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Youtube:-The-Ideas-Roundtable:-Is-Australia-alright?
Is Australia still the Lucky Country? In public opinion polling, more and more Australians believe things are, on the whole, getting worse than better.
Various data such as the longstanding Scanlon Social Cohesion Report point to society becoming polarised. A culture of suspicion continues to grow around our most important institutions, and loneliness and social isolation is common across our community.
Against such concerning trends, what can be done? In this open discussion led by one of Australia’s foremost social researchers, author and University of Sydney alumna Dr Rebecca Huntley, we address three key, interconnected issues that will have a defining impact on national progress and prosperity, for generations to come:
Join our roundtable featuring Dr Marlee Bower (Matilda Centre and Sydney Environment Institute), digital innovation expert Dr Raffaele F. Ciriello, refugee advocate and UN Women Australia MBA scholar ('24) Chantal Mousad, and economist Dr Suneha Seetahul (Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work).
This event was held on Tuesday 29 July at the University of Sydney.
Marlee Bower is a Senior Research Fellow at the Matilda Centre and member of Sydney Environment Institute. Marlee is interested in the broader social determinants of mental health, particularly in understanding loneliness and isolation amongst marginalised individuals and how this relates to the built environment.
She leads the Climate Change and Mental Health Incubator, which explores the impact of housing and neighbourhood on mental health outcomes of climate change in urban environments. She also runs the Mentally Healthy Futures Project, a study of how mental health policymaking decisions can be best harnessed to improve the lives of future Australians. She is also Academic Lead on Australia's Mental Health Think Tank.
Raffaele F. Ciriello is a Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems at the University of Sydney. He is known for critical dialectical inquiries into compassionate digital innovation, Web3 governance, and artificial emotional intelligence. Raff is a proud mentor to over 50 research students and counting, and is a Distinguished Member of the AIS. His work appears regularly in leading journals, conferences, and mainstream media including Financial Times, 60 Minutes, The Conversation, Sydney Morning Herald and ABC News. In his spare time he changes nappies, builds sandcastles, and is routinely beaten at chess by a six-year-old.
Chantal Mousad is a Syrian finance executive, refugee advocate, and a prominent voice for diversity, equity, and inclusion in Australia. She is the 2024 recipient of the UN Women Australia MBA Scholarship at the University of Sydney Business School.
Originally from Syria, Chantal moved to Australia with her daughter Ayla in 2017 as part of a humanitarian program. In Australia, Chantal faced challenges in having her qualifications recognised. Through the CareerSeekers program, she secured an internship at Commonwealth Bank, and went on to advance in her career.
Now Chantal is a senior risk professional, board director, and advocate for equity, inclusion, and economic participation. She currently looks after risk governance at Westpac and serves as a director on the boards of CareerSeekers, Sydney MBA, and Global Resources Advisory Board.
Suneha Seetahul is an applied microeconomist specialising in gender, labor markets, and development economics. Suneha's research focuses on gender inequalities in labor markets across developing and industrialised countries. Her work also explores the intersections of gender with climate change, nutrition, and social protection systems.
In her current role as a Senior Research Fellow at Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work, she is in charge of developing innovative metrics for measuring gender equality at work. With a strong commitment to evidence-based policymaking, she has provided expert advice to government bodies and consulted for World Bank Global Practices, including Social Protection and Jobs.
Rebecca is Director of Research at 89 Degrees East. She is one of Australia’s foremost researchers on social trends. She has a background in publishing, academia and politics.
Rebecca has led research at Essential Media and Vox Populi, part of the CIRCA research group. Before this, she was Director of the Mind and Mood Report, Australia’s longest-running social trends report. She is the author of numerous books including How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way that Makes a Difference. She writes regularly for The Monthly, Australian Traveller Magazine, The Guardian and Sydney Morning Herald.
Rebecca holds degrees in law and film studies, and a PhD in Gender Studies from the University of Sydney. She is currently a Senior Associate at Sydney Policy Lab.
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Header image: credit Dominic Kurniawan Suryaputra via Unsplash. Pictured: Crowds at the steps of Sydney Opera House on a sunny day. The University of Sydney is a proud partner of Sydney Opera House.
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