• Keynote speakers announced for the 20^th Gender and Education Association Conference 2024
• The conference will be held at Charles Sturt in Port Macquarie from Monday 17 to Thursday 20 June
• Speakers will address global and institutional equality in education, offering diverse perspectives

Charles Sturt University has announced an impressive, dynamic lineup of keynote speakers for the 20^th Gender and Education Association conference to be held at the University in Port Macquarie from Monday 17 to Thursday 20 June 2024.

Speakers hail from all over the world and will offer a diverse range of international and local perspectives, addressing global and institutional equality in education.

Charles Sturt University Associate Professor Cate Thomas from the Charles Sturt School of Social Work and Arts is the conference Co-Chair. She said the keynote speakers would inspire action to address local, national and global inequalities in education.

“We have selected a great mix of exceptional speakers to provoke, illuminate and motivate conference participants to tackle global and institutional equality in education from multiple perspectives,” Professor Thomas said.

“With an array of different conference topics, a lot will be on offer for participants to resonate with the many and varied presentations and discussions.”

Chief Executive Officer of our foundation conference partner, Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Ltd, Dr Janin Bredehoeft said SAGE was looking forward to presenting Gina Chick as one of the keynote speakers.

“This conference is a chance to think creatively and expansively about how education can make a more equitable world. Gina is an educator who does exactly that in her teaching: she will break our assumptions wide open,” Dr Bredehoeft said.

Gina runs rewilding programs which connect people with each other and their place in nature.​ She recently spent 67 days surviving in the subzero Tasmanian wilderness in the middle of winter, on her own and often barefoot.

“Gina’s willingness to do things differently makes her a great spark for a conversation about how we can all be more powerful agents of change,” she said.

Additional keynote speakers and the respective topics each will address include:

• Ms Yemi Penn; Engineer and advocate in STEM, ‘Global thought leader on empowerment and resilience’
• Professor Corrinne Sullivan; Associate Dean (Indigenous Education), University of Western Sydney, ‘Iconoclast and provocateur’
• Dr Nathan Kerrigan; Lecturer in Sociology, Birmingham City University, ‘Facilitating pathways to inclusion’
• Dr Colleen P. MacMillan; Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO, ‘Science and transitions leader’
• Ms Marwa Moeen; Business Administration Graduate and student, Alffie, ‘Journey to freedom’ – escaping the Taliban regime for freedom and education
• Ms Farhat Kohistani; IT graduate and International Relations student, Australian Catholic University, ‘Fighting for education for girls’ - escaping the Taliban regime for freedom and education
• Professor Janelle Wheat, Pro-Vice Chancellor Learning and Teaching, Charles Sturt University, ‘Designing inclusive and accessible curriculum’
• Professor Kylie Readman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Education and Students) University of Technology Sydney, ‘Building institutional equity and inclusion’
• Dr Juliette Tobias-Webb, Professor of Practice, Behavioural Science, Charles Sturt University, ‘Leveraging behavioural insights for positive change.’

The conference is expected to attract more than 150 people internationally with the format including more than 80 presentations from a vast array of educational experts from the academic, community, government and private sectors.

Early-bird tickets close on Friday 10 May. Visit the conference website for further information on ticket prices, to purchase your ticket, and to stay up to date with the latest conference news by joining the mailing list.

General event enquiries can be directed to GEA2024@csu.edu.au

The Gender and Education Association (GEA) is a volunteer-led international intersectional feminist charity. Since 1997, the GEA community of educators, researchers, activists, leaders, artists, and more have been working to challenge and eradicate gender stereotyping, sexism, and gender inequality within and through education.

ENDS