Five members of the Capire team were thrilled to attend this year’s International Association for Public Participation Australasia (IAP2A) Conference ‘Innovate to Elevate’ on Gadigal land, Sydney on 2–4 September. Hats off to IAP2A for creating such a welcoming, inclusive and engaging conference. There were too many highlights to mention, but here are a few!
Conference highlights
Sarah Wilcox, Mike Butler and Capire’s Mel Hagedorn delivered a powerful session on understanding symbolism when engaging with Aboriginal communities. Participants were guided through an activity that helped them understand, on a more personal level, the consequences of colonialism – including the damage done and the culture lost.
Capire Consultant Abbey Mag (pictured second from left) was part of a panel discussion on engaging with youth. Reflecting on the session, Abbey says we need to understand the systemic barriers to engagement and then break them down. ‘Young people are at times experiencing things for the first time, experiences they may not necessarily know the language for yet. How is your engagement strategy responding to this? In a way that is empathic, but not speaking down to someone?’
Holy Ransom spoke about ‘return on energy’. Understanding whether you’re a night owl or a lark will help you better manage your energy throughout the day. When scheduling tasks, be conscious of when you do your work best.
Capire Consultant Charlotte Yu attended a session on engaging with superdiverse communities for urban development. ‘Superdiversity’ refers not only to ethnic and cultural diversity, but also to the many other intersecting factors (e.g. age, gender, education, income, sexual orientation) that shape a person’s identity and experiences. How can we understand a community when there’s so much to consider? More up-to-date data and interactive maps that allow us to filter by cultural diversity will help us see how these factors interact with each other.
Isabella GiaVulva’s Keynote Cabaret, which brings together work life and drag life, was a standout session for all.
‘Isabella emphasised the importance of encouraging ourselves, our colleagues and our clients to be curious and brave enough to think beyond industry frameworks, for the benefit of the communities we work with. This does not mean to ignore the frameworks, but to use it as a starting point and not just stop there!’ – Abbey
Isabella also highlighted the importance of self-care. ‘Taking care of ourselves and our own wellbeing is critical. If we’re not taking care of ourselves, how can we show up to listen to some hard, sometimes traumatic, feedback or stories?’ – Mel
It was wonderful to see our Co-founder Amy Hubbard recognised as an IAP2A Fellow. The prestigious fellowship is awarded to celebrated professionals who have demonstrated distinguished service to both IAP2A and the field of community and stakeholder engagement.
‘I’m grateful to all the excellent humans who have trusted me, supported me and unconditionally lifted me up. Those humans being my Capire team, my clients, IAP2 colleagues and collaborators. One message – we can do more together. Just remember to support and build each other’s practice for more meaningful community outcomes. Because that’s why we’re all here.’ – Amy
We were also excited to receive a Highly Commended Core Values Award in the Infrastructure (Planning and Design) category for our work on public engagement for Melbourne’s new trains and trams. It was a pleasure to support Alstom and the Department of Transport and Planning on this project, which will help make public transport more accessible and comfortable for all users.
Further reflections
Between early morning flights and networking events, conferences can be exhausting! Some of the most meaningful conversations happened outside the conference, as people took time out to reenergise.
For first-time attendees Abbey and Charlotte, the conference was a fun experience and a great chance to meet new people and share ideas. While networking can feel daunting, they found it’s really just about having conversations (perhaps with the person sitting next to you looking equally lost!).
Needless to say, we’re already excited for next year’s IAP2A Conference in Melbourne!
