Australia's first female PM added to line-up for Coventry's RISING peace forum - The Coventry Observer

Australia's first female PM added to line-up for Coventry's RISING peace forum

Coventry Editorial 14th Jul, 2019   0

AUSTRALIA’S first female Prime Minister will speak at this year’s internationally-recognised peace forum in Coventry.

Julia Gillard has been confirmed as one of the keynote speakers at the RISING Global Peace Forum, where she will talk about her time as Australia’s first female head of state from 2010 until 2013 and the importance of education in sustaining global peace.

She will join more than 250 leading academics and frontline peacebuilders from across the world at the three-day event in Coventry, the UK’s only City of Peace and Reconciliation, alongside other high-profile speakers to discuss and promote new ways to make and sustain global peace.

The former politician became a pioneering figure for women across the world during her time as Prime Minister, and is renowned for her work in education and women in leadership.




She delivered multiple nation-changing policies during her time in office, including reforming Australian education from early childhood to university, improving the provision and sustainability of health care and commencing the nation’s first ever national scheme to care for people with disabilities.

She also established the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses To Child Sexual Abuse, and worked extensively with a range of organisations to expand access to quality education in developing countries, tackle poverty and inequality by supporting girls to attend and succeed at school, empower young women to step up as leaders of change and help Australians understand and manage their mental health.


Ms Gillard currently serves as the Chair of Beyond Blue, one of Australia’s leading mental health awareness bodies, and is Chair of global funding for the Global Partnership for Education as well as being the inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at Kings College London.

Professor Mike Hardy, chair of RISING and executive director of the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, said: “We are incredibly fortunate and honoured to have someone who has achieved so much and fought to improve the lives of so many as Julia Gillard has speaking at this year’s Forum.

“She will give great insights into foreign policy and developing relationships with other nations, as well as her time spent improving education services and encouraging women to become leaders.

“There will also be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions following her talk as we look to engage in this year’s theme of the ecology of peace, and how relationships with people and place affect an individual’s understanding of it.

“We will be making more speaker announcements in the coming months as we continue preparations for the fourth RISING Global Peace Forum.”

RISING was launched in 2015 as a partnership between Coventry University, represented by the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry Cathedral and Coventry City Council, with the support of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and will return to Coventry Cathedral on November 13th-15th.

For more information visit www.rising.org

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