Talk of the Town

Australia is known for its multiculturalism and the diverse population, but this diversity, unfortunately, doesn’t lead to the end of discrimination. Diverse communities can often be underrepresented, persecuted and ignored.

But many are dedicated to making sure their voices are heard. In this episode of Talk of the Town, we present talks from four different voices that each highlight the importance of diversity in a different field. From the uniting power of sport to the issues with tokenism, these talks dive deep into the ways diversity can affect the lives of everyone.

These talks were originally presented at the TEDx Macquarie University event on the 21st of September 2019, and are presented here in collaboration with Macquarie University

Much of the talk about diversity focuses on representation – whether there is enough, whether what we have is good enough, and what it should look like. In her talk, writer Amal Awad takes aim at the stereotype of the token minority and explains how we can get more authentic representation by increasing representation behind the scenes.

For many, autism is viewed as a tragedy or a disability. But for Jac Den Houting, receiving an autism diagnosis was an experience that changed her life for the better. In this talk, she explains the recent paradigm shift in the way we think about autism, and how it changes everything for those with autism.

Many of the powerful institutions in the land commonly known as ‘Australia’ continue to reflect the white supremacist ideologies upon which they were founded. This statement may be controversial or hard to hear, but it forms the basis of Amy Thunig’s talk. In it, she challenges the dominance of these colonial institutions that continue to shape the lives of minorities in contemporary Australia.

Craig Foster is an SBS sports analyst and former Socceroos captain. He is also a human rights advocate responsible for leading a campaign in early 2019 to free a young Bahraini footballer and refugee, Hakeem al-Araibi from a Thai prison. In this talk, he discusses the power present when people unite, as well as the responsibility of powerful institutions to care for all those they influence.