Ignite Berry

18/09/2025

I just received this lovely gift from Stu, a presenter at the last Ignite Berry. What a pleasant surprise - thanks Stu!

15/09/2025

OMG - whoever said CapCut was user friendly musnt be pulling their hair out like me 😱My flight is delayed by 7 hours and it has taken me 4 of them to create this

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15/09/2025

💜 Jo Wyborn – Inclusion is the Difference 💜

At Ignite Berry, Jo Wyborn shared the moving story of her sister Leigha. Leigha was born with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability. She died at only 25, not because of her disability, but because a health system failed her.

Leigha’s story is heartbreakingly common. People with intellectual disability die up to 20 years earlier than others, and 40% of those deaths are preventable. Yet fewer than 20% of GPs are trained to care for them. Too often symptoms are dismissed, pain is explained away, and communication needs are ignored.

Jo reminded us that inclusion is not just about hospitals. It begins in our communities. When people with intellectual disability are welcomed in schools, gyms, cafés, and workplaces, their health and wellbeing improve. Inclusion builds stronger networks, better mental health, and longer, happier lives.

Her message was unforgettable: inclusion is not optional. It is the difference between dignity and neglect, health and illness, and sometimes even life or death.

✨ “Leigha did not die from her disability. She died from a health system that failed her.”
✨ “Every choice we make towards inclusion matters.”
✨ “Inclusion is the difference between dignity and neglect, health and illness, and sometimes even life or death.”

📌 Read more about Jo’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6yY

15/09/2025

🏡 Michael Webb – The Fostering Challenge 💜

At Ignite Berry, Michael Webb spoke with honesty and heart about the joys and challenges of being a foster father.

Michael and his partner began fostering later in life, after having their first child at 48. What started with short-term and emergency placements became long-term care for a young girl who had suffered serious neglect. He reminded us that foster care is not easy. Children often arrive with trauma, but they also bring strength, potential, and the chance to share in new discoveries.

He explained the difference between kinship care, where relatives step in, and foster care, where families open their doors to children they have never met before. Both are vital in a world without orphanages, where the goal is to provide a safe, stable, and loving home.

Michael’s message was simple but powerful: we are all related. The child who arrives at your doorstep could so easily have been you. Fostering is not only about changing a child’s future, it is about shaping a future where no one is left behind.

✨ “Parenting is an effort of constant care and attention. Fostering comes with lots on top.”
✨ “That child who arrives at your doorstep could so easily have been you.”
✨ “Throw open your doors, perhaps expect to replace a window or two, and you will be fostering a future with no one left behind.”

📌 Read more about Michael’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6Bc

13/09/2025

⚰️ Jane Bourne – Talking About Death and Dying 🌿

At Ignite Berry, Jane Bourne returned to the stage with a message many of us avoid. She reminded us that while death and taxes are guaranteed, most of us add laundry to that list too. Yet unlike laundry, we rarely talk about death.

As a funeral celebrant, Jane sees the heartache families face when no conversations have been had. Buried or cremated? Poems or prayers? Music or Macarena? A good death should not be left to guesswork.

She encouraged us to plan ahead and talk openly with loved ones. Not only about funerals, but about what matters most. Dying at home or in hospital, resuscitation choices, organ donation, even living funerals where people hear the good things said about them while they are still alive.
Jane’s stories were funny, moving, and sometimes surprising — from fishing shirts at funerals to Morris dancers at a celebration of life. Her message was simple. Planning a good death leads to a fuller life. It helps us prioritise, share stories, and remember that we only get around 4,000 weeks on this earth. How we use them is what matters.
✨ “Planning a good death leads to a much fuller and better life.”
✨ “You only get one life. Talking about death helps us live it well.”

📌 Read more about Jane’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6AV

12/09/2025

🍵 Rachael Lonergan – Lessons from the Earl Grey Scheme 🇮🇪

At Ignite Berry, Rachael Lonergan told the powerful and little-known story of the Earl Grey Scheme. Between 1848 and 1850, more than 4,000 Irish orphan girls were sent from famine-era workhouses to the Australian colonies.

These were teenagers who had already endured hunger, disease, and unimaginable loss. For them, the voyage to Australia was a one-way trip filled with risk, but also a sliver of hope.

The welcome was far from kind. Colonists complained the girls were too Irish, too Catholic, too many. Newspapers mocked their appearance and accused them of being lazy, immoral, or a burden. Public prejudice grew louder with every ship, and after just two years the scheme was ended.

Rachael’s point was clear. What stopped the scheme was not the reality of the girls themselves, but what we would now call bad PR. In truth, it was xenophobia and discrimination. The echoes with today are striking. Then it was Irish orphan girls. Today it might be refugees from Sudan, the Middle East, or Asia. Same script, new cast.

Many of the girls went on to build lives and families here, and countless Australians can trace their heritage back to them. Their story is a reminder that what is once treated as a crisis is often later celebrated as heritage.

✨ “What was once painted as a crisis is now heritage.”

📌 Read more about Rachael’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6AG

12/09/2025

🌟 Lynne Strong – Giving Young People Voice, Agency, and Hope 🌟

At Ignite Berry, Lynne Strong reminded us that young people may only be 20 percent of our population, but they are 100 percent of our future. They deserve an opportunity to help shape that future, not someday, but right now.

She shared how her programs use art and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to give students real purpose. Primary school students painted their solutions on giant koalas, while secondary students painted theirs on life-sized fibreglass cows. The results were striking. Primary students consistently outperformed high schoolers.

Lynne’s message was clear. Young people are not waiting to be saved. They are waiting to be trusted. And when we trust them, they rise, they lead, and they inspire.

✨ “Young people may only be 20 percent of the population, but they are 100 percent of the future.”
✨ “Young people are not waiting to be saved. They are waiting to be trusted.”
✨ “When trusted, young people rise. They lead. They inspire.”

📌 Read more about Lynne’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6Ai

12/09/2025

📚 Holly Pastor – Why Public Education Matters 🎓

At Ignite Berry, Holly Pastor spoke with passion as both a proud graduate of public schools and a teacher at Bomaderry High School. She asked the audience to raise their hands if they went to a public school. Almost every hand went up. Then she asked who had sent their children to a public school. Many hands dropped. That simple moment told the story she wanted to share.

Holly reminded us that public schools do not handpick their students. They welcome everyone and help each child reach their potential. They educate the majority of Australian children, including those who need support the most, and still achieve results that match or surpass their private school peers.

Public school graduates are everywhere, running businesses, shaping policy, leading industries, and contributing to communities. They succeed because public education provides quality teaching, inclusive opportunities, and skills that reflect the real world.

Yes, public schools face funding challenges, but they continue to innovate, offer vocational pathways, and build partnerships that prepare students for life. Holly called on all of us to advocate for fair funding and to celebrate the many success stories that come from public education.

✨ “Public schools do not handpick their students. They take everyone, and help each child reach their potential.”
✨ “Public school graduates are everywhere, running businesses, shaping policy, and leading industries.”
✨ “If you believe in fairness, opportunity, and excellence for every child, then choose public education.”

📌 Read more about Holly’s talk her https://wp.me/p22l8m-6yD

10/09/2025

🤟 Kimberley Williams – The Power of Auslan ✨

At Ignite Berry, Kimberley Williams opened our eyes to the beauty and practicality of Auslan, Australian Sign Language. She reminded us that Auslan is not “English on your hands.” It is a complete language with its own grammar and structure, recognised as the language of the Australian deaf community. Auslan even has a school syllabus and can be chosen as a language subject, yet uptake is still minimal.

With warmth and humour, Kimberley showed us a few signs (her favourite was “prawn”) and explained how Auslan works in places where spoken language fails — in noisy restaurants, at a concert, or even underwater. Many of us remembered watching Auslan interpreters beside our leaders during COVID and the bushfires, making life-saving information instantly accessible.

Her message was powerful. If more of us learned Auslan, we could meet the deaf community halfway instead of always expecting them to meet us. From helping a child develop language, to keeping grandpa included at a noisy family barbecue, Auslan is a bridge to connection.

✨ “Auslan is not just gestures. It is a full blown language with grammar, structure, and expression.”
✨ “If more of us learned Auslan, we could meet the deaf community halfway instead of expecting them to always meet us.”
✨ “Inclusion begins with learning how to connect.”

📌 Read more about Kimberley’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6y8

10/09/2025

📵 Jane Bourne – How We Can Disconnect to Reconnect 💬

At Ignite Berry, Jane Bourne spoke straight from the heart about what constant screen time is doing to our kids, our families, and our communities. She reminded us of the image we see too often — young people sitting together but not talking, each one lost in their own device.

Jane is the founder of Kiama Unplugged, a grassroots movement that creates phone-free spaces where people can connect in real time. The very first events were held at Finding Fillmores, with games, Lego, colouring, and conversation. They have since grown to include family gatherings at Fillmores and regular book hours at Cin Cin Wine Bar. These simple events give us back something we did not realise we were missing — laughter, creativity, and connection without screens.

Her message was powerful. Change is possible. Just as seatbelts and smoke-free flights became the norm, we can create a culture that values time away from phones. Children deserve free-roaming, creative childhoods, and parents deserve the chance to model balance.

✨ “They say from small things big things grow. I believe enough people want change, and we can make it happen.”
✨ “On average we spend 10,000 hours online. That is enough to become an expert in almost anything. Imagine if we invested that time differently.”
✨ “Disconnect to reconnect. That is how we beat the loneliness epidemic.”

📌 Read more about Jane’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6wI

10/09/2025

📖 Dr Dom Frawley – Aristotle vs the Algorithm 📱

At Ignite Berry, Dr Dom Frawley asked a big question. What would Aristotle say about our modern struggles with anxiety, depression, and phones?

Aristotle believed true happiness, what he called eudaimonia, comes not from fleeting pleasure but from practising virtues like courage, generosity, honesty, and self control. Dom pointed out that happiness is not passive. It requires action, and balance between extremes.

He also warned about “secondary gain,” when too much attention to problems actually reinforces them. Phones, with their infinite scroll and like buttons, are the ultimate secondary gain machine. They reward behaviours that do not help us flourish.

Dom’s solution was simple and practical. Practise virtues in daily life. Take small steps, just as Benjamin Franklin did when he cycled through thirteen virtues each year. Virtue grows through action, not thought alone.

✨ “Happiness is not passive. It comes from practising virtues like courage, honesty, generosity, and self control.”
✨ “If you wanted to invent the ultimate secondary gain machine, you are too late. We already carry it in our pockets.”
✨ “Virtue grows only through action.”

📌 Read more about Dom’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6yb

09/09/2025

🤣 Brent McKean – Thank God for Dad Jokes 🤣

At Ignite Berry, Brent McKean reminded us that a dad’s most important job may not be putting food on the table or offering wise advice. It might simply be embarrassing the kids at every possible opportunity. And he had the audience laughing and groaning in equal measure.

He shared classics like:

“Why didn’t the toilet roll cross the road? It got stuck in a crack.”

“What’s brown and sticky? A stick.”

“What do you call a Frenchman wearing sandals? Philippe Flop.”

Brent explained that dad jokes are so bad, they are actually good. Research shows they help kids build resilience by learning to laugh at themselves, and they even have health benefits. Laughter lowers stress, strengthens the heart, and helps us live longer.

His advice to dads: keep telling them. Keep a straight face, wait before you crack yourself up, and if nobody laughs, repeat it three times. It is your destiny.

✨ “A dad’s job is to embarrass the hell out of his kids.”
✨ “Part of what makes dad jokes funny is that they are simply not funny.”
✨ “Even research says dad jokes build resilience. And I thought I was just being an idiot.”

📌 Read more about Brent’s talk here https://wp.me/p22l8m-6xU