Rights Resource Network Launch

Join us for an action-focused forum in recognition of International Human Righs Day and the launch of the Rights Resource Network SA.    This event is open to all rights advocates, researchers and community partners and will include

> Guest speakers

> Panel discussions

> Online workshops

> Networking  opportunities

Our Panel Speakers include

Ross Womersley, CEO | South Australian Council of Social Service Inc. 

Ross has had an extensive involvement in community services over many years and is driven by the idea that we live in a community in which everyone is included and has access the good things in life.    He is the CEO of the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) - the peak body for the non-government community and health sector leading the fight against poverty.   Across time he has filled many roles including as a manager, advocate, teacher, leader, evaluator, mentor and consultant.  He has served on a range of Boards and committees, has been deeply involved in both training and the evaluation of human services. Ross has a formal background and qualifications in Psychology. Ross works to assist SACOSS fulfill its aspirational vision - that there is justice, opportunity and wealth for all South Australians. Cheryl Axleby is the CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM). 

Cheryl is a proud Narungga woman, Co-Chair of NATSILS and CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement in South Australia, with more than 35 years experience focusing on access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  The ALRM is an independent Aboriginal community controlled organisation governed by an all Aboriginal Board. The Board of 10 members is appointed from Aboriginal communities from metropolitan and country centres across South Australia. Through the provision of legal services and associated activities, ALRM promotes legal, cultural, economic, political and social rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as dispossessed peoples within South Australia. Associate Professor Dr Laura Grenfell. 

A human rights and public law expert at the University of Adelaide, Laura is the Faculty of the Professions' Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion.  She is a member of the University's Gender Equity and Diversity Committee and Convenor of the Professions' Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  Dr Grenfell teaches and researches in public law. She has a particular interest in constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, human rights law and post-conflict justice.  Laura is the Director of the Law School's Human Rights Internship Programme and in 2020 Laura edited a leading publication in the area of Australian human rights discourse entitled Law Making and Human Rights (co-edited with Julie Debeljak and published by Thomson Reuters).  This book examines how rights figure in the law-making process, and offers a comprehensive analysis of how rights are scrutinised in all Australian jurisdictions. Before joining academia in 2002, Laura practised constitutional law with the Crown Solicitor's Office of South Australia and was an associate in the Supreme Court of South Australia. Matt Ryan, Senior Fellow of The GovLab at New York University 

Matt is a former Deputy Chief of Staff to a South Australian Premier. From 2011-2016 he led work on that government's internationally recognised democratic reform program, which included multiple citizens' juries, large scale participatory budgeting, open innovation challenges, and a modern style of political leadership. He also helped to craft a strategic policy agenda, initiated development of the first whole of government communications plan, and advised on inter-governmental relations and the state's participation in the Paris Climate Summit. In 2018, Matt began working with other Australians to encourage a broader effort to reform Australian democracy. This work has culminated in the establishment of Citizens for Democratic Renewal (democraticrenewal.org.au) of which Matt is a co-convenor. He is also a Senior Fellow of The GovLab at New York University, exploring the intersection of technology and democracy, and his work has included projects to support the US Congress and Mexican judiciary. Matt's for purpose entity - reformingdemocracy.com.au - seeks to explore and support democratic reform programs worldwide.  Matt has also been a Director at The Australian Centre for Social Innovation where he co-authored a major report on public sector innovation and he is a member of the Institute for Public Administration Association (SA) Strategic Advisory Committee.