From the committee
by Paul Anderson and Russell Noake
Your committee needs you
We’re hiring. Well, calling out for volunteers, in fact, for a few vacant positions on the EdNSW committee and we would love to hear from branch members interested in joining the committee in some capacity.
It’s a great way to connect with fellow editors, and committee business is not too onerous because the load is shared. There’s no “old abusing of God’s patience and the king’s English” here.
Currently, opportunities exist for members to contribute on the branch committee and on an IPEd-wide standing committee, depending on your interests, professional experience and skills. Please contact Julie Ganner at ednsw.secretary@iped-editors.org for details if you are interested in joining the EdNSW committee.
November 2021 committee meeting
The EdNSW committee met on 9 November for its monthly meeting via Zoom, with two apologies.
Minutes of the October committee meeting were accepted and actions from previous meetings reviewed.
Written reports received included:
- presentation schedule
- workshops
- membership
- branch budget commentary
- branch financial report for the month ended 31 October 2021
- mentoring
- Accreditation Board Delegate’s report
- IPEd Director’s update.
Sara Kitaoji AE has resigned from the committee, leaving a vacancy in our Workshop Coordinator role. The committee thanks Sara for her significant contributions, particularly in the professional development roles that she led for EdNSW. Sara was also instrumental in the branch’s successful implementation of Zoom for our online events. Her expertise and enthusiasm will be missed.
Our next speaker presentation is on 1 February 2022 with Dr Mark Lock. The topic is Editing practice for a culturally safe editing profession. Speaker presentations for March, May, and June 2022 are also confirmed — watch this space.
Thanks to all who responded to our Mentoring Program call-out in October. It generated several enquiries, and one new mentorship has already been arranged.
EdNSW’s financial position remains sound and the branch is operating within the budget guidelines. Branch events continue to perform well with projected surplus YTD to 30 November of about $4500.
Our annual end-of-year dinner is on the evening of 7 December at Foys in Kirribilli. We look forward to seeing you there.
And as this is the last Gatherings of the year, we wish you all a safe and happy festive season.
Welcome to new members
by Kaaren Sutcliffe AE
EdNSW is pleased to welcome the following new members:
Professional: Congratulations to Kathryn Gibbings and Michaela Burkitt on attaining professional membership.
Associate: Sophie Courage, David Jack.
Networking
Left to right: Denise Holden, Susie Pilkington, Elizabeth Beach, Olivia Wroth, Katherine McLeod, Margie Tubbs and Juliet Richters.
The sun made a rare appearance for our editors’ lunch at the Blue Mountains in November, matched only by the sunny disposition of the seven of us who gathered. Two had come from as far away as Gosford and Sydney and one lives close enough to walk to the Grand View Hotel in Wentworth Falls.
It was lovely to squeeze in one last lunch for 2021, with the easing of restrictions in Greater Sydney. Members Denise Holden and Margie Tubbs were the hosts of this networking get-together. As always at these events, conversations covered both the editing part of our lives and finding out about each other personally. Many editors work in isolation and the chance to meet up with other editors over lunch is always appreciated.
We look forward to the 2022 calendar being filled by our volunteer hosts and to visiting venues and locations we may not otherwise discover. If you would like to organise a lunch in your area of Sydney, or beyond, please contact ednsw.admin@iped-editors.org for details — it is simply a case of picking a venue and making a booking. We will do the rest.
Events
Member meetings
Many EdNSW events will continue via Zoom video conference.
Check check your email for the latest information on any event.
Bookings via the IPEd Events webpage.
No speaker event is planned for January.
Editing practices for a culturally safe profession
Date: Tuesday 1 February 2022, 7pm AEDT
Location: online via Zoom
Details: Cultural safety — a pivotal concept for your editing practice and for the editing profession — is a concept of relevance to our multicultural nation because we value culturally diverse perspectives — in theory.
In practice, many examples of publications fail the cultural safety test, in that the cultural identity of people is diminished, demeaned and devalued through writing.
What can you do, and how can your profession support you, so that your editing is culturally safe? Dr Mark Lock will introduce the concept of cultural safety with regard to First Nations Australians, provide some concrete examples of editing practice, and take the time to yarn about your ideas for ensuring the written word is culturally safe.
Presenter: Dr Mark J Lock (BSc, MPH, PhD) is a descendant of the Ngiyampaa people (a tribe of First Nations Australians), English and Scottish convicts on the First Fleet (the Lucas clan), Latvian immigrants, and Australian free colonists. His grandmother, Marjorie Woodrow (1926-2016), encouraged him to become educated and make changes for First Nations Australians, as he wrote in an award-winning article for the Medical Journal of Australia’s Dr Ross Ingram Memorial Prize. He is a board member of the Hunter Writers Centre in Newcastle, and team member for the exciting artist-in-residence program, Lighthouse Arts. Bookings close on Friday 25 January 2022. Booking link will be available on the events page soon.