Panel Discussions

Understanding Connection to Country for Indigenous Australians

“Generally, the people who ask you to do a Welcome (to Country), the desire in their heart is to genuinely connect to Country,” shares Gundungurra man and Indigenous Education Facilitator, Uncle David King.

Christmas Traditions That Help us Think of Others 

The best Christmas traditions are the ones that prompt us to think of others – like helping, giving, and gathering. That’s the message of our Helping Hands panellists, Felicia Limmer of Vision Christian Media, youth worker Nathan Brewer, and Michaela Chanmugam of Samaritan’s Purse. 

Safe Housing is “The Difference Between Staying or Leaving”

Safe housing is the vital first step needed to help someone flee domestic and family violence, according to Helping Hands panellists, Libby Caskey from the Women’s Housing Company; Steve Frost, founder at Horizons Family Law Centre; and Dave Kramer, founder of the HALT program and ambassador at Small Steps 4 Hannah.

Almost half of all people facing homelessness are women fleeing domestic and family violence. That’s why safe housing is a crucial first step for someone escaping abuse.

5 keys to growing - or rebuilding - your self-worth

A healthy sense of self-worth requires us to understand our inherent value. We can build up our self worth with practices such as gratitude, self care, and resisting comparison. These are the key takeaways from a recent Helping Hands panel discussion with founding board member of RUOK?  Graeme Cowan, psychologist Collett Smart, and disability parenting advocate Hannah Gair.

Why prioritising self-care is a must: some expert advice  

In a Helping Hands panel discussion about the importance of self-care, our panelists agree that self-care is vital for both you, and for those around you.  

RUOK?  founding board member Graeme Cowan, psychologist Collett Smart, and disability-and-parenting advocate Hannah Gair, liken self-care to “putting on our own oxygen mask first” so that we can support others too. Self-care involves many components including physical, mental, relational, spiritual, and career health. 

Uncovering the secrets to living your best life

“In terms of community and finding your people, it’s really important. When you can identify with other people, you feel seen, you feel heard, you feel validated … They want to lean into your world and then you just journey life together.”” explains Hannah Gair, founder of the StrongHERside podcast.

For this Helping Hands panel discussion, Hannah is joined by psychologist, Collett Smart, and Team Resilience speaker and author, Graeme Cowan, to talk about different ways to show we care.

Unravelling the meaning of time well spent

“We need to see time as like gold,” says Amanda Rose, founder of Entrepreneurial and Small Business Women Australia.

Time is a precious commodity. Each day, humans all around the planet are gifted the same amount of time. How do we get to the end of a day and, eventually, to the end of our lifetime, and know that we’ve spent our gift of time well?

Purpose - The key to a thriving community.

“Your entire life depends on the quality of the community or communities you associate yourself with and create,” says Adam McCurdie, founder and CEO of Humanitix.

Community connection is important to humanity. It is at the centre of every thriving society and civilisation around the world, and provides a framework for understanding, belonging, culture and identity.

In this Helping Hands panel discussion, Adam McCurdie is joined by Mike Gore, founder and CEO of Charitabl.; and Prof. Kristy Muir, CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, to discuss community connection and purpose.

The joy of being selfish for good

“There is a deep, deep value in being good for nothing,” quips Jon Owen, CEO of Wayside Chapel, when talking about volunteers.

Speaking on Helping Hands, Jon says volunteers gift an estimated $1.5 million worth of waged time to Wayside Chapel, and without them, the Chapel would not able to break even. The volunteer workforce at Wayside Chapel cover 250 shifts each week, and ensure their doors stay open.

Enabling young people to thrive

Children and young people today have greater access to information and resources than any other generation in history. However, in young hands and minds, rather than being helpful, sometimes this ease of access is a barrage of ideas, opinions and perspectives that ultimately have a negative affect on wellbeing. It leads those of us who care for and support young people to continue to ask the question: How can we enable young people to thrive? 

Have we lost the ability to be selfless?

In the modern world of ‘you do you’ have we lost the ability to be selfless? Like any art form or ability, selflessness is a skill that can be learned and practiced. So, how and when should we practice the art of selflessness and why should we bother?

A helping hand starts with a listening ear

It's not only the ‘needy’ in our community who benefit from a helping hand. We all need help from time to time, and it can also do us good to be the help that someone else needs, but what is the best way to extend a hand of friendship?

The Dreaming and Songlines of Indigenous Australia

“You don’t get to be the world’s oldest living continuing cultures without a great foundation of a system of law and living,” shares Education and Cultural Consultant, Brooke Prentis. 

How To Address Indigenous Australians

“Because people don’t have the experience walking alongside us, on Country, or in our daily lives ... there are misconceptions and misunderstandings out there” says Rhanee Lester, Adnyamathanha woman and researcher at the University of Adelaide.

In this Helping Hands panel discussion, Rhanee is joined by Brooke Prentis, Wakka Wakka woman and Education and Cultural Consultant, and Uncle David King, Gundungurra man and Indigenous Education Facilitator, and share their personal stories of family and culture, and bring clarity to understanding Aboriginal identity.

This week on Helping Hands, three Indigenous leaders from Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia explain what is means to identify as an Indigenous Australians, discuss some their life experiences, the and invite us to understand the Indigenous Peoples of Australia.