In January of this year Nicholes Family Lawyers sponsored the inaugural “Better Together” Conference held in Melbourne organised by the Equality Project. Over 60 people from every state in Australia as well as a number of delegates from the US, UK and the Philippines attended the conference. Rebecca Dahl one of our Senior Associates was part of the organising committee as well as being part of a panel at the conference discussing the ‘Modern Family’.

Our friends at the Equality Project are also running a Leadership Training Academy (LTA) which supports the next generation of LGBTIQ+ advocates. The aim of the #LTA2018 programme is to achieve meaningful social change by fostering advocates to lead the conversation, reshape the narrative and change the culture.

Some of the largest LGBTIQ+ rights organisations from around the world will be presenting at the conference this year, including the likes of the GLAAD Media Institute and the Stonewall LGBTIQ Role Models Program.

• The GLAAD Media Institute provides consulting services to enable individuals and organisations to build skills to effectuate positive cultural change through three pillars; training, consulting and research.
• The Stonewall LGBTIQ Role Models Program similarly provides services to give individuals the opportunity to explore what it means to be a role model and creates a space to identify how they can create inclusive environments for everyone.

The Leadership Training Academy is specifically aimed at emerging LGBTIQ+ advocates in the community. More broadly the program is designed for professionals from any sector or industry that are interested in learning about what it means to be LGBTIQ+  inclusive role models in the workplace. The Equality Project is looking for a diverse range of participants to attend and be involved in this year’s Leadership Training Academy. Particularly the Project is seeking those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, people of faith, people with disability, women and non-binary people as well as those at the intersections of these identities.

The programme will run in October of 2018 across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra. Nicholes Family Lawyers supports the Equality Project and we hope to see you there.