TEDxNewy Speaker Liz Mullinar: “Love bears all things…”
Courtesy of Vigilant Futures
TED is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to ‘ideas worth spreading’ and culminates in 2 annual conferences that feature an array of amazing speakers. In the past, this has included Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Google’s Larry Page & Sergey Brin & Bono. TEDx events capture the enthusiasm, passion and knowledge of the TED philosophy and transport them to communities all over the world, presenting independent events often featuring local presenters & projects.
Newcastle is hosting its first TEDx event this weekend, TEDxNewy. The day will cover topics such as Treatment for early stuttering with the Lidcombe Program, Everybody deserves music…. nope, scrub that… everyone should play music and feature a selection of speakers with a special connection to Newcastle.
Liz Mulliner is the founder of the Heal for Life program and is also an Australian Humanitarian Award winner. Urban Insider spoke with Liz ahead of her presentation at TEDxNewy this Saturday…
How did your transition from being a casting consultant to humanitarian come about?
When I recognised that no one seemed to care about the plight of people who had suffered from child abuse and that it would be a greater use of my life to help survivors of child abuse than continue to help actors, - much as I enjoyed doing that.
What has been your proudest achievement to date?
The fact that Heal For life exists that the buildings are here and we are able to actually help people.
What can you tell us about your TEDxNewy topic – Treating the core problem of childhood trauma?
There is such misinformation about child abuse I think it is the most ignored problem in our society. Society and Government really would prefer to pretend it doesn’t exist. People are happy to deal with the symptoms of child abuse such as drug addiction, depression alcoholism and mental illness as if they were in no way connected , thus people are not able to be helped in the most appropriate way. The only child abuse we can cope with seems to be outside of the family. Child abuse is like cancer was forty years ago when people called it the Big C and no one told anyone if they had cancer. Child abuse is the same no one admits to having suffered from it, even though it can never be considered the child’s fault. People never like to say they have been to a week at Heal For Life so as survivors we do not claim our right to support and help.
What is your favourite quote?
Love bears all things, believes all things, love hopes all things and love never ends. Corinthians 13.
What is your favourite thing about Newcastle?
The proximity of everything and the earthiness of its heritage.
What do you think events like TEDxNewy mean for Newcastle?
A recognition of the amazing people who live in Newcastle, who are contributing to our society on every level.
Tickets to TEDxNewy, being held this Saturday, 12 November at The Playhouse at Civic Theatre, have sold out. You don’t have to miss out on the action however, with overflow seating and a live screening of the talks in City Hall’s Mulubinba Room from 9am till 5.30pm. Alternatively anyone can watch the talks live via webstream at the TEDxNewy website.
Read about other TEDxNewy speakers Bernie Curran, Peter Saul, & Julie Baird.
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