TO mark 2021’s dates for the 16-days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an online forum will be presented for community service staff who work with children and families on the Mid North Coast.

The virtual event held online via YouTube will run for two full days on Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 November.

The forum will explore the original theme of 2020 ‘Domestic Violence is Everyone’s Business’, as well as provide information on specialist topics that were recently requested by local service workers in the Mid North Coast region including Coffs Harbour and the Nambucca Valley.

Key themes and ideas will be examined via guest speakers, specialists and community members with lived experience delivering talks.

“People who work with children and families in our region have responded strongly to the call to action in preparation for the forum following last year’s event,” Stephanie Stevens, Sector Development Officer at Blue Sky Community Services told News Of The Area.

“When consulting with the local sector regarding which topics they would like to hear about at this year’s forum, we found that there were new challenges and changes that had emerged since last year’s event.”

Tivoli Conway from Blue Sky Community Services said, “The expertise shared by guest speakers will not only help to equip people working in the community with up-to-date knowledge, but also focus on the practical application of concepts explored during the forum, which supports a best practice approach when working with families who are experiencing domestic violence.

“Domestic and family violence can be complex and while we know some of the common ways it presents in the community, it is also constantly evolving, especially in the current COVID-19 landscape.

“The forum seeks to shine a light on this issue with a contemporary focus.”

Matt Brown from ‘She Is Not Your Rehab’ will be a headline guest speaker, organisers are thrilled to report.

Matt is a New Zealand born Samoan and an internationally acclaimed barber, hair artist, communicator, husband and father of three children known for ‘giving great cuts’ and ‘inspiring great men’.

Matt is a survivor of family violence and childhood sexual abuse and shares his story with the men who frequent his busy Christchurch and Palmerston North barbershops, My Fathers Barbers, as a way to foster vulnerability, healing, and connection.

With his wife Sarah, he co-founded, ‘She Is Not Your Rehab’ and launched the concept in a 2019 TEDx talk.

The forum highlights local faces who work in the community, as well as those who work further afield in NSW, nationally and internationally.

Blue Sky Community Services encourages interested community members to register: https://bluesky.org.au/events/domestic-violence-is-everyones-business-2/.

 

By Andrea FERRARI