Archive of past events

 

Annual Lecture on Bigotry and Tolerance

Each year the Foundation has an annual Freilich Foundation Lecture on Bigotry and Tolerance.

1997, Phillip Adams, "Bigotry and the Bunyip".

1998, Fr Frank Brennan, "The Wik Debate - A Legitimate Quest for Workability and Certainty or Just Downright Intolerance? "

1999, David Marr, "Bigotry in Australia Today: The Role of the Churches".

2000, Les Murray, "Countermeasures".

2001, Dr Evelyn Scott, "On the Evil of Tolerance and the Virtue of Intolerance".

2002, Archbishop Peter Carnley, "Beyond Mere Tolerance: The Vocation of the Three Abrahamic Faiths in Creating the Conditions for World Peace".

2003, Professor Ben Kiernan, "Genocide and Resistance in Cambodia and East Timor".

2004, Stephen Crittenden, "Defending the Enlightenment: Liberalism and Religious Intolerance".

2005, Rev Dorothy McRae-McMahon, "What Price Bigotry? Undermining the Rich Foundation of Humanity."

2006, Morris Gleitzman, 'Small Bodies Big Hearts: Why I write children's books.'

2007, Professor Raymond A Winbush, 'The 3Rs: Racism, Reparations and Reconciliation in the 21st Century?'Listen to the Lecture here (mp3 67mb)

2008, Dr Marion Maddox 'The Elusive Inclusive Republic' listen to the lecture here

 

Alice Tay Lecture on Law and Human Rights

Most recently the Foundation has inaugurated a new series of lectures in memory of Professor Alice Tay, fomer Board member of the Foundation and President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on the theme of "Human Rights and Law". The first lecture was co-sponsored by the Foundation and HREOC and took place in Parliament House on May 25, 2005.

2005, Jim Ife, "A Culture of Human Rights and Responsibilities"

Listen to this lecture here

2006, Larissa Behrendt 'AS GOOD AS IT GETS OR AS GOOD AS IT COULD BE? Benchmarking Human Rights in Australia'.

2007, Professor John McMillan, 'Human Rights Charters - how important to improving government?' Listen to the lecture here (mp3 17 mb)

2008, Dr Penelope Mathew 'Where is our Place? Seeking a Home in Time of Insecurity' Listen to this lecture here

 

Eminent Lecturer Series

Every two years, the Foundation invites an internationally recognosed scholar to be its Eminent Lecturer and to deliver four thematic lectures over a month.

1999, Professor Henry Reynolds, "Sovereignty, Indigenous Australia and Human Rights".

2001, Professor John C. Turner, "Rethinking the Nature of Prejudice: From Psychological Distortion to Socially Structured Meaning".

2003, Professor Donald Harman Akenson, "Intolerance: the E.Coli of the Human Mind". Professor Akenson's lectures are available as a book published by the Foundation and available free. Please contact the Foundation to be sent a copy.

2005, Dr Carmen Lawrence, "Fear and Public Policy". These lectures are now availiable in hard copy. If you would like a free copy of Fear and Politics please contact the Foundation.

2007, Professor Susan Mendus, 'Religious Toleration in an Age of Terrorism'
Follow this link for more information on this lecture series and to listen to the lectures

 

Occassional Lecture

Occasionally, the Foundation invites specific people to deliver a public lecture on an important topic.

2000, Professor Marilyn Lake, "No Distinction of Any Kind: Modern Definitions of Human Rights," in association with the "Human Rights, Human Wrongs" conference.

2001, Sir Tipene O'Regan, "The Evolution of The Tribe : The Challenge for an Old Culture in a New Century," in association with the Consortium of Humanities Centres and Institutes of Australia meeting.

2002, Dr Paul Connolly, "Growing Up in Bigotry: Northern Ireland," Professor Mapule Ramashala, "Growing Up in Bigotry - South Africa", in association with the "International Perspectives on Reconciliation" conference.

2007, Dr Paul Collins, 'Negotating a Most Difficult Relationship: Christianity & Islam' This lecture can be heard in the following ways:

To Listen using Real Player audio click here

To Listen using MP3 click here

 

Activities for Schools

The Freilich Foundation is committed to working with school students and their teachers to exploring ways that bigotry, prejudice and discrimination can be fought.

Our programmes have included:

2001, a weekend workshop on the Aboriginal history of the Canberra region for teachers of Indigenous Studies and teachers with responsibilities for mentoring Indigenous students.

2002, a two-day workshop for high school history teachers called , "Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides".

2002, an afternoon professional development programme for pre-school teachers on discrimination amongst four- to six-year olds.

2003, a series of visits to pre-primary, primary and high schools by Mbulelo Mzamane, an eminent South African writer, teacher and story-teller to speak on issues of racism.

2007, the inagural biennial summer school for teachers on the theme 'Understanding Islam'. Forty teachers from over 90 applicants Australia wide were chosen to attend a three day summer school in Canberra. See Summer school.

2009, The summer school for teachers on the theme of 'Religion and Bigotry'. See Summer school.

 

Conferences Seminars and Workshops

 

2000

Cyberhate: Prejudice and Bigotry on the Internet; in association with AIJAC.

Human Rights, Human Wrongs: Bigotry, Government and Social Change in Australia 1949-2000.

 

2001

Bigotry and Religion in Australia, 1865-1950, an international conference.

The papers from this conference have been published in the journal Humanities Research vol xxii, no1, 2005. A hard copy of this edition can be obtasined by contacting the Foundation.

 

2002

Flows of People, Waves of Bigotry: a community conference; in association with the Australian Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilisation and the Australian National Maritime Museum.

International Perspectives on Reconciliation, an international conference; in association with Reconciliation Australia and the National Library of Australia. Trancripts of the conference papers are available here.

Our Fear of Strangers: wogs, refos and illegals in the popular imagination; in association with the Hawke Research Institute of the University of South Australia.

 

2003

Genocide and Colonialism: an international conference; in association with the University of Sydney and the Humanities Research Centre. The papers from this conference will be published in Dirk Moses, Genocide and Colonialism (Berghahn Books, in the series "Studies in War and Genocide," to be published in 2005. )

 

2007

Negotiating the Sacred IV: Tolerance, Education and the Cuuriculum.
This conference was partially funded by the Freilich Foundation and was held in Canberra 1-2 September 2007. The papers from this conference will be published in a book. Further details of this publication will be available on this website when available.

National Conference on Racism in a Global Context.
This Conference was partially funded by the Freilich Foundation and was held at Murdoch Univeristy 9-11 November 2007.

Workshop Renewing the Critique of Violence

Wokshop Civil Unions Gay Marriage What's the Problem?

 

2008

Visiting Fellows Work in Progress Seminars

Professor Marcello Sorce Keller
'From Melbourne to Canberra: Comparing Musical Behaviour among Immigrant Communities in Australia'

A/Professor Arlene Stein
'Telling Holocaust Stories in Postwar America'

Postgraduate workshops

Music and Ideology
Postgraduate Workshop with Professor Marcello Sorce Keller