ve set the world on fire! How did we get here, what have
we learnt along the way, and what needs to change to give us hope for the future? From postwar
re-construction to the Millennium Development Goals and World Forums on Aid
Effectiveness, we take a look at the history of international aid as a reflection of the issues
that have shaped ‘development’ as we currently understand it. From economic to sustainable
development, we will examine how mutual respect, trust, ownership, creativity, leadership,
and partnership have been, and will continue to be, the ingredients of positive development
change.
Mark Henry Rubarenzya - Water Resources Management
Right click here to downoadMark Henry
Mark is a water resources engineer with experience in the integrated management of land and water resources primarily in Australia,Eastern Africa, and Europe. The earlier part of his career was spent in East Africa bringing Rwanda and Burundi into the second phase of the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Program (LVEMP2).
His work in Europe and Australia has included planning, monitoring, andevaluation of ecosystem responses tomanagementinterventions,principally through conjunctive hydrological and ecological modeling. He also serves as a Principal Water Resources Consultant in the International Development Assistance groupwithin GHD.For his work on the Integrated Water Resources Management (WRM) in Uganda, Mark Henryreceived the VIF Award in 2007 from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the first such winner to come from Africa.
Session Outline
The interconnectedness of WRM, energy, food, nutrients, carbon, biodiversity, and lack maynot be as obvious yet, and this presentation brings together some of these themes in thecontext of ENGAGE 2009. This presentation will draw us into a reflection on our conscience, bringing us to question the motives that drive our actions as volunteers. This touches on how far we will go in the service of others.
A Brief History of EWB
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Matt Walsh
It’s fair to say that Matt fumbled his way into the development world. Working as an Aerospace Engineer for the Air Force early in his career, he developed a strong resistance to authority and the conventional engineering way of approaching the world’s problems. These frustrations lead him into the loving arms of his good friend, Danny Almagor, who persuaded him to help start a little fledgling organization called Engineers Without Borders Australia. Matt went onto lead the first EWB volunteer placement with the Micro Wind Turbine project in Nepal, which lead to working with the Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria. Matt has previously served as a Director of EWB, Victoria Chapter president, WA Chapter committee and is now managing the partnership with EWB’s newest Indigenous Australia Program addition, Leedal, a project to help them with remote area employment in housing construction and maintenance.
Daniel Almagor
Daniel Almagor is the founder and previous CEO of Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB) and the Managing Director of Medivax Pty Ltd. He sits on a number of non profit boards and holds two degrees: a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and a Bachelor of Business Administration, both from RMIT. In 2003, Daniel won the Churchill Fellowship to further the growth of EWB in Australia. EWB’s rapid growth and success throughout Australia and South Asia prompted Daniel to be named in the 100 most influential engineers in Australia in 2005 and he was recognised in a list of the most inspiring young engineers as well as receiving the RMIT Alumni of the Year in 2009. He loves gardening and has been looking forward to this conference for months – although will be very happy to rest afterwards.
Session Outline
Matt and Danny are going to be giving a “warts ‘n’ all” account of EWB’s history with the EWB
CEO one of the founding Board members. Their story is living proof that competence isn’t a
prerequisite for success but stubbornness is.
An Interview with EWB Community Partners
Right click here to downloadIan Cunningham
Ian is the South Asia Programs Officer for EWB. Ian previously worked in environmental engineering in sunny Sydney and picturesque NZ before joining the EWB team. He got his feet wet when he landed the ultimate 18 month placement as an EWB volunteer in Bali on the Tenganan Water Supply Project. Fully entangled in the EWB community, it was a natural step he moved to Melbourne to take on the South Asia Programs Coordinator role at National HQ.
Session Outline
EWB staff member Ian Cunningham will be interviewing EWB’s community partners exploring their personal stories as well as the history of the projects that EWB is supporting through their community organisations.
Large Scale Solar Power
Right click here to downloadJohn Lasich
John co-founded Solar Systems in 1992 and created the concepts which have been furthered by the company over the last 17 years to produce the world’s most efficient solar power technology. He is the key inventor of the proprietary ‘Dense Array CPV’ technology being granted 9 patents with 16 pending. He sets the Company’s technical strategy and leads the R&D department. John has 30 years of practical experience in ‘mainstream’ and ‘renewable’ energy industry sectors. His experience also includes the sale, design, construction, project management, commissioning and operation of significant energy projects in Australia and overseas. John has a BSc and is currently completing his PhD thesis in the field of concentrator/photovoltaic power cogeneration. He has been an invited speaker at a number of international conferences on solar energy and has published 16 papers on solartechnology. John is a member of the International Electro technical Commission (IEC) standards committee for PV concentrator systems.
Session Outline
'Large scale solar power' will give some insight as to how this might be achieved using concentrator systems for generating electricity and hydrogen at high efficiency and low cost.
Live and Learn’s floating latrines project
Right click here to downloadSession Outline
This session will explore in more depth the context and progress of the Floating LatrinesProject on Lake Ton Le Sap in Cambodia. Live and Learn have identified the lack of toiletfacilities on and around the lake as risk to both human health and the environment. Mostpeople live in stilted buildings around the lake's edge (which is subject to seasonal flooding)or on floating buildings on the lake and as a result traditional toilet facilities are unsuitable.Live and Learn are working with EWB to design, construct, install and evaluate compost toilets suitable for these conditions.
The Role of EWB in the Community
Right click here to downloadLizzy Skinner
Lizzy began her career working at Melbourne Water where she developedquite a reputation for disappearing for up to months at a time. One suchdisappearance took her to Kooma country to assist with land managementprojects. In return, Lizzy was offered the unique experience and education
into Indigenous culture in Australia; more inspired by this education than herformal engineering/science she jumped off the mainstream engineeringship.Here a passion for travel took her to southern Namibia working with farmers on sustainable practices. Her return home
Session Outline
In 2008, EWB formed our Indigenous Advisory Committee to provide advice and direction in
the development of EWB’s Indigenous Australia Program strategy. Members of the
committee will form a panel exploring EWB’s role within Indigenous community development.
The panel will be chaired by Claire Dixon who will be asking questions such as EWB’s core
principles behind funding projects and the role of community.
The Taboo of Poo
Right click here to downloadBen Fawcett
Ben Fawcett is an environmental health engineer, development manager and lecturer who has worked in over 25 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America since 1981. He has worked on irrigation in Mauritania, with Oxfam GB, as Technical Adviser, Country Program Manager (for Vietnam, Laos and Burma) and Technical Director. This work included both relief situations, from the Ethiopian famine to an earthquake in Mexico City and refugees in Tanzania, and development programs, from Haiti to Cambodia and Vietnam. From 1994 to 1996 Ben was a freelance consultant reviewing programs with several NGOs, from Save the Children in Tibet, to Water Aid in Uganda, Oxfam GB in Chad and the Leon Foundation in South Africa. He then became a Lecturer at the University of Southampton, UK, where he directed a Masters program in Engineering for Development for ten years. In 2008 he co authored a book on the global sanitation crisis (‘The Last Taboo’: Black and Fawcett.
Session Outline
More than two out of every five people on earth have no safe, sanitary and private place to relieve themselves. Of these, 1.2 billion are forced to resort to the degrading daily practice of ‘open defecation’ – shitting, in full view of passers-by, on river banks, between railway tracks, in alleyways, in fields or behind bushes, or in plastic bags or pieces of paper to be thrown wherever they can. Ben will describe how this appalling situation stands, its impacts on the health of the least privileged and will outline what is being done to improve sanitation and what needs to be done.
Water Dreamers; an Australian Story
Right click here to downloadMichael Cathcart
Dr Michael Cathcart divides his time between teaching at the University of Melbourne and working on projects for ABC radio and TV. He was the host of ABC TV's history series Rewind and last year presented the 2-part documentary Rogue Nation. He is the author of Defending the National Tuckshop, a study of conservative responses to the Great Depression and he produced an abridgement of Manning Clark's 6-volume epic A History of Australia. His latest book is The Water Dreamers: The Remarkable History of our Dry Continent (Text 2009).
Session Outline
Michael will be exploring how water has shaped the history and cultural values of Australia, paying particular attention to the hydro-engineers (or 'water dreamers') who sought to fill this silent continent with the hum of industry.
Social Enterprise – A new model for fighting poverty
Right click here to downloadJan Owen
Jan Owen AM has been an Executive Director of Social Ventures Australia (SVA) since 2002. Prior to this, Jan was Founder and inaugural Chief Executive of the CREATE Foundation. She has more than 25 years experience in the non profit sector, including establishing and operating numerous organisations and cross-sectoral partnerships.
Kylie Charlton
Kylie is a founding team member of Unitus Capital, a financial advisory firm specializing in arranging capital for microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social enterprises benefiting those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Working at the intersection of mainstream capital markets, social investment and philanthropy,
Mai Siriphongpanh
Mai graduated from the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, and was awarded her MBA in December 2002. She joined the management training with DDD Phnom Penh in July 2003 and returned to her native Laos to set up the new DDD office in December 2003.
Chris Murdoch
Chris Murdoch was Associate Partner ofPricewaterhouseCoopers’ Management Consulting Services and led thebusiness strategy practice in Australia and New Zealand prior to joining theOpportunity International Australia team. He has over 15 years’ consultancyexperience in strategy development and implementation focused on leadingAustralian products and distribution businesses.
Session Outline
This panel will be discussing factors, challenges and opportunities around the various models of social enterprise.
Tenganan Workshop
Right click here to download - coming soonJerome Bowen
Jerome has worked with EWB for 5 years in the Programs area of the Western Australian Chapter. He spent 5 months in Tenganan discovering and framing the Tenganan Water Supply Project with the Tenganan community and on behalf of EWB. As the Community Liaison and Project Director, he currently helps manage the Knowledge Hub on this project, as well as managing stakeholder relationships, capturing project learnings and helping determine the strategic direction of the project. Jerome was trained as an environmental engineer and anthropologist, and currently works for Worley
Parsons developing sustainability approaches to project delivery.
Workshop overview: (Interactive!)
Participants have the opportunity to plan a community water supply project, from its inception to maintenance. Pak Mangku and Putu from Tenganan EWB’s largest community water supply project - will be on hand to provide insights into the community perspective and considerations in delivering a sustainable and appropriate water project. Ian Cunningham, Keryn Hawker and Jerome Bowen and EWB Field Volunteers, will be available to provide a perspective from the volunteers.
Indigenous Workshop
Right click here to downloadAndre Grant
Andre Grant is Senior Technical Officer at the Centre for Appropriate Technology (CAT) working from their North QLD office. CAT is a national Indigenous non-profit organisation that leads the field in facilitating community and sustainability based solutions to remote Indigenous communities. A key focus of Andre’s work at CAT is on community engagement techniques including, participatory community planning, development mentoring and participatory design and Participatory Action Research. EWB has been working with Andre and CAT on a few projects in North QLD and are in the process of refining a partnership model for indigenous engagement. Andre has a Masters in Sustainable Development and has had works published on Education for Sustainability, Participatory Action Research and Community Engagement. Prior to working for CAT he was involved initiating a community engagement unit at the UNSW, a youth and schools based Education for Sustainability programs in partnership with UNEP and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Andre was born and grew up in the remote Orkney Islands of Scotland is not an engineer and has forgotten most of his first degree in Physics.
Marilyn Wallace
Marilyn Wallace was born at Cooktown 1962. She is the great granddaughter of the great king Bluja (king of Kunawarra- Shiptons Flat. She is a Kuku Nyungkal woman and speaks her dialect of Nyungkal clan group. She has had many years of community work experience from a teacher aide to a councilor on the Wujal Wujal council. She had a vision of all her clan group returning back to their homeland (Annan River) and in 2004 she and her family moved back to live on country under a tent without electricity or telephone. Since then, native title has been returned to the traditional owners. There are eight Nyungkal rangers working on country that she coordinates and she is very proud to see all that has been achieved towards her vision for her clan.
Workshop Outline
A cultural awareness participatory workshop that explores cross cultural concepts, values and perceptions – both indigenous and non indigenous. The workshop will be facilitated by Marilyn Wallace with Andre Grant. Participants will gain a greater understanding of indigenous values systems, spirituality, lore as well as contemporary challenges through exploration and reflection upon their own values systems and culture and how they might alter their approach to their own professional or personal engagements with Indigenous people.
Technology Workshop: Spokes in the Wheel
Right click here to download - coming soonSession Outline
How to set up and manage a local project. Jai will be providing a project update and evaluation of a working local EWB project – Spokes in the Wheel. There will be a live bike repair & skills demonstration, plus lots of games and prizes to be won.
High School Outreach (HSO)
Right click to downloadMichael Evans
Michael is a keen supporter of “all things EWB” and has been actively involved for two years when he became the WA Chapter’s HSO Coordinator. Since then, he has assisted development of the HSO Program in the WA Chapter, and the resources his team has produced have become readily available resources for all EWB Australian Chapters to use. Drawing on skills honed in his work as an Environmental Engineer and in his musical past times, Michael has enjoyed his time helping his local chapter, and looks forward to continuing to support EWB’s education and awareness based programs on a wider scale. Mike is also about to embark on his next EWB journey as the South East Asia Field Officer in 2010.
Session Outline
Come and see why High School Outreach has grown to be one of EWB’s best education programs. This program sees even the freshest EWB recruits storming schools with the EWB message and exciting school students about the prospects of a career in engineering, or one of dozens of disciplines that take part in engineering projects.
EWB Challenge Presentations
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Right click to download part 3
The Engineers Without Borders Australia Challenge (EWB Challenge) is an Australasian
design program for first-year university students. Students work in teams to develop
conceptual designs for sustainable development that contribute towards real international
development projects.
Teams who presented at the 4th Annual EWB National Conference are:
· ‘Improving Battery Life’ – Murdoch University
· ‘Floating Land Project’ – Flinders University
· ‘Water Filtration’ - Edith Cowan University
· ‘Biodigestion in Cambodia’ – University of Western Australia
· ‘Integrated Bamboo Catchment and Filtration System’ – Curtin University
· ‘Communal Anchored Storm Protection Attachments for Houses’ – Curtin University
Congratulations to these teams and everybody who participated in this year’s EWBChallenge. The judging panel had great difficulty is selecting only 6 reports due to the highquality submissions from all universities.
Global Trade and the Curse of Affluenza
Right click here to download - coming soonRichard Denniss
Dr Richard Denniss is the Executive Director of the Australia Institute. He is an economist with a particular interest in the role of regulation. Prior to taking up his current position he was an Associate Professor at the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University where he continues to hold an adjunct appointment. Richard has also worked as Strategy Adviser to the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, and lectured in economics at the University of Newcastle. Richard has published extensively in academic journals, is a frequent contributor to national newspapers and was the co-author of the best selling Affluenza (with Dr Clive Hamilton) and is the co-author of the forthcoming An Introduction to Australian Public Policy: Theory and Practice (with Dr Sarah Maddison).
Session Outline
Richard will speak about global trade and identify that there is good trade and bad. On the positive side it can bring economies out of poverty, on the bad side it can cripple communities and countries, and add to the growing disease of affluenza
The Ins and Outs of Leading an Indigenous Community
Right click here to download - coming soonPatrick Green
Patrick Green has been a leader in the Fitzroy Valley for the past 20 years. Born in Derby at the Derby Native Hospital, Patrick was one of the stolen generation – sent to live in a Fitzroy mission the ‘United Aboriginal mission’ owned by the Department of Community Welfare. His family had to give four weeks notice to the mission to take him out for visits and holidays. During the 1980s, Patrick was trained and worked as a paralegal with the Aboriginal Legal Service and spent the next five years studying community development and advocacy through the State Department of Community Welfare and then the SA Institute of Technology. That training took him back home to help his own community, working with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Aboriginal Development Corporation to set up Leedal Pty Ltd, a business owned by six communities in the Valley of which Patrick has now been chair for 20 years.
Session Outline
This session will be a discussion about the complexities of leadership within Aboriginal
communities and will include an exploration of both the challenges and successes of two
indigenous communities.
Exploring the Idea of Pro Bono Engineering
Right click here to downloadBill Lawson
Bill Lawson is a Civil Engineer and a Principal of Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) with 38 years professional experience across a wide technical and social spectrum. Within SKM, Bill holds key roles in developing the Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy and position, particularly in the Indigenous sector and in July Bill was given global responsibility for SKM’s CSR activities. Bill is also the Chairman and founding Director of the national ‘not for profit’, $3M pa Beacon Foundation which works against Youth Unemployment. Bill has been widely recognised for his service to both Engineering and young Australians having been awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001, named as Engineers Australia’s ‘Professional Engineer of the Year’ in 2003 and made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006. In 2007, Bill was named as one of Australia’s ‘True Leaders’ by the Financial Review’s ‘Boss’ magazine.
Anton Herman
Anton Hermann has been National Director, Pro Bono & Community Investment for Minter Ellison Lawyers since 2004. He began his career in law with Minter Ellison in 1990 and subsequently worked in Government and the not-for-profit sector.
Session outline
This session will explore the idea of pro bono support from the engineering profession. It will draw on the successful model of the legal profession and examine the relationship between pro bono support and corporate social responsibility.
Ending the World’s Addiction to Oil with Evan Thornley
Right click here to downloadEvan Thornley
Evan Thornley is the CEO of Better Place Australia. Better Place Australia is part of a global company dedicated to zero emissions driving. Their vision is to enable the mass adoption of electric vehicles in Australia by providing the infrastructure and services that make it easy, affordable and attractive for motorists to adopt and drive electric vehicles.
The benefits of this transition for Australia may be dramatic: from cleaner air and lower emissions, to a stronger economy with more jobs and a healthier future for the car manufacturing and renewable energy sectors. Canberra has been selected for their first city-wide roll-out of the Better Place electric vehicle infrastructure in Australia. What will you be driving in 2030?
Session Outline
Evan will be examining the possibility of a movement away from our dependence on oil for transport through the mass adoption of electric vehicles.
EWB Project Update: Kooma Energy Project & EWB Undergraduate Research
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Robert Bekker
Robert Bekker is the Project Manager for the EWB Kooma Energy Project. Rob has a background in community development and has worked in Australia and several Asia Pacific countries. He brings with him a Masters in International Development and a vast array of experience both coordinating and volunteering in projects. He has a passionate interest in Community Development and sustainable appropriate technologies, and even facilitated a series of workshops in Papua New Guinea on how to make a rice husking machine from a bicycle.
Sophie Perisce
Sophie Perisce is the Team Leader for the Community Involvement team for the Kooma Energy Project. Sophie has been with EWB for over 3 years, and has spent 2 of those years as President of the SEQ Professional Chapter. Sophie works full-time in an Adult Education role for an engineering-based government organisation. She holds a strong, deep-seated passion for Aboriginal affairs, and continues to be actively involved with Kooma Nation and other projects with Aboriginal Australians.
Mark McNee
Mark is the technical team leader for the Kooma Energy project. His previous 4 years of EWB involvement has seen Mark the president of the UQ chapter for 2 years along with various other local project work in South East Queensland. Mark's role in industry is as mechanical engineer, working in contract management of project delivery in the energy sector.
Session outline
Mark, Sophie and Rob will discuss EWB’s role in assisting with the constructing of a 10kW photovoltaic system and how it fits with the communities long term goals. They will take you through a step by step of the project and relate some of the things they didn't know that they didn't know before the project, but wish they had.
Naomi Francis
Naomi thought she would be a perpetual student, but has finally finished uni and has decided to join the ‘real’ world. With a joint Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and Arts under her belt, Naomi hopes to do engineering in a community development context. Several years of travel, work and study overseas, mostly in China and the Netherlands, inspired her to focus on community development and she has been involved with EWB since 2005. Now she works as a graduate engineer in BMT WBM’s Water and Environment Group, and will continue to volunteer with EWB’s Indigenous Australia programs.
Session outline
As part of her honors year in Development Studies (2009), Naomi conducted a research project which focused on gender issues within EWB. Naomi will present her findings from the case study she undertook, which included a focus group and several interviews with EWB staff and volunteers, and offer her recommendations for EWB’s future management of gender issues.
Undergraduate Research
– Disability Huy Nguyen is finishing his engineering degree at the Australian National University, in which for the past year he has been working on his honors thesis - ‘Approaches for Disability Inclusive Development Engineering’. Along with Huy’s education in engineering, he found that this combination proved to be niche that really needed attention and felt that he could make valuable contributions towards. With such a challenge, Huy thinks that he could not have had the confidence without the support and resources of EWB. Huy enjoys chasing innovative business ventures, such as his current project www.gr8venue.com to help people such as himself plan their next outing.
Session outline:
This presentation briefly discusses the different types of perspective on disability, and the models that were developed to address disability. It will also examine the concept of role-play methodologies for engineers to create better requirements for solutions to disability problems.
Gender relations and inequality with Claire Rowland
Right click here to downloadClaire Rowland
Claire joined IWDA in March 2008 as an Overseas Program Manager supporting partners in Vanuatu and Fiji. Prior to working at IWDA she worked in Timor Leste for 3 years, supporting NGOs and cooperatives in their program management, organisational structures systems, monitoring and evaluation and communities development processes.
Session Outline
Claire will talk about analysing gender relations and addressing gender inequality within projects drawing from IWDA’s partners’ experiences in the Pacific and recent research conducted by IWDA and ISF.
Responding to disasters
Right click here to downloadAlan Mclean
With 13 years with Australian Red Cross (1979-1993), including five at the helm, were followed by appointments heading the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Victoria, the Transplant Promotion Council which operated the Organ Donor Registry in Victoria, and Crime Stoppers Victoria. Since February 2008, Alan has been CEO of RedR Australia. His early international involvements included development of Red Cross capacity in the islands of the SW-Pacific (Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Western Samoa.)He was in Baghdad to visit Australian hostages on strategic sites in Iraq prior to Gulf War I - the human shields. He has had other assignments of varying lengths in Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Kenya, Mozambique, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Somalia, and Vietnam.
Session Outline
Catastrophic drought, population growth in vulnerable regions, diminishing food supply and millions displaced by natural disaster: the future for the world’s population looks bleak. Alan will detail the workings of the international aid system, the importance of specialist training to ensure aid workers are highly competent in an emergency setting and opportunities for engineers to apply their skills in an emergency relief environment.