An Evening of Dialogue 2023

An Evening of Dialogue: Humanity, created and called to 

Date: Thursday 4 May
Time: 7.00pm - 8.30pm
Location: Senior Hall, Marist College Canberra

Purpose
The purpose of the evening is to create a space for respectful dialogue on what is needed for humanity to flourish and on the National Marist theme ‘Created + Called – a revolution of love and tenderness’ and its implications for Catholic Education in the Canberra community. We have invited keynote speakers with a diverse background and spirituality who can provoke new thinking and rich discussion. The evening is open to all members of the Marist College Canberra community and invited guests and representatives from the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.

Format
The format is three 10-minute keynote presentations by Dr Hugh Mackay, Lara Kirk and Michael McGirr, followed by question and answer, concluding with a Marist response to the discussion by Br David Hall.

• Welcome and introductions
• Keynote speakers deliver a 10-minute address on the topic ‘Humanity, created and called to flourish’
  • Speaker 1: Hugh Mackay
  • Speaker 2: Lara Kirk
  • Speaker 3: Michael McGirr
• Moderator delivers questions to the keynote speakers
• Discussion at tables or small groups
• Moderator opens the discussion and questions from the floor
• Br David Hall responds to the dialogue
• Close and thanks

Professor Br David Hall FMS 
David, a Marist Brother, is the foundation Dean of the La Salle Academy at the Australian Catholic University (ACU). He took up this position after thirty years in Catholic education where he held positions as teacher, Religious Education Coordinator, Deputy Principal and Principal. David also spent time as Executive Director of the Marist Ministries Office - responsible for governance and animation of Marist schools, youth ministry and social justice services. David is a member of a number of school and diocesan boards and committees, including Chair of the Board for Marist Schools Australia. Among his international engagements was the leadership of a team that delivered a formation program for leaders in Catholic schools across twenty-two countries in Africa.

Michael McGirr
Michael McGirr is the mission facilitator at Caritas Australia. He is the author of many books, including Ideas to Save Your Life (Text), Books that Saved My Life (Text), Bypass: The Story of a Road (Text) and Finding God’s Traces (Jesuit Communications). His numerous essays, reviews, stories and pieces of journalism have appeared in a long list of publications, both in Australia and overseas. He is a former Nugget Coombs fellow at ANU. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jenny and their three teenage children, all of whom were born in Canberra when the family lived in the great metropolis of Gunning.

Lara Kirk
Lara has been married for 32 years and, with her husband Tim, they have 5 children aged 19 to 27 years. They live on the family property near Canberra where Tim is CEO and Chief Winemaker of the acclaimed Clonakilla Winery. 2022 was a busy family year with two children getting married, one becoming engaged and the joyous arrival of their first grandchild. Lara has nearly 30 years' experience speaking with young people about marriage and sexuality and has worked variously as a youth minister, public servant, secondary teacher, and political staffer. For the past 10 years, Lara has worked for the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn as Marriage, Family and Relationships Manager.

Dr Hugh Mackay
Hugh Mackay is a social psychologist, and the author of twenty-three books, including nine novels. His non-fiction writing covers social analysis, psychology, communication and ethics. He has had a sixty-year career in social research, and was also a weekly newspaper columnist for twenty-five years. He is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and of the Royal Society of New South Wales, and has been awarded honorary doctorates by five Australian universities. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2015 and is currently an honorary professor in the Research School of Psychology at the Australian National University.

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Parking is available via Gate 1 to the College or on surrounding streets.