A message from the WPN President
What a year 2009 is shaping up to be, with more and more focus each day on the planning of our cities to be sustainable, affordable, viable places in which we can live, work and play.WPN has had a busy start to 2009 and with an expanding committee, we intend to bring you great events and networking opportunities both within Melbourne and our regions (well at least 1 or 2 of them to start with!).
Our latest research From Accidental Planner to Agent Provocateur: 60 years of women in Victorian Planning was launched on on Thursday the 28th of May, with special guest Jenny Mikakos, Parliamentary Secretary for Planning doing the honours.
This research, which comprises a report and short film, is both a celebration of the Centenary of Suffrage but, perhaps more importantly, is a celebration of the significant contribution women have made to planning in Victoria. It was undertaken by the University of Melbourne (Dr Carolyn Whitzman, Dr David Nichols and Jana Perkovic) and was in part funded by the Minister for Planning. We feel that it has made a fantastic start to the process of recording and celebrating the role women in planning and reveals the changing the role of women in society, and it is hoped that it will inspire a national research project, as well as further work in Victoria.
Click here for information about the project and to obtain a copy of the report and short film DVD.
The WPN year always starts with a wonderful networking breakfast for International Women’s Day; this year was no different, with a fabulous held at the Pavilion café in the Fitzroy Gardens. Gently falling rain did not deter a great group, who thoroughly enjoyed Prue Digby’s insights into the successes of her career and reflections on her current role as the DPCD Deputy Secretary for Planning and Local Government.
We also awarded the Rising Star Scholarship for 2009 to William Wong for his essay Designing Urban Space: 'Queer Theory' and Identity Politics and are now seeking 2010 essay entries for this $5,500 prize from undergraduate students in planning and related courses. Click here for details.
The WPN/PIA mentor program "m2M" re-commenced bigger and better in August last year and we plan to keep on expanding its profile in coming years, including revisiting the potential for a ‘Leadership’ mentoring program to assist aspiring leaders with goal setting, career development and networking opportunities.
Our calendar of events for 2009 is looking good – please check it out now, check it regularly and get along to our events. We will of course focus on the 'Network' part of WPN and we will be including as many socially-orientated events for our members to get together and enjoy being part of a wider community of like-minded women that we think we can all sustain!
As usual, this website will keep you up to date with current news and events, and we are committed to making our website a complete resource for all of our publications and other documents.
I encourage you to keep on visiting our website and hope that you enjoy being part of our network! We welcome any feedback or suggestions for making this website, and indeed WPN, the best it can be for all our members.
Kellie Burns,
President
Image: A proud research project team pose with Parliamentary Secretary for Planning Jenny Mikakos at the launch event. Pictured from left to right: Roz Hansen, Jana Perkovic, Dr David Nichols, Kellie Burns, Jenny Mikakos, Dr Carolyn Whitzman and Melinda Wealands.
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WPN is grateful for the ongoing financial support of the Department of Planning and Community Development. |