Matthew Ricketson delivered this forum’s focused address on the impact of a changing media landscape and fake news on the understanding of climate change and community resilience. Other speakers included clinical psychologist Dr Rob Gordon, grassroots political expert Denis Ginnivan, your very own regenerative agriculturalist Lorraine Gordon and Farmers for Climate Action CEO Wendy Cohen.
The aim of this forum was to provide attendees with an understanding of the mental impacts of bushfires on the community. It also endeavoured to provide a pathway for the community to commence the long process of building resilience and recovery.
This forum provided the community with tools to go out and create the community change they want to see.
Speakers
Dr Rob Gordon
Dr Rob Gordon is a clinical psychologist who has been working in the field of disaster recovery since Ash Wednesday in 1983. He has worked with people and communities after the Port Arthur shooting, the Bali Bombing, Black Saturday and numerous natural disasters throughout Australia and New Zealand. He will speak on the impact of disasters on weakening the social fabric of communities.
Matthew Ricketson
Matthew Ricketson is an academic and journalist. He is currently the head of the Communications Group at Deakin University. Prior to this role, he was the inaugural Professor of Journalism at the University of Canberra between 2009 and 2017. For three years before that he was Media and Communications Editor for The Age.
Denis Ginnivan
Denis Ginnivan is a grassroots political leader, who is President and a foundation member of Voices for Indi, a community group based in northeast Victoria. He is also co-chair of Totally Renewable Yackandandah. Denis will work with the community to explore the type of actions and future directions participants might like to take or strengthen to increase the resilience of their community into the future.
Lorraine Gordon
Lorraine is the founder of the National Regenerative Agriculture Alliance based out of Southern Cross University (SCU). As Director of Strategic Projects at SCU and Associate Director of the University’s Centre for Organic Research, Lorraine acts as a conduit between industry and research, delivering sustainable and regenerative agriculture solutions nationally. Lorraine is a beef trader from Ebor, NSW.
Lorraine was awarded the 2018 Australian Rural Community Leader of the Year for her work with farmers.
Wendy Cohen
Wendy Cohen is the CEO of Farmers for Climate Action, an alliance of farmers, agricultural leaders and rural Australians working to ensure farmers are a key part of the solution to climate change. Wendy was previously the CEO of the Country Education Foundation of Australia, where she fought for better education outcomes for rural and regional students. Wendy was also the CEO of Equestrian NSW during the 2007 equine influenza crisis, spearheading the response and overseeing the distribution of over $25 million in relief funds.
