Development,
Social change, Transition societies, Role of youth, Entrepreneurship development,
Governance and people strengthening practices, Volunteers development
Asset Based Community
Development Micro credits and finance
Ignorance of Ability Brings Disability
"This is a short film I did in 2005
and it was nominated for
India-International Film Festival on disability
......"
5.4 million
Australians volunteer with that figure representing
approximately 35% of the population. The estimated value
of volunteering is
$70 billion. The complete survey report is available on the
Venkat Pulla, MA, PhD Training and Research Faculty Dr Abraham Francis, James Cook University, Dr
Anne Riggs, Melbourne, PamelaTrotman, Norther Territory, Rebecca Binyon,
Brisbane, Prof. Sanjai Bhatt, DelhiUniversity, Assistant Professor, Acting Chair,
B.R Nikku, Thomson River University,Canada
Conferences and Training Europe and Asia
Pacific 2019-2021 Sub Committee:
Research Associate:
Elizabeth Carter, Australia, Brisbane
Conference Manager:
Dragan Bombek
Director of Conferences:
Palani Thevar
Facilitators of the Conferences:
Bharath Bhushan Mamidi, Dr Keshav Walke,Hyderabad
Dr
Venkat Pulla,
MA, PhD (Social Work), MAASW
(Accredited), APASWE Foundation Professor, Brisbane
Institute of Strengths Brisbane, Qld, is an Indian born Australian Human
Services Mgt Consultant and motivational speaker. He is
the Principal of Impetus Global Consulting and is
Foundation Professor at the Brisbane Institute of
Strengths-based practice.
Professor Pulla offers training in Strengths approach in
human services. and offers grounded theory and research
writing Master Classes globally. Professor Pulla has
been utilising Appreciative Inquiry in Middle and Senior
Management Training in Strategic Leadership, and has
undertaken a six-week OvationNet AI Workshop under the
workshop leadership with David Cooperrider, in the
Spring of 2011. He has been the Head of the School of
Social Work, Northern Territory University, and taught
At Australian Catholic University, Charles Sturt &
at Sunshine Coast and tutored at Griffith and
Queensland University of Technology.
He is
a Tata Dorabji Merit scholar from the Tata Institute of
Social Sciences (India).
Research interests: Human coping & resilience, green
social work. He has co-edited volumes on Strengths-based
practice, 2012; Perspectives on coping and resilience ,
2013; Theories, experiences, and challenges in community
work , 2014; Advancing social work in mental health
through strengths-based practice, 2014; Some aspects of
community empowerment and resilience, 2015; and the
Lhotsampa People of Bhutan-
Resilience and Survival, 2016 and is editing
'Discrimination, Challenge and Response', 2019,
(Palgrave- Macmillan.) As an academic, he makes
significant contributions to Social Work education to
SAARC countries.
He has published with Sage, Routledge, Macmillan,
Palgrave, and Wilfred Laurier Press- Canada; Primrose
Hall- UK and Australia; Fernwood, California and others
in Asia.
He
is a recipient of NAPSWI India Lifetime achievement
award 2015, and Karma veer Puraskar,-Global Indian
Social Worker Award-2008.
Rebecca Binyon BSW (Hons),
Consulting in: Strategic & Business Planning
Rebecca Binyon graduated with an Honours degree in
Social Work from the University of South Australia in
1991.
Rebecca is an experienced leader and manager of human
services. Twenty years of diverse practice in
leadership, change management, business analysis and
redesign. project and management positions across NGOs
and government services.
Passionately committed to making a positive difference,
through designing and delivering customer centric
professional and sustainable services.. Rebecca has
applied management practices in community sector
settings including, State Level Coordination for Canteen
The Australian organisation for teenagers living with
cancer and as the President of Brisbanes leading
community Musical Theatre company, Ignatians Musical
Society since 2001, producing large scale musicals that
have played to critical and popular success to tens of
thousands of patrons. becky.binyon@gmail.com
Dr Abraham P. Francis
teaches social work at James Cook
University in Australia with international exposure and
extensive experience in community development and mental
health. He taught social work at the Delhi University in
India and also worked as a senior mental health social
worker with Country Health South Australia, before
moving to Townsville to join James Cook University. He
held a stint in Queensland health as Assistant Director
of Social work. Dr Francis is associated with many
voluntary organisations, associations, professional
bodies and developmental projects both in Australia and
India. Dr Francis has established international
partnerships and research collaborations with
universities and non-government organisations in Asia.
He is the convener of the international consortium on
strengths based social work practice in mental health
and has been the founding honorary director of the
DePaul International Centre for Wellbeing, India. Dr
Francis is passionate about working and researching in
strengths based practice in mental health. His other
research interests are in the field of communities,
criminal justice, international social work, and
gerontological social work.
Abraham.francis@jcu.edu.au
Dragan Bombek,a creative media developer and publisher ,
www.liberopublishing.com.au who designs websites for
non profits companies and medium sized businesses.
Dragan has worked on all conference material for International
Conferences.
Dragan is one of the foundation members of of the
Institute.From 2001 -
2004 Dragan worked on Zena
21 (Women 21) - Project of
NGO from Sydney supported by STARTTS www.startts.org and
Federal Department of Family and Community Services.
Australia. He has founded a Dream Band Club Inc - that
organized Multicultural Performances for former
Yugoslavian Diaspora in Australia. Dragan has
previously designed art exhibitions since 1993 in
Vienna, Austria and in Essen, Germany, He also organised
the first satellite broadcasting to Bosnia since war,
with help of the Eurovision Geneva. Dragan was scenario
and director of the short movie Sarajevo is ...Sarajevo.
libeordb@aol.com
Palani Thevar,
BSW ( University of Queensland) was
born in the small village of U. Pudukkottai to an
agricultural family near the Madurai district of Tamil
Nadu. Palani has always been deeply impressed by the
legacy of Mahatma Gandhis work and has worked
extensively in the community sector throughout India. He
obtained his Masters degree in Peace Making from the
Madurai Kamaraj he Madurai Kamaraj University and
completed a Master of Philosophy at Gujarat Vidyapith
(founded by Gandhi in 1920). Since 1996, Palani has
lived in West End, Brisbane. Presently Palani is
employed by the Communities department at Oxley
Disability Service Centre. He is currently the
President of the Federation of the Indian Communities in
Queensland.
palanithevar@gmail.com
Duncan Williams,
an aboriginal Mura Ama Wakaana
Duncan Williams
identifies himself as an aboriginal person. 'Mura Ama
Wakaana' literally means 'people working together.
Duncan has put together a wonderful training package
that sensitizes public servants in Queensland to the
history of the aboriginal communities in Australia.
Duncan's mother was instrumental in seeing that Duncan
kept his contact with his nativity, culture and his
people from his father's side. Duncan's maternal
heritage is part Irish. Duncan is one of the founding
members of the Brisbane Institute of Strengths Based
Practice.
