Transformation Conference, University of Technology Sydney
Transformations Conference 2023
An international gathering to catalyse transformative change
Implementing Planetary Health in the Blue Mountains, Australia
13 July 2023
3.00 – 4.15pm
University of Technology, Sydney
The Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) and the UTS Transdisciplinary School are co-hosting the 2023 Transformations Conference. Over three days, a transdisciplinary cohort of academics, practitioners and creatives are meeting at UTS in Sydney to share the latest thinking in sustainability transformations, and to vision futures that are sustainable, regenerative, just, and equitable. View program here
Planetary health foregrounds the relationship between human health and healthy ecosystems, constituting a call to action for deepening stewardship of nature. Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC), which makes decisions in respect to the Blue Mountains local government area on the Country of the Dharug and Gundungurra People, has a decades-long history of developing and implementing integrated approaches to local ecologically sustainable development. It is the first known government to adopt a planetary health approach as a strategic framing of its sustainability policies which include, for example, recognition of the Rights of Nature, response and adaptation to disasters, pursuit of sustainable tourism in the area, embedding sustainable development principles into its planning regime and decisions, and supporting research on planetary health in the Blue Mountains.
The panel will provide some of the first practice-based insights on planetary health implementation in local government. Leaders from BMCC and a selection of collaborators will discuss the origins of BMCC’s Planetary Health Initiative, how it has evolved, the challenges and opportunities of implementing planetary health and how it might be progressed in the future to promote transitioning of local and regional systems to regenerative and sustainable futures. Insights are drawn from the panellists extensive experience in local government, community work, living in the area and in the community and formal research.
Panellists include Dr Rosemary Dillon (CEO – Blue Mountains City Council), Lis Bastian (Senior Program Lead, Planetary Health Local Action Program – Blue Mountains City Council), and Eleanor Robson (PhD student – Western Sydney University), with the session chaired by Assoc. Prof. Louise Crabtree-Hayes.
Speakers
The Transformations Conference is an initiative of the Europe-based Transformations Community, a global network of scholars, practitioners and artists working to facilitate transformative change towards sustainable Futures. More than 400 speakers exploring the theme of ‘transformative partnerships for a better world’.
- Eleanor Robson(Speaker)Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, PhD student
- Rosemary Dilllon(Speaker)Blue Mountains City Council, Chief Executive Officer
- Lis Bastian(Speaker)Blue Mountains City Council, Senior Lead – Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative
- Louise Crabtree-Hayes(Speaker)Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, Principal Research Fellow
- Sam Wearne(Chair)University of Technology Sydney, PhD Candidate
The Planetary Health Initiative’s Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
