In the speech to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Senator Wong acknowledged that Pacific leaders have been crystal clear that climate change is the single greatest threat facing the region, and declared that the newly elected Albanese government would “stand shoulder to shoulder … with our Pacific family in response”.
Within a year, Senator Wong had visited 30 countries, including all Pacific Islands Forum members, while Australia’s domestic political and financial climate commitments have increased. But is it enough to repair relations in the Pacific, and can it be sustained?
“The single most significant thing Australia could do to improve relations with Pacific island countries would be to take meaningful action on climate change—including through the introduction of domestic policies to reduce emissions, and the pursuit of ambitious middle power diplomacy to drive global emissions reductions. It is difficult to overstate how critical the issue of climate change is to Pacific island countries.”
Dr Newton Cain notes that Senator Wong’s renowned work ethic has been on display as she has traversed the region getting an intensive reintroduction to Pacific politics, diplomacy and culture—including drinking kava with grace. That said, in the Pacific, there is a degree of scepticism that this can be maintained and evolved to deepen and strengthen critical relationships.
Far from being small, vulnerable nations that need our help, the Pacific nations are global leaders in climate action and, with 14 members in the UN, represent an influential bloc that Australia would benefit from a genuine partnership with. Failing to deepen and broaden engagement in the region is not just culturally insensitive, it’s strategically inept.
COP31: a reputation makeover opportunity for Australia?
Chris Bowen, the Minister for Climate and Energy, announced in 2022 that Australia would bid to co-host the UN climate conference, COP31, in partnership with the Pacific. If the bid is successful, it would represent the biggest diplomatic event in Australia’s history, with between 20,000 and 40,000 delegates expected to attend. But it would also come with an expectation from Pacific nations that Australia would go further with its commitments to tackling climate change.
While Australia’s climate commitments have strengthened under the Albanese government, they are still some of the developed world’s least ambitious. As Dr Morgan notes, our domestic emissions trajectory is not compatible with keeping global warming to 1.5°C this century. And, Australia provides less than it’s fair share of climate finance to help developing countries address the impacts of climate change.
More than 100 countries have committed to net zero targets, and climate action has shifted to become a centrepiece of industrial policy in major economies. Although Australia has been reluctant to commit to bold climate policy, it has endorsed the Blue Pacific strategy, which outlines the objective of a fossil fuel-free Pacific by 2050.
Co-hosting COP31 would be a chance to revive Australia’s international reputation and reposition us to embrace the benefits of a global clean-energy economy. It would also provide an opportunity to demonstrate that Australia is serious about being a security partner of choice for the region—and that we recognise the security threat posed by climate change. After all, with more than half of Australia’s Defence Force personnel being called out to natural disasters since 2019, it is clear that we are facing the same threat.
A turning point?
Dr Morgan believes that we are in the midst of a global shift, as major powers—the US, China and the EU—realise that influence in tomorrow’s economy is linked with leadership in clean energy. He notes:
“The world is slowly but surely shifting away from fossil fuels. When historians look back, they will likely see the 2015 Paris Agreement as the key pivot point. It achieved a global consensus on climate action and set the goal for nations to decarbonise by mid-century.”
Improved relations in the Pacific may just be the motivation Australia needs to find its place and take a leadership role.
Beyond climate
Historically, Australia’s engagement in the Pacific has been episodic and crisis-led. In part, this is influenced by the fact that Australians themselves are not sure if the country is part of the Pacific. Dr Newton Cain argues that while we often hear about capacity-building in the Pacific, we seldom hear about how that applies to understanding the region and improving our Pacific literacy here at home.
Evolving the conversation beyond the intertwined contexts of climate and security, while developing understanding of our place in the region—not our “backyard” but rather our neighbourhood—will be critical for Australia’s future. Because this is where we live.
Featuring
DrWesley Morgan is Research Coordinator at Pacific Connections (Australia) and an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, a Research Associate at the Development Policy Centre, Australian National University and an Honorary Research Fellow at the East Asia Security Centre, Bond University. He is also a Senior Researcher at the Climate Council of Australia.
Dr Tess Newton Cain is a Senior Research Fellow and the Project Leader for the Griffith Asia Institute’s Pacific Hub. Within that role she assists with curation for the Pacific Outlook section of the Griffith Asia Insights blog.
Tess is a dual citizen of Vanuatu and the United Kingdom. She is a former Lecturer in Law at the University of the South Pacific. She has lived and worked in the Pacific islands region for almost 25 years, with most of that time spent living in Vanuatu.
Tess’ research interests focus on politics, policy and development in the Pacific islands region. She has provided research. strategic advice and policy support to national governments, regional organisations (including the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat) and development partners (including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, and the governments of Australia and New Zealand).
Griffith University has announced the winners from its four academic groups in the 2023 Outstanding Alumni Awards, with a talented group of recipients from across the world — and outer space.
Sixteen high-achieving alumni have earned top spots in the University’s 2023 Outstanding Alumni Awards in the academic groups of Arts, Education and Law (AEL); Griffith Business School (GBS), Griffith Health and Griffith Sciences.
The 2023 award winners include celebrated film, theatre and music makers; educators and entrepreneurs, psychologists, conservationists, health heroes, business and policy professionals, whose significant contribution to society reflects Griffith’s core values of excellence, ethics and engagement. One recipient is even out-of-this-world literally as a current crew member of the International Space Station.
Each academic group has awards in the following categories:
Outstanding Alumnus
Outstanding First Peoples Alumnus
Outstanding International Alumnus
Outstanding Young Alumnus
The alumni group winners will progress as finalists for the overall Griffith University Outstanding Alumni Awards which will be held in September.
Griffith University congratulates all academic group winners:
Arts, Education and Lawwinners:
Lachlan Pendragon (Outstanding Alumnus)
Dean Gibson(Outstanding First Peoples Alumnus)
Dr Chan Yuk-Lan Phoebe (Outstanding International Alumnus)
Emma Dean (Outstanding Young Alumnus)
Griffith Business School winners:
Jasmina Joldić PSM (Outstanding Alumnus)
Brett Leavy (Outstanding First Peoples Alumnus)
Vū Lê Tùng Giang (Outstanding International Alumnus)
Josh Murchie (Outstanding Young Alumnus)
Griffith Health winners:
Colleen Jen (Outstanding Alumnus)
Lesley Richardson (Outstanding First Peoples Alumnus)
Professor Dian Sawitri (Outstanding International Alumnus)
Dr Dan Wilson (Outstanding Young Alumnus)
Griffith Sciences winners:
Professor Bronwyn Harch (Outstanding Alumnus)
David Nalder(Outstanding First Peoples Alumnus)
Dr Sultan AlNeyadi(Outstanding International Alumnus)
Raymond Siems(Outstanding Young Alumnus)
Deputy Director Advancement and Director Alumni Engagement, Joanne Nyland, said the University is incredibly proud of the Griffith alumni community and the far-reaching impact and influence of their tireless work.
“Those who have to select the winners have a very challenging task as there are so many worthy recipients,” she said.
“We are privileged to be able to recognise alumni in this way as they go about making it matter for themselves and others in the world where they demonstrate the values of Griffith University daily.
“Nominees were assessed on their alignment with the broad selection criteria including their success in and contribution to their chosen industry/profession, and their contribution to the community at local, state, national or international levels.
“Also assessed was their demonstration of attributes in alignment with the values of Griffith University.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are part of the new wave Industry 4.0, whereby organisations are implementing automated systems, building internet of things and using big data, smart systems, and cyber-physical systems to expand their capabilities and improve productivity. The Australian Government’s Productivity Commission indicated AI may provide significant benefit, with estimates of a higher annual GDP by two-thirds or even up to three and two-thirds higher than what it is currently.
The risks must also be studied. The US, EU, the UK and Canada are introducing AI regulation, with support from some eminent AI developers. The Australian AI expert reaction to the Australian Government’s potential ban on ‘high-risk’ uses of AI emphasised safeguarding the use of AI should be balanced with realising its prospects, including in digital mental health.
AI refers to the capacity of machines or computer programs to think, learn, and complete tasks that typically require human intelligence. Algorithms and computer systems are used independently or in combination with humans. AI is used with mental health records, screening and diagnosis or to understand patient’s emotions in order to align interventions. Ubiquitous computing and AI help in medical monitoring, communication and memory aids.
“Many users and practitioners are uncertain about which digital mental health information and resources are of good quality, usability and effectiveness.”
Human-artificial intelligence
Human-artificial intelligence (HAI) refers to where humans and AI collaborate on a common task or goal for efficient, safer, sustainable and enjoyable work and lives. The aim of HAI is to enable the other’s strengths. However, the Center for Humane Technology aims further by prioritising human values, such as empathy, compassion, and responsibility. Australia adopted a voluntary ethics framework for “responsible” AI in 2018. “Fair aware” AI has been used in digital mental health to promote diversity and inclusion, as well as “explainable” AI to demonstrate transparency and trust between users and practitioners.
Digital Mental Health
Many people are increasingly turning to technology for their mental health concerns. The National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards were developed to keep apace in 2020, aiming to improve the safety and quality of digital mental health service provision. However, a lack of integrated, scalable, effective solutions are digital mental health challenges. Many users and practitioners are uncertain about which digital mental health information and resources are of good quality, usability and effectiveness. A scoping review evaluated digital mental health platforms and interventions to identify the types of available evidence. The mix of early evidence suggested feasibility, partial usability, engagement, and acceptability, as well as a study that effectively treated anxiety and depression in adults.
Innovation requires a better understanding the complex relationship between mental ill-health, its comorbidities and the biopsychosocial factors that influence suicidality. For example, tailoring digital solutions for men requires identifying the contexts that they can safely share their experiences, and linking them to localised interventions. The grappling with outreach, adoption and sustaining engagement means divergent thinking is vital.
Previous integrative reviews found there are promising developments in digital mental health. However, there are teething problems with its implementation, such as difficulties in overcoming the human factors in human-computer interaction (HCI). The impacts of YouTube on loneliness and mental health showed how the integration of human factors is crucial for the development and implementation of effective digital mental health tools.
Human-AI and digital mental health
Qualitative studies can play an important role in increasing the accessibility, engagement and effectiveness of digital mental health through:
identifying user needs,
understanding barriers to use,
evaluating user experience, and
evaluating the impact of platforms and interventions.
AI may help advance digital mental health through better and faster qualitative data analysis to make sense of multidimensional online feedback e.g., a Viable blog discusses the use of GPT-4 in natural language processing for sentiment analysis.
Author
Dr Luke Balcombe is a digital mental health (DMH) expert and a researcher in the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP). Dr Balcombe is researching and consulting in the applied psychology and informatics disciplines. Luke is a leader in DMH current state and future trends projects. He is analysing themes and providing insights on the challenges and opportunities for designing and using technology-enabled solutions in mental health care. He is presenting human-centred insights and discussing findings on the impact of YouTube on loneliness and mental health, the use/regulation of AI, and safety and quality standards. His studies include systematic reviews, qualitative research, expert comments, blogs and articles.
A study looking into the effects of climate change on insects within Lamington National Park is set to go international following a funding injection of $470,000.
Dr Louise Ashton
Griffith University Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security Adjunct Research Fellow Dr Louise Ashton, who also works at the University of Hong Kong, said the Hong Kong Research Grants Council collaborative research fund will enable the 20-year research project to expand up north to the Daintree, and even across the sea to Borneo.
“We’ve been spent the past six months at Lamington which is a hotspot of biodiversity, recreating our research from 2006/07,” Dr Ashton said.
“We’ve been reassessing the elevational distribution of plants, birds, ants, moths, spiders, mites, springtails, beetles and environmental factors such as the microclimate in the forest canopy and at ground level.
“But now we get to take our research to other areas so we can establish long-term patterns in Austral-Asian tropical forest insect communities in response to global change.”
Dr Ashton and her team’s data will help fill a gap where there is a lack of long-term monitoring data of insects in tropical regions.
“We have a poor understanding of how insects are changing through their time, leading to scientific debate on how universal an ‘insect Armageddon’ really is,” she said.
“Tropical forests hold the highest terrestrial biodiversity and the keystone roles of insects in maintaining functional tropical forests, it is essential we resolve some of the large uncertainty around how insect biodiversity is changing in these globally important ecosystems.
“The rainforests of Australia and South-East Asia are biodiversity hotspots which have undergone large-scale habitat loss since European colonisation but still host high levels of endemic biodiversity.
Students on field course to Danum Valley
“We will collate and sample insect data from three field locations across Asia and Australia and use long-term climate and remote sensing data to characterise changes in landscape composition and climate in shaping insect dynamics in tropical forests.”
Over the last two years, there has been increased discussion on the decline of insects globally, and climate change is already affecting distribution shifts with some species moving to higher elevations and latitudes.
The researchers predict that key species of insects that were restricted to particular elevations (and, therefore, climates) 20 years ago will have moved upwards to avoid the increasing temperature trend.
The research team will use a number of methods to test distribution shifts in insect species including modified light traps, modified compound bow to shoot canopy lines and sample insect assemblages in the canopy, as well as deploying traps in the understory.
Automatic data loggers will be used to collect microclimate temperature and humidity data in the canopy and understory to help pin point climatic changes since the last survey.
Dr Ashton’s team from Griffith includes Professor Emeritus Roger Kitching and Professor Emeritus Nigel Stork.
Vaginal microbes are at the centre of a novel discovery that aims to investigate if these bacteria trap HIV or act as a courier service to deliver the virus to the host within the human body.
Professor Johnson Mak
Building from a collaborative paradigm-shifting publication in Cell Reports, Griffith University’s Professor Johnson Mak from the Institute for Glycomics, is leading the study thanks to a USD$297,000 grant from the United States of America’s National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“At the heart of the research will be the discovery that the HIV surface protein is decorated with an envelope or ‘glycan shield’ of sugar molecules,” Professor Mak said.
“Both Lactobacillus and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are vaginal microbes that could have opposing impacts on virus transmission.
“With this in mind, we’ll look at how the manipulation of the glycan shield could act as a molecular velcro to interact with the proteins and/or sugars on the surface of the vaginal microbes.
“We’ll investigate the biology of the vaginal microbes to see if they either act as the first line of defence by trapping HIV to deny it access to infect the host, or if it hitch-hikes across the sub-epithelial barrier to gain access to the host.”
With support from researchers such as Professor Kate Seib, Associate Professor Daniel Kolarich, and Dr Arun Everest-Dass at Institute for Glycomics, this study will use state-of-the-art techniques including surface plasmon resonance, recombinant protein production, electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and molecular virology, to investigate the interplay amongst bacteria, virus and human host.
This US NIH-funded research program is an example of the ongoing commitment from both the Mak lab and the Institute for Glycomics to elucidate how glycan (sugar) biology can be leveraged to improve human health.
Current NIH support will allow the Mak lab to accelerate its discovery and to explore translational potential in the next 24 months.
Institute for Glycomics Director Professor Mark von Itzstein AO
The Director of the Institute for Glycomics Professor Mark von Itzstein AO is delighted with this important grant win.
“The fact that our researchers are winning US NIH grants is a true testament to the quality and innovation of the research being undertaken here in the Institute,” Professor von Itzstein said.
“This particular study has the potential of providing a solution to a very difficult disease problem.”
Professor Mak is recruiting a post-doctoral research fellow to join the project along with a PhD student.
The initial research published in Cell Reports was completed in conjunction with researchers Dr Belinda de Villiers, Dr Chris Day, Associate Professor Thomas Haselhorst, and Professor Michael Jennings.
Professor Mark von Itzstein AO is a valued member of Griffith and also the Gold Coast, awarded Citizen of the Year in 2020.
Professor von Itzstein will step down from his role as Director of the Institute for Glycomics, one of Australia’s flagship interdisciplinary translational biomedical research institutes, at the end of 2023.
Griffith University’s Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Carolyn Evans, shared the news with the wider Griffith community earlier this week.
“Professor von Itzstein’s contribution to Griffith University cannot be understated,” VC Evans said.
“His long and remarkable tenure will mark over two decades of prodigious research and leadership contribution to Griffith University and to advancements in translational biomedical science.”
The founding Director of the Institute for Glycomics in 2000, Mark’s vision, expertise and leadership has seen the Institute achieve world first breakthroughs advancing research in the field of glycociences, chemical biology and medicinal chemistry.
Under his stewardship, the Institute has become a globally recognised centre for innovation, attracting top-tier talent, securing substantial funding, and producing ground-breaking discoveries that have transformative implications for human health.
Professor von Itzstein has established collaborative partnerships with industry leaders, fostering knowledge exchange and promoting commercialisation of research findings and mentored and inspired countless students and researchers, shaping the next generation of scientific leaders.
He has pioneered the development of antiviral and antibacterial drugs, revolutionising the treatment of influenza and other viral and bacterial diseases.
Professor von Itzstein led the team responsible for the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of the anti-influenza drug, Relenza®, which has been approved for the treatment of influenza worldwide since 1999.
More recently, under Professor von Itzstein’s role as Principal Research Leader at the Institute for Glycomics, his team of researchers has one drug candidate now in human Phase 1 clinical trials and another that is advancing in pre-clinical trials.
Throughout his tenure as Director of the Institute for Glycomics, Professor von Itzstein has published more than 340 high-impact research contributions that have advanced the understanding of glycobiology and its implications for various diseases.
He was elected as a Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences and is a joint recipient of the prestigious Australia Prize (1996).
Institute for Glycomics.
In recognition of his significant contributions to both society and medical research, Professor von Itzstein was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (General Division) in 2019 and has won numerous national and international awards during his career.
As a well-respected member of the Gold Coast community, he was recognised and named Gold Coast Citizen of the Year in 2020 and a street has been named after him within the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.
Professor von Itzstein will continue to undertake research at Griffith University in the role of Distinguished Professor.
This will include leadership of the Griffith-based Australian node of the Fraunhofer International Consortium of Anti-infectives Research (iCAIR), a significant joint initiative between Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics and the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine in Hannover, Germany.
Professor von Itzstein is proud of the legacy he leaves, as he steps down as Director.
“Over two decades we have created a unique translational research institute, that has delivered a drug available to patients under the Therapeutic Goods Administration special access scheme and another drug and two vaccine candidates continuing in human clinical trials.
This outcome, in a relatively short space of time, is remarkable and demonstrates the talent that we have attracted to the Institute over this period of time,” Professor von Itzstein said.
Professor Mark von Itzstein will continue to contribute to Glycomics as a distinguished research Professor.
“The Institute began with a handful of staff and has grown to over 200 staff and students.
“The Institute’s human fabric and physical infrastructure has created a research environment that is the envy of many national and international research centres.”
Professor von Itzstein reflected on the beginnings of the Institute and its outcomes: “I came to Griffith University in 2000 with the single focus of establishing a world-leading national centre of translational research excellence on the Gold Coast. There are very few people in the world that are given such an honour and challenge to establish a unique research institute,” he said.
“With the long-standing support of the various Queensland State Governments, the City of Gold Coast and the unshakable commitment of Griffith University, I believe that we have been successful, and I now look forward to the next chapter of this internationally recognised Institute under the next leadership.”
A Griffith University-led research initiative to discover the lived experience of Queenslanders with disability was released at Australia’s Disability Strategy (ADS) Queensland forum today.
Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability and Hopkins Centre Research Fellow Kelsey Chapman
Funded by the Queensland Government and delivered in partnership with Queenslanders with Disability Network, the first annual Voice of Queenslanders with Disability report aims to inform policy to remove barriers to access and produce equitable outcomes for a diverse Queensland.
Griffith researchers adopted a unique approach to gathering survey information by engaging nine citizen scientists with lived experience of disability to enable participants to share their stories authentically and transparently about challenges and successes in their lives.
“The findings reflect a meaningful step towards understanding what life is like for Queenslanders with disability, their family and carers, and the organisations that support them,” Ms Chapman said.
“The Voice of Queenslanders with Disability report provides insights gathered from a sample of 291 Queenslanders with disability, 117 family/carers, and 34 organisational representatives who engaged with the research survey.
“Participants told us we need to strengthen a sense of belonging across the state, which fosters a sense of community and connection.
Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Director Professor Elizabeth Kendall.
“Participants called for improved standard of living and social protection for Queenslanders with disability, to improve economic security, accessible housing, increased employment opportunities, and support lifelong learning.
“Participants also told us the voice of the community should be promoted and safeguarded through citizen leadership and monitoring mechanisms for the design, delivery, and implementation of any action.
“Enhancing dignity and equity was mentioned to promote an inclusive society where everyone can participate fully.”
Griffith Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability beacon Director Professor Elizabeth Kendall said it is important the report continues annually to demonstrate the achievements made throughout Queensland and the challenges that still need to be addressed.
“We are so grateful to the nearly 450 people who shared their stories, perspectives, and insights, oftentimes vulnerably, about their lives and what can be done to continue towards improvement and inclusion,” Professor Kendall said.
“I also want to acknowledge the nine citizen scientists who met with their friends, colleagues, and people in their broader networks to gather their stories and develop the case studies that reflect experiences and daily barriers that Queenslanders with disability encounter.
“This report is driven and informed by people with disability and shows a real commitment on behalf of the Queensland Government to understand the ways in which life is getting better, worse, and staying the same for Queenslanders with disability, their family and carers, and the organisations that support them.”
The report reveals an in-depth look at successes and challenges across seven areas of Queensland’s Disability Plan including:
Working and earning money
Inclusive homes and communities
Rights, fairness, and safety
Getting support
Learning and skills
Health and wellbeing
Community attitudes
Visit the Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Hub for more information about joining the alliance or participating in future citizen science and lived experience research.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
For Dr Indigo Willing, that volition saw her take up skateboarding at age 41 and just recently, co-present at the International Stoke Sessions Conference on Surfing and Skateboarding in San Diego USA for which Tony Hawke was keynote.
Dr Indigo Willing will join the advisory board of the internationally recognised non-profit ‘Skateistan’ mid-year.
“The conference was designed to look at sport and society, how to better look out for each other, care for the environment as our sport grows and highlight the often-marginalised voices that can really make a difference in those discussions,” Dr Willing said.
The panels included Skateboarding and Change-Making: Women and Non-Binary Skaters in the Olympics and National Competitions, Industry and Community as well as Grey Spaces: Skateboarding in the Anthropocene which interrogated the impact of skateboarding on the environment and opportunities to promote sustainable practise.
Drawing on research from her co-authored book ‘Skateboarding, Power and Change’ with Anthony Pappalardo, now available worldwide, Dr Willing is driving conversations around representation and empowerment to reflect an ‘ethical turn’ in skateboarding.
The book features the voices of 42 diverse industry change-makers covering critical themes of race, gender, sexuality, colonialism, consent, creative innovation and equity in subcultures such as skateboarding.
Dr Willing’s panel, co-chaired with Pappalardo, focused on amplifying opportunities for women and nonbinary people, with addresses from the world’s leading woman skateboarding agent Yullin Oliver as well as former Olympic skateboarder Amelia Brodka, The Skatepark Project Fellow L Brew and multidisciplinary Dine Navajo artist Di’orr Greenwood.
“Women and non-binary people have rarely had exposure in the sport or sponsorship deals, but hopefully the Olympics is changing this,” Dr Willing said.
“Most of the professional skateboarders who identify as women or nonbinary must work full-time but still compete and get judged at a professional standard, whilst a lot of men have been able to build careers from different sponsorships.
“We need to enable equitable opportunities for younger skaters to do what they love full-time, especially at that elite level, because the cost of an airfare to get to a competition doesn’t care what gender you are.”
Dr Willing draws on Yullin Oliver’s message that women often undervalue what they’re worth or are undervalued for what they’re worth.
Dr Willing joined the US conference panel on women and non-binary skaters.
“Even in terms of just turning up to a gig, people will say ‘you don’t skate as well as the men’, and all kinds of sexist things that need to be challenged,” she said.
“We owe it to young kids, and anybody that wants to get involved and might not fit the stereotypical skater mould, to create really safe, really positive environments for them.”
Through consultation, they learned there was often “a lack of accessible spaces, no lighting, no public toilets, intimidating elements and how skate parks are not always welcoming in their design.”
“From the findings we are able to stress that architects need to be asking: are there only huge 12 foot ramps or do we have infrastructure to accommodate beginners, people of different ages and abilities?” Dr Willing said.
“Similarly, in a conference discussion, someone said ‘you’ve got to build for speed’, and my response is you don’t always need speed, sometimes you just need creativity and imagination.
“If we have little girls in one of our workshops, they draw a flower and want to skate a flower, why don’t we design a little flower garden for them to skate and make it fun for them, whilst experienced skateboarders could skate those elements in a highly creative way too.”
Alongside international skate researchers and fellow skating academic at Grifith University Dr Benjamin Duester, Dr Willing has also been developing the ‘SSHRED’ project which considers solutions to make skating more sustainable.
“Researching environmental design, we’re looking at better ways to go about manufacturing and infrastructure in the lead up to what will hopefully be a cleaner and greener 2032 games.”
Dr Willing met with a mix of skate photographers, PhD students, academics and writers during her USA conference trip.
“We’re looking at everything from the uniforms and shoes that athletes wear to the way stadiums are constructed and the afterlife of built concrete which will inform policymakers and construction companies well ahead of the Olympics.”
Dr Willing said there is immense value in Griffith researchers adding their voices to these international conversations, especially with Australia’s reputation as a “sporty, outdoor-loving nation.”
Adding an extensive resume, including co-founder of We Skate QLD and the award-winning sexual violence prevention skate project Consent is Rad, Dr Willing will join the advisory board of the internationally recognised non-profit Skateistan mid-year, whose work on skateboarding and education won a documentary Academy Award in 2020.
Follow Dr Willing on instagram for skating videos and announcements.
Griffith University researchers will share ideas and be exposed to rare collaboration opportunities when scientists from around the world unite at the 6th International EcoSummit Congress, the first time it has been held in Australia.
EcoSummit 2023 – Building a sustainable and desirable future: Adapting to a changing land and sea-scape — will take place at the Gold Coast Convention Centre from 13-17 June 2023.
Dr Olaf Meynecke.
Dr Olaf Meynecke, from Griffith’s Whales & Climate Research Program, is a Congress co-chair and said the event would allow renowned marine and environmental scientists to present the latest scientific findings across a range of topics, foster future research collaborations and discuss conservation efforts that could inform and improve decision-making for our marine life and our environment broadly.
“Given the present circumstances of a growing global population, especially in coastal areas, it is clear that embracing sustainable living and resource management is absolutely necessary,” Dr Meynecke said.
“It is envisaged that the Summit will produce a declaration encompassing its vision and policy recommendations.
“At this international congress of experts in environmental modelling, engineering, science, and policy ways forward for developing socio-economic and environmental resilience and sustainable prosperity around the world will be presented.
“The wealth of knowledge that these experts bring from nearly 100 countries is what we need to help address these critical issues in our environment.”
The EcoSummit conference series was founded in 1996 in Copenhagen, as a forum for scientists, practitioners, and policy-makers working across disciplines to solve the integrated environmental, social, and economic problems facing the world today.
EcoSummit 2023 will have a focus on coastal and marine ecosystems including adjacent terrestrial ecosystems and all habitats that are integrated within those ecosystems, including river networks, wetlands and catchments.
Further focus will be placed on fragile systems that are more likely to suffer the consequences of climate change and anthropogenic pressure such as islands, coastal communities and arid landscapes.
Topics covered will include, but are not limited to:
Coastal Systems
Ecology and Biodiversity
Marine Ecosystems/ Aquatic Environments
Policies and Governance/Science and Policy
Socio-economics
Griffith University is a partner of EcoSummit Congress 2023, organised by Elsevier, with support by Tourism & Events Queensland, Destination Gold Coast and a range of societies and organisations.
A team of top scientists and clinicians from Griffith University is heading to Canberra today to support calls for new national clinical guidelines to improve the care of hundreds of thousands of Australians with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and potentially thousands more with Long Covid.
Professor Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik from the National Centre For Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED) at Griffith University.
The team is led by the Director of the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED) at Queensland’s Griffith University, Dr Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, a world expert in ME/CFS.
“While nations around the world are looking to Australian research as leaders on ME/CFS and Long COVID, our own clinical guidelines for treating patients are more than 20 years out of date,” Professor Marshall-Gradisnik said.
“The existing guidelines do not reflect the great advances we have made in the past decade to understand the pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of ME/CFS, and the advice they offer doctors is out of step with current science.”
The Griffith University team was the first in the world to prove the pathological link between ME/CFS and Long Covid and the first to report on the potential benefit of repurposing drugs, with known safety data, to fast-track new treatment options for ME/CFS patients.
Earlier this year, they used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show ME/CFS and COVID-19 have the same effects on brain structure.
More than 40 parliamentarians, researchers and patient representatives around the country will attend the Parliamentary Friends of ME/CFS meeting at Parliament House on Tuesday, calling on the Federal Government to establish and fund a working group to prepare new clinical guidelines so doctors around the nation have accurate and up-to-date advice.
“The current clinical guidelines still recommend graded exercise therapy,” said ME/CFS Australia President Sarah FitzGerald.
“This treatment has been discredited because it is known to make patients worse.”
Despite being a champion horse-rider and tennis player in her youth, Ms FitzGerald has suffered from ME/CFS all her life.
Now her daughter, a 28-year-old paramedic, is also experiencing symptoms.
This is the first time the Parliamentary Friends of ME/CFS has met since the forum was established in 2019.
Since then, multiple reviews have recognised the prevalence and need to support ME/CFS, including a recommendation for funding handed down by the Parliamentary Inquiry into Long Covid in April 2023.
That recommendation was not picked up in the recent Federal Health budget.
Some advocates will be presenting to the group from their beds as they are too ill to travel to Canberra.
After decades of controversy, ME/CFS is recognised as one of a suite of post-infectious diseases that often follow a viral illness.
Symptoms can be wide-ranging, depending on which cells in the body are affected, and patients are often left severely disabled, unable to work, and even bedridden for years.
One of the distinguishing signs is post-exertional malaise, where even minor physical or mental activity makes symptoms worse, and resting doesn’t help.
Peak body ME/CFS Australia, which represents a network of patient-led, volunteer-run charities around the country, said the cost to individuals was incalculable but the cost to Australia, in lost productivity and healthcare, was estimated at an astounding $14 billion a year.
The organisation said ME/CFS is growing as a national public health emergency with an estimated 240,000 Australians suffering from the disease including many whose ME/CFS was triggered by COVID-19.
Around 25 per cent of people with ME/CFS are housebound or bedbound, often for years, and fewer than 15 per cent of patients are able to work.
Annual research funding for ME/CFS in Australia is currently $6 per person for the 240,000 ME/CFS patients in Australia.
This pales in comparison with $4,338 per person for an estimated 2,272 patients with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), or $151 for an estimated 33,300 people with Multiple Sclerosis.
