FWD+ORGANISE PROGRAM

REGISTRATION | Sacred Heart Courtyard

REGISTRATION OPENS

Check-in and grab a coffee from 8:00am, with thanks to our friends at Fifty Acres

Registration begins at 8am: join us in the Sacred Heart Courtyard to check in for the summit, grab your wristband and have a barista-made coffee (with thanks to our friends at Fifty Acres)

CAUCUS | Convent Bakery

First Nations Caucus

Hosted by Tarneen Onus Browne (Australian Progress) at the Convent Bakery

Grab breakfast at the Convent Bakery with other mob before FWD+Organise kicks off. Attendance is closed to only First Nations participants.

PLENARY | North Magdalen Laundry

Welcome to FWD+Organise

Stacie Piper (Wurundjeri, Djadjawurrung and Ngurai Illum-Wurrung)
Anita Tang and Amelia Telford (FWD emcees)

A Wurundjeri elder will officially open FWD+Organise 2024 with the Welcome to Country.
Anita and Millie, the FWD+Organise emcees, will then set the scene for our two days together, along with Kirsty Albion, CEO of Australian Progress.

PLENARY | North Magdalen Laundry

What’s next for First Nations justice

Celeste Liddle (Activist, writer and social commentator)

In her keynote on what’s next for First Nations justice, Celeste Liddle envisions a future grounded in freedom and liberation, where the path forward is built on solidarity between First Nations communities, unions, and grassroots organisers. Reflecting on the referendum as a catalyst for deeper national reckoning, she calls for real structural change that acknowledges and repairs the impacts of colonisation. Liddle sees unions playing a role in First Nations justice, not only by championing fair labour practices but by standing alongside Indigenous communities in the fight for land, sovereignty, and self-determination. Her vision is one of collective organising, where shared purpose and solidarity lead to a future where liberation and justice for all.

PLENARY | North Magdalen Laundry

Who broke the world?

Saffron Zomer (Australian Democracy Network)
Scott Ludlam

Understanding the deep collaboration, infrastructure, and history of the far right is essential for us to be able to look with clear eyes at the work that comes next - from tackling mis-and- disinformation, to creating a system that puts people and the planet first. In this special plenary briefing, Saffron Zomer will share a little of what the Australian Democracy Network has been up to in 2024, and Scott Ludlam will share some recent research on the implications for our shared work defending democracy.

PLENARY | North Magdalen Laundry

Fighting back against authoritarianism in Brazil

Ricardo Borges Martins (Quid)

Often called “The Trump of the Tropics”, Bolsonaro lost his re-election effort in January 2023 and quickly followed in Trump’s footsteps by refusing to concede defeat. His supporters then tried to occupy and attack government buildings in the capital while also calling on the military to intercede. Thanks to a civil society made strong by pro-democracy organisers and activists, their tactics did not succeed. You’ll leave this session inspired by how organisers at the communications lab, Quid, have used powerful organising and digital strategies to build civic engagement and overcome the far right in Brazil.

CAUCUS | Packing Room

People of Colour Caucus

Facilitated by Neha Madhok and Kaz Uy

A space to come together and connect at FWD+Organise. Attendance is closed to only people of colour.

CASE STUDY + WORKSHOP | Community Room

Surviving the Pile-On: Navigating online culture wars

Larah Kennedy (Quiip)
Melarli Gorey (Children’s Ground)
Isabel Kimpton (Environment Victoria)

What do you do when your community or campaign gets caught in the outrage culture wars, especially given algorithms are primed to feed off it? What strategies can you put in place ahead of time to help innoculate or tackle the problem when it arises? You’ll walk away with tips for managing online outrage from specialist online community builders Quiip, insights from how Children’s Ground are using social media to amplify First Nations voices amid a toxic media landscape, and inspiration from the grassroots digital organisers who are working with their community to push back at online hate.

Difficulty: 💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄

PANEL | Convent Salon

What to do in the first 100 days: Building A Post-Election Gameplan

Jo Scard (Fifty Acres)
Maria Poulos (Australian Conservation Foundation)
Andrew Hudson (Centre for Policy Development)
Kirsty Albion (Australian Progress)

Six months out from the Federal Election, are we headed for a big potential upheaval in what our parliament looks like? Don’t get caught wrong-footed in the new political landscape. Come along and hear from political experts on the possible make up of the new parliament and how best to prepare for working with an increasingly diverse cross bench.
Difficulty: 💥💥💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄

PANEL | Industrial School

First Nations Community Organising

Maggie Munn (Human Rights Law Centre)
Lara Watson (First Nations Workers Alliance)
Rona Glynn-McDonald (Common Ground)
Tarneen Onus Browne (Australian Progress)

In this panel discussion you’ll hear the lessons and the challenges from First Nations organisers leading powerful campaigns for justice across this continent. Maggie Munn will share campaign case studies from the fights to end mass incarceration and raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility and Lara Watson from the First Nations Workers Alliance will share how they secured changes to the Community Development Program, improving wage justice in remote communities.

Difficulty: 💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄

WORKSHOP | Bishop's Parlour

Fundraising best practice in 2024: digital tools, tips and tricks

James Stinson (Raisely)

Does it feel like the cost of living crisis is impacting your donations? Conventional wisdom says yes, but the actual data tells a different story. Back by popular demand, Raisely will share their insights on fundraising in 2024. Expect expert advice on best digital tools for fundraising and practical tips from recent case studies in digital fundraising.
Difficulty: 💥💥
Interactivity: 🥄

WORKSHOP | Linen Room

What’s possible with AI?

Nick Haines (Watershed Change)

How can we leverage AI to amplify our messages for social impact? Join this beginner friendly session to learn how you can use AI to streamline your campaigning and organising efforts. You’ll be shown what’s possible with real world examples from leading campaigners and how they are using custom chatGPTs for content creation for fundraising and campaigning.
Difficulty: 💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄🥄

MASTERCLASS | Packing Room

Making Messages Matter: Media Training Masterclass

Alex Kelly, Jedda Costa and Nick Cassella (Economic Media Centre)

Learn how to support your peers, volunteers and colleagues to develop campaign messages and excel in media interviews. Since its launch in 2020, the Economic Media Centre has trained more than 1000 media spokespeople and supported them in pitching thousands of news stories that shift the public story on economic justice. This practical train-the-trainer-style workshop will share three tools the Economic Media Centre team use in their training for you to adapt and use with your teams. You’ll also walk away with tips on how not to repeat the opposition's frame and how to manage the trickiest questions journos can throw your way.

Difficulty: 💥💥💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄🥄

CAUCUS | Industrial School

Disability Caucus

Facilitated by Kat Reed

A space for disabled attendees to come together and connect at FWD+Organise. Attendance is closed to only people with disability.

WORKSHOP | Bishop's Parlour

Lessons from the disinformation frontlines: What we learnt while fighting anti-trans disinformation

Jackie Turner (Trans Justice Project)

The far right is using the same playbook to target and divide different parts of our communities and movements, importing tactics from overseas to supercharge the spread of mis- and disinformation. In this deep-dive session, the Trans Justice Project shares lessons from their Disinfo Watch Project, which has been tracking and analysing the tactics used to spread anti-trans rhetoric. Learn how to build a program of work that identifies and responds to disinformation, key talking points and strategies, and how to build resources to educate and inoculate your community.

Difficulty: 💥💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄

PRESENTATION | Convent Salon

The Missing Piece: How we drive governments to properly regulate misinformation

David Mejia-Canales (Human Rights Legal Centre)
Rita Jabri Markwell (Australian Muslim Advocacy Network)

We can’t stop mis and disinformation ourselves - we need legislation. Proposed legislation to combat mis and disinformation needs to tackle some thorny issues, while preserving freedom of speech. In the lead-up to the election, this session will teach us how to talk to the government about regulating mis and disinformation to tackle the root causes of this problem. Experts will share best practice regulation from around the world, showing how these measures work globally and how they can work here. You’ll leave this session knowing what to look out for and how it might impact your work, so that we can build power together to fight for solutions.

Difficulty: 💥💥
Interactivity: 🥄

PANEL DISCUSSION | Community Room

Making movements and advocacy accessible

Jax Brown (Disability and LGBTIQA+ advocate)
Stephanie Dower (Access coordinator)
Lauren Hayes (Digital accessibility expert)
Jess Herne (Australian Progress)

In order to win on the biggest challenges facing society today, it’s critical we actively prioritise working in a way that’s inclusive and accessible for all people. As a sector, we run thousands of events each year and communicate with the public at a vast scale. Yet rather than embracing inclusion, too often we impose unnecessary and harmful barriers. Join for an honest discussion with experts Jax Brown, Lauren Hayes and Stephanie Dower, who will share best practice principles and takeaways to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of your next event or email-blast.

Difficulty: 💥💥
Interactivity: 🥄

WORKSHOP | Packing Room

Impact evaluation in campaigns and social movements

Sophie Hartley (The Commons Social Change Library)

As campaigners and organisers it can be challenging to show the direct links between the actions we take and structural changes in the world. How can we meaningfully measure our impact, and learn what’s working and what’s not so we can adjust our plans and resources accordingly? Join researcher, Sophie Hartley, from the Movement Monitor at the Commons Library in this very practical session on ensuring impact evaluation is built into your campaign and organising efforts from the design stage. You’ll take away lessons on the basics of impact, metrics and methods as well as the questions you should ask before you even start measuring. You’ll leave this session with the tools to be able to share the story of your impact with your volunteers, supporters and funders.
Difficulty: 💥💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄🥄

WORKSHOP | Linen Room

Town Halls and turning people out in 2024

Caitlin Gordon-King (Huddle)
Carly Robertson (Aus. Conservation Foundation)

Wondering what’s actually getting people out the door to take action in 2024? Is it texts or calls? Door knocks or digital actions? In this candid session, hear lessons from Australian Conservation Foundation’s “organising playbook” and case studies from other organisers covering the steps they’re taking to successfully fill town halls and get people taking action offline. Together we’ll unpack what organising tactics are currently working and how organisers are finding new ways to overcome barriers to action.
Difficulty: 💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄

SPECIAL BRIEFING | Industrial School

Deep Dive: Who Broke the World?

Scott Ludlam
Saffron Zomer (Aus. Democracy Network)

Take a deeper dive into the research in this longer briefing, following on from the Who broke the world? plenary. You’ll leave this session with a better understanding of some of the most pervasive sources of disinformation in the modern world, and what we can do about them. You’ll explore the implications for all of our shared work defending democracy and the urgent need for innovation and collaboration for countering authoritarianism.

Difficulty: 💥💥💥
Interactivity: 🥄🥄

CAUCUS | Packing Room

Queer Caucus

Facilitated by Sage Akouri

A space to come together and connect at FWD+Organise. Attendance is closed to only LGBTIQA+ attendees.

PLENARY | North Magdalen Laundry

Tiktok bots and deep fakes: How the far right are using AI

Sofia Madden (Watershed Change)

Right now, the far right are supercharging their efforts by exploiting AI to spread harmful mis-and disinformation. In this plenary briefing, Sofia Madden from AI Impact Labs will share their brand new research on how the far right has used AI to build deep fakes, videos and messaging tools during the US election — and the implications this has for our own fast approaching Federal Election.

PLENARY | North Magdalen Laundry

What happened in France’s shock election?

Sarah Durieux

The snap French legislative elections held in June and July this year delivered a shock result. Marine le Pen and her far-right party were widely believed to be on course for victory. But when the results came in it was the left-wing New Popular Front that emerged as the largest bloc. What was the role of civil society and what coalitions and alliances enabled the left to mobilise against the threat of the far-right? And what campaign and communications strategies did they deploy to turn the tide at this election? Sarah Durieux, activist and organiser who coordinated the largest civil society coalition will join us to share insights on the infrastructure, action and messaging that led to this victory. .

PLENARY | North Magdalen Laundry

Lessons in inoculation and trusted messengers

Gautam Raju (Movember)

How can we cut through dangerous misinformation to provide content that delivers life saving health information and fact-based advice? Gautam Raju joins us in plenary to share lessons on content strategies from his time at Purpose leading the United Nations Secretary General’s campaigning response to combat misinformation on COVID-19, which reached over 1 billion people.

SIDE EVENT

FWD+Organise Party

Location: Lulie Tavern, 225 Johnston St, Abbotsford VIC 3067

Connect with old and new friends at the FWD+Organise 2024 party at Lulie Tavern!