SPEAKER

Natasha Stott Despoja

HOST

Annabel Crabb

Hosted by Annabel Crabb and delivered by Natasha Stott Despoja at 6pm on Friday night, WOMADelaide’s International Women’s Day address will be one of the talk highlights of the festival.

As the youngest woman ever to enter the Australian Federal Parliament at 26, Natasha Stott Despoja has had an equally inspiring post-politics career. Her unwavering work towards gender equality has seen her take on roles including Australia's Ambassador for Women and Girls, and founding Chair of domestic violence organisation Our Watch.

Supported by InDaily

SPEAKERS

Brian Pickles, Monica Gagliano and Alex Gaut

HOST

Robyn Williams

Join pioneering scientists Brian Pickles and Monica Gagliano alongside Nature Connection guide, Alex Gaut as they discuss the fascinating world of tree communication, plant cognition and the healing powers of forest bathing. Gagliano’s bio acoustics research in plant cognition and Pickles’ work revealing a mycelium communication network dubbed “the Wood Wide Web” has exposed an incredible hidden world where plants and trees share, trade, care for family, display altruism, wage war, and even think!

And the connection between trees and humans and is just as fascinating. Originally established with Japanese government support because of its measurable health benefits, tree bathing has become widely popular in Japan, Europe and the US as a mind-tree-body therapy.

SPEAKERS

Fran Kelly and Patricia Karvelas

Radio National’s brilliant politics podcast The Party Room comes out of the studio and into the Park for the first time. Join two of Australia’s most respected journalist broadcasters, Fran Kelly and Patricia Karvelas, plus some very special guests as they analyse and interpret the latest issues from Canberra affecting our world.

SPEAKERS

Gavin McIntyre, Brian Pickles, Alison Pouliot and Mike Hornblow

HOST

Robyn Williams

Fungi preceded trees and animals on the Earth by hundreds of millions of years, and they’ll be cleaning humanity’s mess long after we’re gone. But can the humble ‘shroom help us save the planet right now? Bioneer Gavin McIntyre from ground breaking New York biofabrication company Ecovative Design, mycologists Brian Pickles and Alison Pouliot, and mycotecture designer Mike Hornblow are certain they can.

Fungi are saving the planet daily by energy cycling ecosystems, decomposing organic matter and feeding plants and animals. Now, scientists are also harnessing their mycelium – the root structure of mushrooms – to save the planet. They’re growing incredible sustainable materials to replace the use of wood, foam, bricks, leather, and plastics. They’ve even discovered fungi that eat plastic, clean up petrochemicals, absorb radiation, filter wastewater and treat a range of illnesses and immune-mediated conditions! Here’s to a fungi future.

SPEAKER

First Dog on the Moon

Modern life gets pretty busy so we can all be forgiven for not getting around to prepping for the end of the world. I’m not talking about an internet outage of more that 15 minutes – I’m talking about THE. ACTUAL. TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it).

The bad news according to Google however is we don’t have much time left. Fear not, First Dog On The Moon is here to save WOMADelaide with a crash course in surviving the Armageddon and just as importantly, how to stay nice doing it.

SPEAKERS

Angie Plummer, Cecile Godde, Matthew Evans and Andy Lowe

HOST

Deb Tribe

Can we really tackle climate change without addressing our relationship with meat consumption and the livestock industry? Ditching the snag on the BBQ and shifting to a more plant based diet is a demand-side solution but only half the consumption / production equation. What needs to be done to change a livestock industry that contributes 15% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions? That’s even more than the transportation sector.

Inaugural Director of Food Innovation at the University of Adelaide, Andy Lowe, Less Meat Less Heat CEO Angie Plummer, CSIRO food systems scientist, Cecile Godde and farmer/SBS TV food documentary maker, Matthew Evans have a few thoughts on where to start, even if you don’t want to become a vegan.

SPEAKERS

Quentin Beresford and David Ritter

HOST

Deb Tribe

Our Prime Minister recently declared the need for “fair dinkum power" when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining. But can this “fair dinkum power” be good for the planet, leaving the 90 per cent of the nation’s coal reserves in the ground estimated for Australia to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement?

Join Prof Quentin Beresford (author of Adani and the War on Coal) and David Ritter (Greenpeace CEO and author of The Coal Truth) as they discuss the Adani saga and the power behind our government’s passion for coal over a 100% renewable energy future.

SPEAKERS

Peter Owen, Bunna Lawrie and Jodie Rummer

HOST

Clare Press

Peter Owen (The Wilderness Society), Bunna Lawrie (Mirning Elder and Coloured Stone frontman) and Jodie Rummer (marine scientist, James Cook University) represent a large and growing movement of concerned people, councils, businesses, industries, environmental and scientific organisations opposing the proposed drilling by Norwegian oil company Equinor in The Great Australian Bight.

It’s a David versus Goliath battle in one of the most pristine and diverse ocean environments left on Earth. On one side, Equinor’s supporters point to jobs and economic benefits for the state, while the other highlights oil-spill modelling that shows catastrophic consequences for fisheries and tourism industries worth over $1.5 billion collectively per annum. The risks are real and battle lines are drawn. Find out what the future holds for oil drilling in the Bight.