SoapBox Podcast

This week we sit down with Cleve McGhie to talk about AIME, a nationwide innovative education program that is focused on supporting Indigenous kids, in their secondary education and anything they wish to do beyond that. Cleve's personal experience with AIME is a testament to the success of the program. It was pleasure to sit down with him and discuss AIME's approach to Indigenous education and their future endeavours. If you want to learn more, click the link below: https://aimementoring.com/about/aime/

Alex and Loretta sit down with YGAP CEO and Founder Elliot Costello and talk about his campaign The PolishedMan which is aimed at creating awareness and stoping violence against children. I in 5 children are affected by physical/sexual violence and their campaign is nailing it to stop it. Check out more about the campaign here: https://www.polishedman.com/

Host: Lee Constable Guests: Vivien Murray, Grade 5 at Palmerston District Primary School Anne Quinn, 2020 Vision and Parliament of Youth Project Officer This is an interview I did in 2015 and one of my favourites! Students from schools across Canberra come up with sustainability ideas and propose them at a Parliament of Youth to real politicians. Vivien spoke about her class' projects planting a garden and making a glasshouse out of recycled plastic bottles! The 2016 Parliament of Youth on Sustainability will be held again 30 May 2016. See here for more details: http://www.see-change.org.au/parliamentofyouth/

Host: Lee Constable Guest: Tamika Townsend, Indigenous spokesperson for Reconciliation Australia What gets you on your Soapbox? Anything to do with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. Most recently- justice reinvestment. Anything to do with my mob and my people. I'm pretty politically engaged! What is one thing you wish everyone knew more about? Find out who are the traditional owners of your country and look into Reconciliation Australia. Get in touch if you know of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation kicking goals in their community. You can nominate them for the Indigenous Governance Awards. Tamika's last words on the program: "Keep on learning and stay deadly!"

Host: Lee Constable Guests: Grant Wilson, Big Issue vendor and Julie Evans, Supportive Tenancy Services What is it like to ask for money on the street? What can people do if they are worried about losing their home? What does homelessness and public housing look like in ACT? Lee talks to Grant who has had first-hand experience of being without secure housing and Julie who works to prevent homelessness before it happens to find out the answer to these questions and more!

Host: Lee Constable Guest: Zoya Patel What gets you on your SoapBox? Gender equality and animal welfare. What is one thing you wish everyone knew more about? Intersectionality. Look it up, check your privilege and be more aware! Zoya Patel is 2015 ACT Young Woman Of the Year as well as being founder and editor-in-chief of feminist literature and arts journal, Feminartsy. Feminartsy aims to make the conversation around feminism inclusive by looking at gender equality through a creative lens. You can find out more about Feminartsy here: www.feminartsy.com

Host: Sian Willoughby Guests: Renee and Priscilla - Vice-President and President of Dancing Goddesses “It’s a really powerful thing to be connected to your body and understand what it does. It’s not just about what it looks like or the aesthetics of it. It’s about ‘I can do these amazing things, look at how much I’m having fun with my body’, and owning that. I think there’s so many comments around women’s bodies and what they can and can’t do, that it’s really positive to be in a supportive environment.” In this episode of Soapbox, Sian chats to Renee and Priscilla about Dancing Goddesses, their organization that aims to bring the joy of dance to women who might otherwise be physically or financially excluded from participating. Together they discuss the warmth and closeness of the belly dancing community, the meaning of inner strength, and the value of coming together through dance. For more information about the work Dancing Goddesses do, visit http://www.dancinggoddesses.org.au/ or look them up on Facebook.