David Cooper Lecture | Julia Gillard in conversation with Tegan Taylor
I view the pandemic as putting itself over pre-existing patterns of disadvantage, and what we want to do as a global community, as an Australian community, is to eradicate that disadvantage because that's the right thing to do always.
Globally, we have learnt many lessons from the pandemic - that public health shouldn’t be politicised, that we cannot stop COVID-19 without a global response, and that the cracks of inequality between nations and among populations have become impossible to ignore.
COVID-19 has also posed particular challenges for women, and had significant impacts on mental health. The last two years have demonstrated that when necessary, the global community can swiftly enact policy that truly helps those in need, and stops our most vulnerable from falling through the cracks. How can we use what we have learnt from over the last two years to ensure we emerge a healthier and fairer society?
Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard is now the Chair of the Wellcome Trust, a not-for-profit global organisation that supports science to solve urgent health challenges equitably. She joins journalist Tegan Taylor for an evening of conversation exploring how to leverage science and make advances in health available to everyone.
Presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas, Kirby Institute and UNSW Medicine & Health.
ABOUT THE DAVID COOPER LECTURE
The David Cooper Lecture honours the legacy of the Kirby Institute’s Founding Director. Professor David Cooper AC, who passed away in 2018, was an internationally renowned scientist and HIV clinician, who laid the foundations for Australia’s ongoing global leadership in the fight against the global HIV epidemic.
To make a donation to support David Cooper’s incredible vision for equitable access to healthcare visit unsw.to/DavidCooperMemorialFund.
Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia and the first, and only, woman to serve in that role. Since leaving office, she has dedicated her time to advocacy, governance roles, and writing.
In 2021, Julia was appointed Chair of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation based in the UK, which supports science to solve urgent worldwide health challenges. Julia is also the founder and inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at Kings College London and Chair of its sister Institute at the Australian National University. GIWL strives for a world where being a woman is neither a barrier to becoming a leader in any field, nor a contributor to negative perceptions of an individual’s leadership.
In 2014, Julia joined the Board of Beyond Blue, one of Australia’s foremost mental health awareness bodies, and has served as Chair since 2017. As a life-long advocate for increasing access to education, especially in developing nations, Julia was Chair of the Global Partnership of Education from 2014 to 2021.
Julia wrote My Story, a memoir based on her experience as Prime Minister. Her second book, Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons, coauthored by Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, explores the challenges women face in leadership.
Tegan Taylor
Tegan Taylor is a health and science reporter for the ABC and co-host of the ABC’s multi-award-winning Coronacast.
She also co-hosts ABC Radio National’s Health Report and hosts the live event series and radio/podcast Ockham’s Razor. She’s been known to pop up on Radio National Life Matters, Triple J and in the Best of Australian Science Writing. In 2020, Coronacast won a Walkley Award and the Eureka Prize for Science Journalism.
Tegan was previously a producer on the ABC's national digital newsdesk, a journalism lecturer at The University of Queensland and, long ago, a newspaper reporter.
Anthony Kelleher (Vote of Thanks)
Professor Anthony (Tony) Kelleher is a clinician scientist and Director of the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney. He is also head of the Immunovirology and Pathogenesis program at the Kirby Institute and Principal of the Infection Immunology and Inflammation Theme at UNSW Medicine & Health Sydney. As a staff specialist at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Professor Kelleher is responsible for clinical care of patients with HIV infection and autoimmune diseases as well as providing consultative input into the running of the NSW State HIV Reference laboratory.
About David Cooper
Scientia Professor David Cooper AC was an internationally-renowned immunologist, researcher, and the inaugural director of the Kirby Institute at its foundation in 1986, and remained in the role until he passed away on Sunday 18 March 2018 after a short illness. He initiated ground-breaking, collaborative infectious disease research that has saved countless lives in Australia, and throughout the world. He was among the first responders when the HIV epidemic reached Australia in the early 1980s, and established Australia’s ongoing global leadership in the fight against the global HIV epidemic.
Professor Cooper received many professional accolades. He was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2003, and posthumously appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2018. David Cooper was a dedicated and compassionate doctor to many HIV patients, and those with other immunological conditions, throughout his lifetime, and is remembered as a great friend and mentor to all who were fortunate to know him.
