The Inaugural Susan Ryan Oration

Watch the recording of the 2022 Inaugural Susan Ryan Oration on the ANU TV YouTube channel

This annual Oration gives our nation and our community the opportunity to remember Susan and reflect on her incredible legacy of advocacy and her far-reaching contributions that changed Australia and our world for the better. The event aims to drive important conversations around gender equity and discrimination - national debates that Susan helped ignite across her many years of work.

We are excited to announce the inaugural speaker will be distinguished and award-winning journalist Samantha Maiden.

Join us for Samantha's Oration followed by a reception event.

About Samantha Maiden

Samantha Maiden is the political editor for news.com.au.

She won the 2021 Gold Walkley Award for her coverage of Brittany Higgins' rape allegation that rocked Canberra. She also won a Walkley for best coverage of a major event. 

This was her third Walkley, she also won scoop of the year for Scott Morrison's secret bushfire holiday to Hawaii in 2020.

A press gallery veteran, she was named Journalist of the Year at the 2021 Kennedy awards. She has covered federal politics for more than 20 years, including for The Australian and NewsCorp's Sunday papers.

But her career began in South Australia, where she edited Adelaide University's student newspaper On Dit in 1992 and covered state politics.

She is a regular guest on the ABC's Insiders and The Project. Her first book, Party Animals, was published in 2020. Her career highlights also include being called a "mad witch" by Peter Dutton.

About The Hon Susan Ryan AO

The Honourable Susan Ryan AO was one of the University's greatest pioneers for equality. Susan worked as the first female Senator for the ACT in 1975 and was also the first female to hold a Cabinet role in the Hawke Government.

Susan pioneered extensive anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation and was Australia's first Age Discrimination Commissioner from 2011 until 2016.

Susan's legacy was recognised in 2017 when ANU awarded her an honorary doctorate, and again 12 months later when she was named ANU Alumna of the Year.

In 2021, ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt announced the renaming of the ANU International Women's Day event to the Susan Ryan Oration.

Additional Information

Registration is required for this event.

Accessible parking spaces  are available around campus should you require them.

This is an in-person, indoor event and The Australian National University stillrequires masks be worn. More information on mask requirements at ANU is available here.

To help keep everyone safe, please ensure that you are familiar with, and follow, the advice from ACT Health regarding COVID-19.

If you do not feel well, please refrain from attending this event.

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