This morning I met with Dr Mélanie Gréaux to discuss the WHO meeting over the past two days, our current research to listen to children with disabilities about equitable health care, and future plans. It is always a joy to spend time with Mél. We made some great future plans.
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| Reformation Wall - John Calvin, William Farel, Théodore de Bèze and John Knox |
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| Piaget |
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| Lake Geneva |
Thank you to A/Prof Kathy Cologon for leading the Children's Voices Centre Submission to the Review of the Australian Disability Discrimination Act titled "Children’s Perspectives on the Disability
Discrimination Act: Barriers, Fairness and Belonging". Kathy coordinated an insightful group of children to advise on the submission.
Here is an excerpt:
Children’s Core Message and Key Principles
"The children who contributed to this submission shared a strong, consistent message that disability is not the problem, barriers are. Across ages, communication styles, and lived experiences, the children described a world that often excludes people through its design, attitudes, rules and expectations. They also described the world they want to live in as one that is fair, kind, accessible and welcoming to everyone. The children’s messages reflect a clear understanding of rights, inclusion and justice. They highlight the need for a Disability Discrimination Act that not only responds when discrimination occurs but proactively prevents it by requiring society to be designed for all people."
Today I had the opportunity to visit the United Nations. Originating alongside the League of Nations that was formed after World War I, the United Nations has had a fundamental role to play in shaping the modern world. While the United Nations Head Office is in New York, the Geneva Office holds many important meetings and roles.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) are some of the important documents from the United Nations that inform my work every day.
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| The view from the UN |
The World Health Organization Disability Equity Health Network was launched today (Wednesday 12th November, 2025) at WHO in Geneva. The WHO team leading the Network are Dr Darryl Barrett, Dr Kaloyan Kamenov, Dr Mélanie Gréaux and Dr Francesca Moro https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2025/11/12/default-calendar/inaugural-meeting-of-the-who-disability-health-equity-network
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| WHO Disability Programme team: Dr Kaloyan Kamenov, Dr Francesca Moro, Dr Mélanie Gréaux, Dr Darryl Bennett |
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| Members of the WHO Disability Equity Health Network in Geneva |
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| Dr Mélanie Gréaux (WHO Disability Programme), Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod (CSU), Dr Kaloyan Kamenov (WHO Disability Programme) |
The Health equity for persons with disabilities: guide for action (or Disability inclusion guide for action) provides practical guidance on the process that ministries of health should lead on to integrate disability inclusion into health systems governance, planning, and monitoring processes. It serves as the foundational resource to enable ministries of health and partners to implement the recommendations of the Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities. In line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Disability inclusion guide for action supports Member States to meet commitments to "leave no one behind" and achieve the highest attainable standard of health for all people. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/B09201 ; https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240101517
The Executive Board room at WHO has only just opened after 3 years of renovations - so it was very special to have the launch held in this auspicious room.
It was an honour to represent Charles Sturt University at this meeting - and as one of the 152 approved members.
WHO Disability Equity Health Network Membership: 1,095 expressions of interest, 270 completed applications, 152 approved members (31 member states, 13 intergovernmental organizations, 72 members of civil society, 32 academia, 4 private sector). 67 members attended the meeting in Geneva, with others online.
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| Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod described the work of the Children's Voices Centre during the launch |
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| Sharynne with WHO Disability Program Director, Dr Darryl Barrett |
Dr Kaloyan Kamenov described the journey so far:
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| Australians at the WHO meeting - Prof Scott Avery (Professor of Indigenous disability health and wellbeing, UTS), Sharynne, Anna Maalsen (Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria) |
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| Sharynne with Renée De Jong (Save the Children, Geneva/Australia) |
Some ideas
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| WHO Reception |
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| Swiss cheese at the reception on a WHO plate |
I talk about and write about the United Nations every day including:
Today (12 Nov) was my first time visiting Geneva - and I spent the day orienting myself to:
It is very special to visit these important places that have shaped the world.
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| Broken chair - Giving a voice to victims of explosive weapons |
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| Palais des Nations | The United Nations Office at Geneva |
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| Snowy mountaintops in the distance |
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| United Nations |
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| Red Cross - Comité international de la Croix-Rouge |
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| The People's Wall "This work explores the themes of identity, migration, the construction of shared narratives, and living together...imagining a world of diversity where everyone can find their place" (Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg) - installation at Red Cross |
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| WHO |
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| ILO and UNICEF |
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| UN Migration |
Walking around Geneva on this gorgeous autumn day reminded me of the Parliamentary Triangle in Canberra in autumn.
Working with people across the world can be a challenge - since someone is always a little sleepy in meetings due to the timezone challenge. Today, I enjoyed meeting with Kate Crowe on almost the same timezone (Iceland-Geneva) to discuss our Catholic Education Tasmania Speech Sound Disorder research grant - including the excellent data from 2025 and finessing our plans for 2026.
I have really enjoyed learning more about Camilla's excellent PhD research to understand Sami-speaking children's language maintenance.
It has been a joy to have Camilla and her family visiting Bathurst.
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| Sharynne and Camilla in the Children's Voices Centre |
What a joy it is to work with A/Prof Kathy Cologon and A/Prof Tamara Cumming to prepare grant applications to fund the important work we want to do.
Higher degree research students (HDR) are wonderful colleagues who bring their experiences and contexts to undertake quality impactful real-world research.
What a joy it is to learn from and give ideas to PhD students. This week has been a wonderful time of discussion with the following PhD students:
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| Sarah B, Sharynne, Carolyn |
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| Sharynne, Camilla and Tamara enjoying the Australian sunshine and blue sky |
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| Arifa Rahman |
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| Tamara, Nikki, Sharynne and Camilla |
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| Anniek and Sharynne looking at CSU PhD students' final chapters |
Today our CVC team held the first planning meeting for our next conference: CVC2026.
We have held ECV2020, ECV2022, and ECV2024 in the past. Now, with the launch of the Children's Voices Centre we have transitioned beyond working only with early childhood, to all of childhood - so our name has had to transition too. We are moving from the Early Childhood Voices conferences (ECV2024) to the Children's Voices Conference (CVC2026). Here are our decisions from today:
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| Sharynne, Tamara, Camilla, Carolyn, Lorraine, Kathy, Helen planning CVC2026 |
Dr Lucie Shanahan was a valued colleague during my time at CSU in Albury while we established the new speech pathology program (1989-2003). I learned this week that she has recently passed away. We are thankful for her immense contribution to rural speech pathology. She will be missed by many https://www.awh.org.au/latest-news/news/artmid/450/articleid/342/remembering-dr-lucie-shanahan
I was honoured to be the chair of this session
Publishing: what should I publish, why, when and where?
https://staff.csu.edu.au/researchers/skill-development/programs/masterclass-series
Let's learn, connect, and build a stronger research culture - together
Join us online this Wednesday, 5 November from 12:00 to 13:00 (AEST) for our Masterclass Series: Seeing like a Researcher with Professor Dominic O’Sullivan to learn more about developing publishing skills, knowledge and confidence.
Session Overview
Publishing can be daunting, no matter how many times one has done it. But it also incredibly rewarding and the point of being an academic. In this Masterclass Professor Dominic O’Sullivan will share ideas on the publishing process from the formation of an idea through to maximising the benefit and influence of the published work.
This is a valuable opportunity for researchers to get expert advice from a leading publisher.
About the presenter
Professor Dominic O'Sullivan is a political scientist in the School of Social Work and Arts and Yindymarra Nguluway. Dominic’s research has influenced public policy, including work commissioned by the New Zealand Ministerial Review into the Future for Local Government and the International Labor Organisation. He has also provided expert advice to the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and has, on more than 70 occasions been invited to address professional and public audiences in the fields of education, health and local government, among others.
Dominic has authored eight books and co-edited one. Dominic has published almost 60 journal articles and book chapters and more than 120 articles for public audiences, including in the Conversation, Open Forum and the New Zealand Herald.
In 2018, his book Beyond Biculturalism: the politics of an indigenous minority (Huia Publishers, 2007) was recognised by the Royal Society of New Zealand as one of the 150 most important books by a Māori author since the first Māori authored book in 1815. His latest book, Indigeneity, Culture and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), continues his interest in relationships between the possibilities and constraints of liberal democracy and indigenous self-determination. Dominic’s expertise is also regularly sought by news media, with over 1100 expert interviews across television, radio, and print. Examples of Dominic’s media work may be found on his LinkedIn page.
Dominic’s work brings academic research and practical policy application together, making significant contributions to the advancement of indigenous rights and self-determination in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally.
