What does safety really mean for women and girls — at home, at work, online, culturally, and in the places we move through every day?
Facilitated by Shaan Ross-Smith from the Be There Group, this conversation asks what it would look like to design safety into the way we live, gather, learn, work and belong.
From culturally safe education spaces to streets, digital platforms and workplaces, Enter the Safe Zone invites us to think bigger than individual responsibility.
How do we create homes, communities, systems and public spaces where women and girls do not have to shrink, self-edit or constantly scan for danger?
Speakers
Ellen Buttrose
Ellen Buttrose is drawn to architecture and city shaping that reflects the diverse cultures, climates, and communities to which they belong—expressed through policy, strategy, and built form outcomes. In 2024 Ellen was appointed Cairns first City Architect, which brings a strategic design lens to the city’s future by bridging policy with on ground outcomes.
She draws on experience in private practice across regional and remote communities in Queensland, as well as in the cities of Adelaide and Melbourne with institutional, civic and cultural projects.
Andrea Obeyesekere
Andrea Obeyesekere is the Multicultural Services Manager at Centacare FNQ, a small local community service in Far North Queensland. Her team provides innovative services to both well established and new and emerging diverse communities, including Refugee and Migrant Settlement Services, CALD Community Engagement, and Diverse Employment and Training. With 18+ years of experience in remote and regional Queensland and the UK, her inclusive leadership is evident in leading a diverse workforce, with over 95% being from a CALD and/or First Nation backgrounds. Andrea’s team has gained national recognition for their Women Empowerment programs and COVID-19 Resilience initiatives, along with receiving state and regional accolades for their Diverse Employment and Training Programs.
Shaan Ross-Smith
Shaan Ross-Smith is a respected executive leader and one of Australia’s most sought-after international speakers on the role of the bystander in the prevention of violence and harm, primary prevention, leadership, and gender equality.
With 25+ years’ experience across government, non-profits, and higher education, Shaan brings deep expertise and a strategic lens to some of the most urgent social issues of our time.
A trauma-informed psychologist, accredited mediator, and NDIS-registered Behaviour Support Practitioner, she’s held senior roles in Queensland Corrective Services, led frontline responses to domestic violence, and shaped policy at the highest levels. She currently serves on the Queensland Parole Board and multiple peak bodies, including a previous seven-year term as Chair of DVConnect.