My story as an ERC staff member mainly concerns the first half of the Centre’s history. I have too many memories to recount here so I will just provide a snapshot of some of the poignant moments from my perspective. I have worn many hats at ERC, firstly as Co-ordinator of Research and later as Deputy Director, and also Acting Director (in 2007), before I left to undertake doctoral study. I have worked with amazing people in Australia and overseas as we forged relationships and partnerships with diverse communities, and together we travelled the long road of action for justice and human rights for people in Australia and across the globe.

In those early days of the late 1990s the Edmund Rice Centre was like a log fire. The more it was stoked with ideas and actions the more alive it became. The more people involved, the warmer the atmosphere. I didn’t realise that this fire had only recently been lit when I first came to Sydney in 1996 and attended a Social Justice meeting at Balmain.

By Dr Usha Harris, media and communication academic at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

In July this year I had the opportunity to visit Kiribati for the first time as part of an Australian delegation organised by Pacific Calling Partnership and hosted by KiriCAN (Kiribati Climate Action Network). I went to Kiribati with a misperception that there was little hope for its people who faced a bleak future due to sea level rise. Instead, I returned inspired by a resilient people who refuse to sit and wait for the world to save them from the impacts of climate change. They are focused on finding sustainable solutions in turning the resources of the ocean and the thin sliver of land on which they live to productive use.

Download Dr Harris' report