Recent Initiatives

Social Justice Network Launch

Thursday, 31 March 2022

Western Sydney University launched an inaugural network to amplify the University’s research and impact on social justice matters. The excessive problems that the world is being confronted with is a challenge that calls for multi disciplines to work together to solve them – as well as a call for the democratization of decision making – to ensure the public are a part of the debates and assist with the co-creation of those solutions.

We see Western taking up this challenge as an institution that has a responsibility to make a better world – a just world. Unique to Western is service and engagement with the region, it is interwoven throughout its University Act – the Act that established our University. Our responsibilities to the communities are therefore defined as one of our key functions. We are a University of and for the region.

A university that is committed to public engagement and service is a university that is also dedicated to social justice, according to Professor Possamai-Inesedy “Western is deeply committed to finding solutions to global and regional injustices and will draw on the fantastic work undertaken across the University, particularly through drawing on the valuable research our scholars undertake.”

The Social Justice Network will include representatives from across the University, including the Diversity and Human Rights Research Centre; Equity and Diversity; Humanitarian and Development Research Institute; Institute for Culture and Society; Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Leadership; Office of Engagement and Advancement; School of Law; and the Whitlam Institute.

Esteemed guest speakers at the launch included:

• Professor Anna Cody, Dean, School of Law
• Professor Kerry Robinson, Director, Diversity and Human Rights Research Centre
• Dr Rachel Sharples, Senior Researcher, Challenging Racism Project, Diversity and Human Rights Research Centre

Professor Anna Cody discussed key initiatives that her School is doing in this space. This included their work on the Network for Law and Human Rights, the Justice Clinic and the revitalisation of the curriculum to speak to social justice; Questions of recognition and respect also matter in social justice – racism, sexism, religious prejudice, homophobia, ageism – all of these can have toxic effects.

Professor Kerry Robinson spoke to the large breadth of work that she has been involved in – with much of coming from the Diversity and Human Rights Centre that she leads.

Dr Rachel Sharples presented the work that has been going on for some time now on the Challenging Racism project.