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Bringing community services in Western Sydney together during COVID-19 to provide information on priorities such as contractual impacts, service continuity, and service gaps and strategies.

Increasing access to information and sharing of tools and resources.

Panellist series for questions, answers and discussion via interactive online capabilities.

COVID-19: Lessons from South West Sydney

South West Sydney has been in the spotlight in the past few weeks due to high prevalance of COVID cases in this area and the impact this has had on its communities.

As strict restrictions spread from South West Sydney across the region, we ask our panel to share their insights regarding the impact on the communities they are working with, what they learnt over the past few weeks and what we need to do to respond effectively.
Join us as we unpack the insights of three speakers supporting our community during this time.

Tuesday 27
July 2020

1.30pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Tom Nance, Manager of Policy and Programs, with panellists:

Esta Paschalidis-Chilas
Canterbury Bankstown – Canterbury City Community Centre

 

John Gilmore
Fairfield – Community First Step

 

Nadia Bouchti
Liverpool – Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre 

Social Impact of Loneliness
in COVID-19

The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on population mental health is of increasing global concern. For women, young people, those living in one-person households and those with preschool aged children the situation has been reported to be far worse. In this live panel we ask the question has our mental health deteriorated in COVID-19- and urgently, what do we need to respond?

Join our host, David Hill, Policy and Programs, as we explore the views of three speakers supporting our community during this time.

Tuesday 3
November 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s David Hill, Policy and Programs, with panellists:

Rachel Bowes

Lifeline

Clr Charishma Kaliyanda

Liverpool City Council

Judy Harper

Red Cross

Responding to Gambling Harm
in COVID-19

Every day $18.7 million is lost through poker machines in New South Wales. NSW has over 92,000 poker machines representing over 30% of the world’s non-casino pokies.

In this panel, our host Tom Nance asks; is gambling harm a public health issue and do we need our political leaders to take action? Join us to learn more about how communities in Western Sydney are impacted by gambling harm and how the community services sector can respond.

Thursday 22
October 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Tom Nance, Manager Policy and Programs, with panellists:

Rev Tim Costello

Ethical Voice

Chief Advocate Alliance for Gambling Reform

Dr Kate Da Costa

NSW Campaign Manager

Alliance for Gambling Reform

Dr Anastasia Hronis

Clinical Psychologist

Australian Institute for Human Wellness

Getting It Right for People Living with Dementia in COVID-19

COVID-19 has exposed some of the vulnerabilities experienced by older people in our communities. In recent years, reforms to Australia’s aged care system as well as our rapidly ageing populations in Western Sydney demonstrate just how important it is to ‘get it right’ in our services to older people, especially those living with dementia.

In our upcoming livestream, our host Billie Sankovic, Western Sydney Community Forum’s Chief Executive, asks: are people living with dementia best supported in community settings? How can we rethink approaches to dementia care? Join us to hear what is happening at both policy and practice levels and let’s get it right so that people living with dementia have a say in determining their own lives.

Wednesday 7
October 2020

1.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Billie Sankovic, CEO, with panellists:

Angelique O’Flynn

Dementia Clinical Nurse Consultant  | WS LHD | Integrated and Community Health

Dr Gaynor Macdonald

Social Anthropologist and Dementia Care Consultant

Dementia Reframed Inc

John Krisenthal

Managing Director

365 Care

Still Seen But Not Heard? Children’s Spaces, Children’s Design

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that organisations have failed to keep children and young people safe in their care. Some common findings that contributed to this include; poor practices, inadequate governance structures, failures to record and report complaints and organisational cultures where the best interests of children were not a priority.

In today’s session we ask the questions – do children have the right to collaborate in how spaces and policy responses that affect them are designed? How has COVID-19 changed things for kids and can we do better as a sector?

Join us as our host Tom Nance, Western Sydney Community Forum’s Manager Policy and Projects, explores the perspectives of our diverse panel.

Wednesday 23
September 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Tom Nance, Manager Policy and Programs, with panellists:

Blake Tatafu

Partnerships Officer

Kimberwalli : Aboriginal Affairs

Maia Giordano

Child Friendly Community Facilitator

Blacktown City Council

Dr. Girish Lala

Research Fellow

Western Sydney University Young and Resilient Research Centre

Is Poverty Inevitable in a COVID19 World?

The Coronavirus Supplement prevented 2.2 million people around Australia from falling into poverty. As we prepare for life in our next recession, social welfare practitioners in Western Sydney are preparing to support those most impacted. A social justice framework urges us to consider – is poverty inevitable, or entirely preventable?

Join us as our host Anita Hanna, Western Sydney Community Forum’s Manager Policy and Projects, explores the perspectives of our diverse panel.

Wednesday 9
September 2020

1.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Anita Hanna, Manager Policy and Programs, with panellists:

Beverly Baker

Chairperson

Older Women’s Network

Pas Forgione

Campaign Manager Raise the Rate for Good

ACOSS

Patricia Hall

CEO

Liverpool Neighbourhood Connections

Second Chances through Social Enterprise

Meaningful employment is an indicator of good health. Access to work is a universal human right.
For far too many members of our communities in Western Sydney, the barriers to gaining work seem impossible to overcome. During the COVID-19 outbreak the challenges seem even greater.

Join our host, Nadiana Albistur, Policy and Programs, Western Sydney Community Forum and our panel to explore how starting a social enterprise – and supporting local start-ups – has been a solution to this systemic issue in Western Sydney.

Thursday 27
August 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Nadiana Albistur, Policy and Programs, with panellists:

Joe Kwon

Founder and Director

ConFit

Marlowe Mackenzie

Head of Operations

Catalysr

Natalie Wilgress

Cafe Manager

Common Groundz Cafe Lalor Park

The Impact of International Crises on Local Communities

Settling in Australia is marked with hope for a new life, and fraught with challenges for communities displaced by war and other disasters. How are communities in Western Sydney managing the impact of ongoing strife, struggle – and now the COVID-19 pandemic – in places they consider home?

Join our panel to explore how international humanitarian crises affect cultural communities in Western Sydney as our host, Anita Hanna, Manager Policy and Programs asks some hard-hitting questions around current policy responses and available support.

Thursday 20
August 2020

3.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Anita Hanna, Manager Policy and Programs, with panellists:

Juliana Nkrumah, AM

DFV Project Manager

Settlement Services International

Lina Ishu

Youth Program Team Leader

NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS)

Shukufa Tahiri

Policy Analyst

Refugee Council of Australia

Essential: On the Frontlines of Social Work in Greater Western Sydney during C-19

Is the community sector receiving the support essential workers need during the COVID-19 outbreak? Our panel explores the policy and practice implications of the pandemic for frontline social workers in Greater Western Sydney.

Join our host Billie Sankovic, CEO Western Sydney Community Forum as we explore how community services in Greater Western Sydney are using innovative approaches to grapple with protecting staff health, wellbeing and labor rights.

Thursday 13
August 2020

1.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Billie Sankovic, CEO, with panellists:

Kamalle Dabboussy

CEO

Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre

Kath Harrison

CEO

Belong Blue Mountains

Stacey Stynes

Refuge Team Leader

CORE Community Services

Digital Access and Digital Literacy in the COVID-19 Economy

In the COVID-19 economy we are told that the future of work and study is here, but does the future look the same for everyone? What role does digital access and literacy play in how well Western Sydney will recover in a post-C19 economy – and what can we do about it?

Join us as our host Anita Hanna, Western Sydney Community Forum, explores the perspectives of our diverse panel.

Tuesday 4
August 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Anita Hanna, Manager Policy and Projects, with panellists:

Abdallah Altibi

Multicultural Youth Worker

Multicultural Youth Affairs Network (NSW)

Bec Reidy

Centre Coordinator

Bidwill Uniting

Jane Stratton

CEO

Think+Do Tank

COVID-19 in Western Sydney: Priorities and Perspectives

What should be Western Sydney’s focus as we move towards the recovery phase of COVID-19? How can we put our communities at the heart of this?

Join us as our host Dr Andy Marks, Western Sydney Community Forum’s Chair and Assistant Vice-Chancellor at Western Sydney University, explores the perspectives of our diverse panel.

Thursday 16
July 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum Chair, Dr Andy Marks, Assistant Vice-Chancellor at Western Sydney University, with panellists:

Jihad Dib MP

Shadow Minister for Skills and TAFE, Shadow Minister for Youth, Shadow Minister for Juvenile Justice, and Shadow Minister Assisting on Multiculturalism

Member for Lakemba

Helen O’Loughlin

Social Commissioner

Greater Sydney Commission

Professor Sev Ozdowski OAM AM

Director of Equity and Diversity

Western Sydney University

Domestic and Family Violence in the context of COVID-19

CWorkers are reporting that domestic violence is again escalating as COVID-19 social isolation measures begin to ease.

Join our host Billie Sankovic, Chief Executive Officer of Western Sydney Community Forum, as our three expert panellists focus on trends that have emerged during the pandemic and what services have done to respond accordingly.

Tuesday 7
July 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Manager of Policy and Programs, Billie Sankovic, with panellists:

Tanya Whitehouse

Coordinator,

Macarthur Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service

Christine Robinson

Coordinator,

Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre

Hayley Foster

Chief Executive Officer,

Women’s Safety NSW

How organisations can support communities to ‘bounce back’ after COVID-19

Community organisations have the opportunity to play a key role in not only the crisis response to COVID-19, but also the community recovery post-pandemic. Join Anita Hanna, Manager of Policy and Programs at Western Sydney Community Forum, as our three expert panellists focus on resilience and recovery in communities, and ways in which organisations can build community capacity as we begin to see restrictions ease.

Wednesday 24
June 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Manager of Policy and Programs, Anita Hanna, with panellists:

Prof Jim Ife

Professor of Social Work,

Western Sydney University

Alison Morgan

Senior Public Servant,

Resilience NSW

Ken Zulumovski

Managing Director,

Gamarada Universal Indigenous Resources

COVID-19: Moving your organisation to the next phase

As restrictions start to ease, not-for-profit organisations will have to deal with the challenge of whether to return to ‘business as usual’. Join Tom Nance, Manager of Policy and Programs at Western Sydney Community Forum, as he explores the experiences of three organisational leaders, insights that have emerged and their thoughts regarding the ‘scaling up’ of operations in line with government policy.

Wednesday 17
June 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Manager of Policy and Programs, Tom Nance, with panellists:

Melissa Monteiro 

Chief Executive Officer,

Community Migrant Resource Centre

Stephanie Oatley

Chief Executive Officer,

Platform Youth Services

Tairyn Vergara

Chief Executive Officer,

The Parks Community Network

Innovation in Working with Older People Since COVID19’s Emergence

There has needed to be significant shifts within organisations working with older people since COVID19 emerged. Join us as we discuss the insights that have emerged and innovation demonstrated by organisations during these challenging times.

Wednesday 3
June 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Manager of Policy and Programs, Tom Nance, with panellists:

Professor Jane Mears

Associate Professor Social Policy,

Western Sydney University

Cecily Michaels

Chief Executive Officer,

LEEP

Mary Bills

Project Officer, Aged Care System Navigator

COTA NSW

Livability during COVID19 and beyond

COVID19 has had a profound impact on livability, both globally and in Western Sydney. Our panellists discuss the trends that are emerging within the communities that they are working with and what some of the priorities for livability could look like post-COVID19.

Tuesday 26
May 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum Chair Dr Andy Marks, Assistant Vice-Chancellor at Western Sydney University, with panellists:

Dare Kavanagh

Regional Manager of Social Sustainability (NSW, WA and ACT)

LendLease

Dr Eddie Jackson

Director, City Community and Culture

Liverpool City Council

Heather Chaffey

Divisional Manager Sustainable Communities

Wentworth Community Housing

COVID19: What could a youth-led recovery look like?

Now is an opportune time to listen to our community’s young leaders and to support and enable them to lead.

Thursday 21
May 2020

4.30pm

Join our moderator, Natalie Chiappazzo, Service Provision Manager at Blacktown Youth Services Association and Western Sydney Community Forum Board Member, as she talks to three young people from the community about the impacts of COVID19 and the role that young people can play in leading the recovery.

Close the Gap during COVID19: First Peoples Resilience in Tough Times

First Nations Australians leading the response to COVID19. Strengths of First Nations organisations when it comes to protecting their communities – what can we share? The role of agencies and institutions in providing appropriately informed and culturally safe care to First Nations Australians during and post COVID19.

Thursday 7
May 2020

3.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Ken Zulumovski Hon DHSc from Gamarada Universal Indigenous Resources, with panellists:

Uncle Darryl Wright

Chief Executive Officer, Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation

Ms. Melissa Williams

Chief Executive Officer, Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council

Associate Professor Megan Williams

Research Lead & Assistant Director, National Centre for Cultural Competence, University of Sydney

Visioning the future of Western Sydney post COVID-19

What is the pathway to access, fairness and equity? Could this be the time to genuinely address socio-spatial polarisation? Will ‘business as usual’ build and sustain community wellbeing? How do we collectively progress employment, housing, services and more – in a socially, economically and environmentally healthier future?

Wednesday 29
April 2020

11.00am

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Chief Executive Officer, Billie Sankovic with panellists:

Dr. Andy Marks

Assistant Vice-Chancellor Western Sydney University

& Chair Western Sydney Community Forum

Ms. Natalie Chiappazzo

Manager Blacktown Youth Services Association

& Secretary Western Sydney Community Forum

Mr. Ben Jackson

Chief Executive Officer Great Community Transport

& Treasurer Western Sydney Community Forum

Leading an Organisation through the COVID-19 Crisis

What is important for a Western Sydney community services organisation to get through the COVID-19 pandemic? How to frame a response? What are the key workforce issues? How to get a digital response right?
And More

Thursday 23
April 2020

2.00pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Clare Babbage with panellists:

Katriina Tahka

Chief Executive Officer, A Human Agency

Cindy Lenferna de la Motte

Head of Customer and Community, Harvest Digital Planning

Angela Haynes

Head of Restructuring Services, KPMG Greater Western Sydney

Navigating and Understanding the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Support for Community Services

What do the stimulus packages mean and how do I activate support?
How does this additional funding help me to keep our service and agency afloat, and pay for any additional costs or losses incurred?
How do I access the job keeper payment to support our staff and workforce?
And More

Wednesday 8
April 2020

10.00am

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s David Hill with panellists:

Kirsten Forrester

Chief Executive Officer, Accounting for Good

Theo Psychogios

Partner, Financial Advisory, Deloitte

Michael Mekhitarian

Director, ATB Partners

Contractual Impacts and Service Continuity

Interactive discussion with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice

Thursday 2
April 2020

2.00 pm

Hosted by Western Sydney Community Forum’s Billie Sankovic with NSW Department of Communities and Justice panellists:

Eleri Morgan-Thomas

Executive Director Partnerships, Strategy, Policy & Commissioning

Claudia Vianello

Director Commissioning & Planning, Western Sydney & Nepean Blue Mountains Districts

Maria Kissouri

Director Commissioning & Planning, South Western Sydney District

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