Tag Archives: social innovation

Two more speakers announced for Unconference

Leave a reply

Rhinanna Patrick and Carla McGrath will be innovative participants and speakers at the Indigenous Innovation Unconference this Saturday 29th October at the NCIE. Register here

Rhianna Patrick is a Torres Strait Islander who grew up in Brisbane and Weipa. She is  the presenter of ABC’sSpeaking Out, a radio program about culture, lifestyle and political issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia.

Rhianna joined the ABC as a news and current affairs cadet in 2002. She spent a year in the newsroom at the ABC’s office in Mackay before heading to Sydney in 2004 to take up a position as the breakfast newsreader for triple j news. Rhianna joined the Speaking Out program after a stint in Television where she worked as an Associate Producer/Researcher for the ABC’s Indigenous program, Message Stick.

Carla McGrath is an Indigenous Australian woman from Thursday Island. Although raised on the mainland, she retains strong family and community ties to the Torres Strait Islands.

Carla is currently the Business and Program Development Manager at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE). She is also a delegate to the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and a member of the NSW Reconciliation Council’s Management Committee. Prior to joining the NCIE, she was the Relationships Manager at the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) and in 2009 she held the position of National Indigenous Officer for the National Union of Students.

Event Details
What: Indigenous Innovation Unconference
Where: National Centre of Indigenous Excellence,
180 George St, Redfern, NSW 2016. Map here
When: Saturday, 29th October 2011, 10am – 4:30pm
Who: People in or interested in the Indigenous Sector and Social Innovation Sector
Why: To develop and progress ideas and action on Indigenous Innovation
Presented by: National Centre of Indigenous Excellence & Social Innovation Sydney

2 Feet - NCIE

Community to explore Indigenous Innovation

Leave a reply

Australia’s first Indigenous Innovation Unconference will be held at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence on Saturday 29 October 2011.

Social Innovation Sydney Event

There is a tendency for media to focus on the various issues and problems faced by Indigenous communities. However, there is an emerging belief that moving away from deficit language to positive language, from ‘disadvantage’ and ‘closing the gap’ to ‘excellence’ and ‘success’ will encourage positive change.

Many current indigenous programs run under ‘old’ models experience limited or varied success. That a focus on the best practice of capacity building, sustainable development and strengthening cultural identity through enterprise. Moving to social enterprise development and social innovation models could provide an opportunity for new solutions allowing for self-determination and self sufficiency.

What role does Social Innovation have to play?
The emerging Social Innovation movement provides a fresh approach to tackling social issues by working with communities. It uses an open, collaborative, people centred approach to drive grassroots change and create real impact in the community. This offers an opportunity for a fresh approach to change in the Indigenous Sector.

What can you do?
Come along and be a part of the conversation at the Indigenous Innovation Unconference on 29 October 2011. Listen to, learn from, and connect with the culturally rich Indigenous community of Sydney. The intention is an open, constructive conversation for people to collaborate, share and explore.

Our aim is that the Indigenous Innovation Unconference will act as a platform for developing a new dialogue, for supporting the growth of innovative Indigenous enterprise.

Image: ‘Max Eulo performing a smoking ceremony’

Event Details

What: Indigenous Innovation Unconference
Where: National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, 180 George St, Redfern, NSW 2016. Map here
When: Saturday, 29th October 2011, 10am – 4:30pm
Who: People in or interested in the Indigenous Sector and Social Innovation Sector
Why: To develop and progress ideas and action on Indigenous Innovation
Designed by: National Centre of Indigenous Excellence & Social Innovation Sydney

Social Innovation Sydney Event

ncie - main building gym

What is the NCIE?

Leave a reply

Social Innovation Sydney are very proud and excited to be partnering with The National Centre of Indigenous Excellence for the next Unconference, on the 29th of October.

What is the NCIE? And what is their role in building Indigenous Excellence and Innovation in our community?

The National Centre of Indigenous Excellence

The National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) works with its Pathway Partners to build brighter futures for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians by cultivating talent and creating opportunities.

The NCIE is an Indigenous led social enterprise developing a new model for positive social change. Informed by Indigenous Innovation, a uniquely Indigenous approach to social innovation, the NCIE is having a significant impact on the well-being of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and their communities. In its first year close to 7500 young people, 5000 of them Indigenous, visited the Centre to participate in its programs.

Trading for a social purpose, the Centre is creating novel forms of commercial and community collaboration. The NCIE develops effective and mutually beneficial Pathway Partnerships to deliver life-changing Pathway Programs
on-site and throughout Australia. The NCIE also utilises its culturally infused state-of-the-art facilities (campus, conferencing centre, sports centre and sports field) to provide world-class services to the wider Australian public and to generate a sustainable income.

The social innovation surrounding the Centre and its work is informed by Indigenous knowledge and perspectives on social change. The NCIE’s approach is a deliberate attempt to move away from conventional deficit language and to develop an assets-based approach to excellence. The Centre is a developing model of Indigenous Innovation and of ’what works’.

Located in the heart of Redfern, the NCIE is a place for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians from across the country to participate in programs in the pathways of arts and culture, health and wellness, learning and innovation and sport and recreation. The Centre hosts and facilitates programs for young people to support them in achieving aspirations and reaching their potential.

Event Details
What: Indigenous Innovation Unconference
Where: National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, 180 George St, Redfern, NSW 2016.
When: Saturday, 29th October 2011, 10am – 4pm
Who: People in or interested in the Indigenous Sector and Social Innovation Sector
Why: To develop and progress ideas and action on Indigenous Innovation
Designed by: National Centre of Indigenous Excellence & Social Innovation Sydney

Register Now for SIBSYD Unconference
Find out more about the NCIE: http://www.ncie.org.au/index.php/about.html

 

Sydney-Fest living Sydney

Talking Sydney – Social Innovation Unconference 12 Nov 2011

Leave a reply

Talking Sydney:

Sydney is a dynamic city. It is diverse in cultures, rich in natural beauty and growing at a fast pace.

This growth presents as many opportunities as it does problems around providing servcies such as transport, energy and water as well as access to housing, education, food and medical care.

Join Social Innovation Sydney at the Unconference to explore the opportunities presented in our growing city.

More details to come.

Also, please note that the location may change, waiting on confirmation of a new and exciting venue.

Register Now for SIBSYD Unconference

Screen shot 2011-09-11 at 8.21.40 PM

Community tells SIBSYD what it’s after.

Leave a reply

1 year old – you’ve told us what you’re after.

Back in August, Social Innovation Sydney ran its 5th Unconference. A year since our first, through our keynote and lightning talks we covered the topic areas of Emergency response, Indigenous innovation, mental health, art & culture, collaborative consumption, sustainability & food.

Coming up we’ll be more focused on building eco-systems around these areas.
Wordle = 3-5 topics the crowd are most passionate about

what the social innovation sydney crowd is interested in

So what are you most passionate about? What resonates most?

We’d love to have you along to build the community and be the changemakers of Sydney.

Register for the next Unconference on Indigenous Innovation at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence  http://sibsydncie.eventbrite.com

Google-Crisis-Response-and-Google-Person-Finder

Keynote 13 Aug: Anthony Baxter, Google Crisis Response Team

1 Reply

We’re delighted to announce that our keynote speaker for the next Social Innovation Sydney Unconference on 13 August 2011 is:

Anthony Baxter from the Google Crisis Response Team

Anthony is a geek who works at Google Australia. Among other things, he works with Google.org’s Crisis Response team on rapid response to disasters. He also tweets @anthonybaxter.

This team has helped out during a number of disasters, for example:

  • Japan Earthquake and Tsunami,
  • Christchurch Earthquake,
  • Brazil Floods and Landslides, and the
  • Australia Floods.

Anthony is going to talk about some of the Crisis Response activities, things they’ve learned, and some ways that we can help make the world a better and safer place.

REGISTER NOW FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION SYDNEY UNCONFERENCE 13 AUG 2011

About Google Crisis Response

This is a great example of social innovation. It was setup by Google to focus on technology-driven philanthropy via Google.org.

The Crisis Response team works to make critical information more accessible when natural disasters and humanitarian crises strike.

Ways that the Crisis Response Team help out include:

  • Organizing emergency alerts, news updates and donation opportunities, and making this information visible through Google’s wide web presence
  • Building engineering tools that enable better communication and collaboration among crisis responders and among victims such as Person Finder and Resource Finder
  • Providing updated satellite imagery and maps of affected areas to illustrate infrastructure damage and help relief organizations navigate disaster zones
  • Supporting the rebuilding of network infrastructure where it has been damaged to enable access to the Internet
  • Donating to charitable organizations that are providing direct relief on-the-ground
Register Now for Social Innovation Sydney event

Unconference 13th August: Local Social Innovation Activists Share their Ideas #sibsyd

Leave a reply

Less than two weeks until the next Social Innovation Sydney event and we’re excited to announce lightning talks by local activists in social innovation:

These talks will frame the day, and give you the chance to dig deeper into some key issues.

The usual unconference rules apply:

  • there are no bystanders – everyone participates in creating the content, and
  • we all connect openly and help to the create the Sydney that we dream of.

Stay tuned – we’ll announce the keynote speaker shortly.