You recently became the Director at the Australian Human Rights Institute. What motivates you to advocate for human rights?

For me, my passion for human rights was not defined by a single moment in my life. Instead, it grew through having lots of different experiences and conversations. I grew up in Papua New Guinea and had a very interesting and diverse childhood where I was exposed to many exciting aspects of life. I was introduced to the concept of different cultures and travel, which naturally shaped the way I approached issues. 

As I grew up and entered university, I was further introduced to different ways of thinking, and several issues caught my attention that I hadn't previously contemplated. For example, I remember becoming more politically engaged and researching issues around human rights. Wages and the concept of a 'living wage' especially caught my attention. 

As I learned more and felt more and more dissatisfied, I kept being drawn back into social justice and human rights. It made me wonder what I could do to help achieve equality across the world. I kept thinking about this massive question and some of the small ways that my work might contribute to this. 

A lot of the time, when we think about change, it feels all too hard. However, sometimes it's just about having conversations with people, increasing awareness or educating people about these issues that they might not otherwise think about. It's impossible to change the world all at once, but there are many small steps people can take to improve the world, and that's probably the best place to start. 

Q3.

You've had a very international career that has even taken you halfway across the world to the United States. What were some of the highlights of working and studying overseas?