UTS Big Thinking Forum: One Year on from Martin Place

12 months after the Martin Place Tent City, what have we learned, what have we changed, where are those voices now and how might this civil resistance contribute to a fairer Sydney?

In a challenge to authorities, the grass roots campaign by the city’s homeless confronted the public and shone a light on how public spaces are used by the homeless community.

This event will explore what has happened in the 12 months since tent city was dismantled. Have we found workable housing solutions for the cities disadvantaged, and what are the respective roles of Governments, charities and society more generally in working with the homeless?

Importantly, the event will explore what role the UTS community can play.

As an urban university with no walls around us, UTS has a front row seat to many of the homelessness issues facing our city, including on our campus and affecting our own students. We want to look at what is the role of the university in addressing the social, political and economic conversations around homelessness, what is the collective responsibility of university staff, students and alumni on this issue, and what can we do in a practical way to help?

Moderated by Verity Firth, the event will also explore the methods used to break the cycle and their application locally and abroad.