Revitalising Australia’s human rights framework, including efforts to introduce an Australian Human Rights Act, will be the focus of a landmark conference in June during the Vivid Sydney festival.

Equal Opportunity SA has joined other Australian Council of Human Rights Authorities as a Community Partner to the Free + Equal Human Rights Conference. Presented by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the conference will take place over 6 and 7 June at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney and will include 12 engaging sessions and events featuring a diverse line-up of more than 50 eminent experts, thought leaders, social justice and community advocates.

The conference will cover the upcoming, and highly-anticipated, report by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights on a new national human rights framework, as well as how to activate community support and engagement for this landmark reform. Sessions will focus on a range of related issues, including:

• Enhancing Australia's anti-discrimination laws
• Preventing racism
• Improving children's rights and youth justice
• Exploring the intersection of business, technology and human rights
• Marking 40 years of Australia’s ground-breaking Sex Discrimination Act

The conference will include eminent human rights law professors, Philip Alston, Ben Saul, Kim Rubenstein, John Tobin and George Williams. Human rights and social justice advocates, Sisonke Msimang, Alan Wu, Tasneem Chopra, Juliana Nkrumah, Anna Brown, Samantha Connor and Zahra Al Hilaly. Business and human rights expert Dr Pichamon Yeophantong. And tech, science and rights academic Prof. Toby Walsh.

Conference highlight

Rights On Time, hosted by Adam Spencer, with some of Australia’s favourite legal eagles, rights advocates, media personalities and comedy stars including Jennifer Robinson, Nazeem Hussain and Tanya Hosch will debate how to stop our rights going wrong in the future.

To find out more and register, access www.freeandequal.com.au