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Speak Out October 2015 31
BRANCH news
tasmania
DarkSPA
DarkSPA was a low-key winter catch-
up for Tasmanian speech pathologists to
connect socially. Two events were held
– one in the north and south with about
fifteen speechies attending. We hope to
hold more similar events in the future.
Look out for them and come along as
you are able!
SPWeek 2015: No Bars
on Books project in the
Tassie community!
Tassie speechies took on a unique
project this SPWeek. This year, the
Tasmanian Branch of SPA partnered with
the Tasmanian community to create and
facilitate the No Bars on Books project.
The project came out of an existing
program, ‘Books on CD’. In this
program, parents in prison audio record
a reading of a children’s book. Then
the book and CD recording are loaned/
given to the child who can ‘read along’
at home, listening to their own parent’s
voice. The program is facilitated by the
Tasmanian Prison Service and LINC
Tasmania Library Service. The supply of
books was diminishing, so the ‘No Bars
on Books’ project was created.
The ‘No Bars on Books’ project idea
was simple: ask the community for
donations of good quality secondhand
books, and at the same time raise
awareness about the importance of
speech pathology, oral language and
literacy. The community response?
Overwhelmingly generous! The project
quickly gained momentum as more
community partners became involved.
More than 3,500 books were donated.
Check out .
com/nobarsonbooks and to find out
more about the project.
We are so thankful to our community
partners including ABC Local Radio
Tasmania, 26Ten, LINC Tasmania,
Tasmania Prison Service, childcare
centres, local schools, local pharmacies,
local bookshops, authors and each of
the generous individuals who gave time,
money and/or books.
Do you have an idea for a project for
2016? We'd love to hear from you!
The Leadlight Room at Hadley’s
Orient Hotel in Hobart was the scene
for a challenging and engaging forum
for members from the Association’s
Tasmanian Branch. Meeting in the
hotel’s historic setting provided more
impetus for everyone present to find
solutions to future problems and to
prepare the ground work on a plan of
action for the next three years.
The day’s endeavours were helped
by a strong presentation from the
former federal Health Minister and
Attorney General, Nicola Roxon, whose
presentation provided some insightful
thoughts and guidance on advocacy,
promotion and the role of individuals within
professional and workplace settings.
The forum followed feedback from
members in Tasmania about wanting
to see more Branch activity to raise the
profile of the profession. The day got
underway with a short presentation and
video from Branch Chair, Rosalie Martin;
which set the scene for a productive and
rewarding day for all involved. The one-
day event had with a number of short
sessions, including a report to members
from the Association’s Chief Executive
Officer, Gail Mulcair; and a session on
‘Messaging’ from the Association’s
Communication and Marketing Manager,
Michael Kerrisk.
After lunch members worked in
groups to identify what the Association
should undertake as its number one
priority over the next three years. Initial
work was undertaken to map out
the audiences and issues that need
to be pursued by the Branch and
its membership as part of an overall
campaign of engagement with the
public.
All power to the members
Former federal
Health Minister
and Attorney
General,
Nicola Roxon,
addressing
the Tasmanian
Branch
members’
forum.
Speech pathologists Emma Hazelwood, Kiara
Evison, Megan Turvey, Linda Williams, Rosalie Martin
and Nicole Hatch enjoyed a relaxing evening at
DarkSPA in July.
Attorney General
and Minister
of Corrections
Vanessa Goodwin
spoke about the
the importance of
supporting literacy of
inmate populations.
Also pictured are
Lisa Stengal, Police
Commissioner
Darren Hine, Ryk
Goddard and Leon
Compton.
Speech language pathologists
Karen Lucas and Maddy Polegaj
promoted SPA and collected
book donations at the Salamanca
markets in SPWeek.
Ryk Goddard (local radio personality) counted the
books at the No Bars On Books finale.