Guest: Professor Margaret Alston, AM, OAM, School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Science, University of Newcastle, New South Wales and Emerita Professor, Monash University. Introduction to this episode: Professor Margaret Alston has developed a longstanding research and teaching interest around the social work role in relation to natural disasters, and particularly regarding the differential gendered experience of disaster impacts amongst women, men and children. She has taught and conducted research within a number of premier Australian universities over the years on topics such as the links between rural life and gender, and has grounded that work in action research based upon first hand observation of some of the most vulnerable communities in the world. Professor Alston has applied her research insights to the benefit of a wide spectrum of institutions and individuals: from acting as gender expert consultant to international agencies, such as the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, and the Commission for the Status of Women, to providing doctoral research supervision to a new generation of social workers, helping equip them with the tools to focus on gender inequities within social research. In this episode, we talk about Professor Alston’s abiding interest in the gendered experience of environmental impacts, how such physical environment influences and eco-social work approaches (ESW) are directly relevant to mainstream social work practice, and how her research and social work training insights apply with particular relevance to our own, Asia-Pacific region of the world. General introduction - 0.50Guest self-introduction - 3.35What is the relevance of an ESW approach in 2022? - 12.05How might increased gendered sensitivity within ESW approaches help tackle some key sustainability challenges? -19.46Why should the social work profession concern itself with differential gendered factors within ESW approaches? - 27.45What could/should the short to mid-term future hold for greater levels of differential gendered experience sensitivity as a practice frame? - 31.13Guest take home message/summary - 37.43Closing acknowledgement - 41.13 RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE DISCUSSION A listing of any books, publications or digital media information sources relevant to eco-social work and mentioned during discussion. Professor Alston selected research work and profile with some publications from 2015: Alston, Women and Climate Change in Bangladesh (2015) RoutledgeMcKinnon and Alston (eds) (2016) Ecological Social Work, Pan Macmillan Alston, Hazeleger and Hargreaves (2019) Social Work and Disasters, Routledge Alston, et.al. (2021) Australian and NZ social workers adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic.Eco-anxiety and solastalgia. The Psychology for a Safe Climate group based in Melbourne also have a number of resources relevant to this topic on their portal site.Australia 2019-2020 bushfires and east coast flood events 2022 – some background. Vulnerability registers and mapping. Disaster risk reduction example involving children and youth.IPCC Climate Change Mitigation Report (April 2022) summary of key action points.IFSW online conference: Co-building a New Eco-Social World: Leaving No One Behind - The People's Global Summit (29th June to 2nd July 2022). GUEST AND CONTACT DETAILS: Guest: Professor Margaret Alston: E: margaret.alston@newcastle.edu.au WEB T: (02) 4921 6702 Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE): T 07 4639 2135 E office@hopeaustralia.org.au WEB FACEBOOK Production: Produced for HOPE by Andrew Nicholson E: counsel1983@gmail.com T: +61 413979414 This episode recorded in Toowoomba, S.E. Queensland, Australia on 6th April 2022. Artwork: Daniela Dal'Castel Incidental Music: James Nicholson
