Former Australian Council of Trade Unions president Sharan Burrow will deliver the second annual Carmichael Lecture on August 16.

Ms Burrow, who was ACTU president for a decade from 2000, was also general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation between 2010 and 2022.

She will speak on the topic ‘Global Worker Solidarity for a Peaceful, Sustainable World’. Ms Burrow will also answer audience questions, facilitated by newly elected ACTU Assistant Secretary Joseph Mitchell.

“Sharan Burrow has been an inspiring voice for economic, social and environmental justice for many years, in Australia and around the world,” said Dr Jim Stanford, Director of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute, home of the Carmichael Centre.

“At a time of global polycrisis, as we face profound economic, geopolitical and ecological uncertainty, we are honoured that Sharan is able to share her experiences and her advice about how trade unionists can unite to build a better world,” Dr Stanford said.

The Laurie Carmichael Lecture is an annual keynote address co-sponsored by the Carmichael Centre, which is an initiative of the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, and RMIT University.

The lecture is named in honour of Laurie Carmichael, the legendary manufacturing trade union leader who passed away in 2018 at the age of 93. Last year, the inaugural Laurie Carmichael Lecture featured Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz.

Event details:

Date: Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Time:

• 5.30pm Doors open (event registration)

• 6.00pm Event starts

• 7.15pm Event concludes

Venue: RMIT Building 80, Level 2, Lecture Theatre 7, 445 Swanston Street Melbourne, VIC 3000

Attendance at the lecture is free, but advance registration is essential.