Rock climbing is on its way to becoming a part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Despite a bid failing in 2013, the sport secured a second chance after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced reforms in 2014 that allow the host city to add sports that are popular in its country. Japan has about 500,000 climbers and is a word leader in the sport. Japanese competitors dominated the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup in India last month, with Kokoro Fujii winning the men’s title, and Miho Nonaka the women’s gold. Japan also boasts the world’s top-ranked female boulderer, Aiko Noguchi, who, along with…
Author: Kelly Stratton
Tensions between regional and city broadcasters are rising further as Tim Fischer AC, former deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals, lends his voice to the Save Our Voices campaign. The campaign sees the four independent regional broadcasters- PRIME, WIN, Southern Cross Austero and Imparja- banding together to fight for media law reform. The campaign wants to update the ‘reach rule’ and ‘two-out-of-three rule’ in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, which it argues limit the ability of regional broadcasters to merge or expand their operations at a time where they are facing increased competition and costs. ‘There are over 9…
Opinions are still divided over Shellharbour council’s controversial City Hub project. By a slim margin earlier this year, Shellharbour Councillors voted 4-3 in favour of proceeding with the $60-million City Hub project. Cr John Murray said the Hub is an affordable piece of infrastructure that will help accommodate the needs of an expanding city. The proposed City Hub will house new council chambers, administrative offices, meeting rooms, library, local history museum, café, civic square and a 350-seat auditorium. The controversial project has met with community backlash. State Parliament has been presented a petition with 11,500 signatures asking for the Hub to…
International Composting Awareness Week Australia (ICAW) is marking a major milestone with a series of activities and events designed to increase awareness for the importance of composting. ICAW turns 10 this week, and its message remains unchanged – composting helps reduce carbon pollution by reducing organic material in landfills and by building healthier soils. The amount of compostable material in Australian garbage has already decreased by five per cent over the past two years. While there are clear benefits of composting, environmentalists are concerned by Generation X’s apathetic approach to composting and the environment. Despite this, they remain confident they can continue to engage Generation…
The amount of government investment in nanotechnology and innovation does not necessarily influence the amount of new technologies being developed and completed, according to global statistics gathered by Nano Statistics. Indian nanotechnologists received the most funding from its government, but came in 19th in the number of patents being granted. Similarly, Malaysia ranked third in the amount of government investment, but ranked 37th in the world, with only one patent having been granted. Japan is the exception, within the top three countries. Its nanotechnology sector received the second highest amount of government investment globally and rank 4th in the amount of…
Hashtag activism is a term coined by media outlets which refers to the use of Twitter’s hashtags for internet activism. As Twitter celebrates its 10th birthday this week we take a look at some of the most popular examples of hashtag activism.
The murder of Argentinean Maria Coni, 22, and Marina Menegazzo, 21, has prompted women [and men] across the globe to publicly defend their decision of travelling solo. This follows the murder of two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, in Mexico last year. #ViajoSola — Spanish for “I travel alone” — has taken over the Twitterverse, with users standing against victim blaming and their right to travel safely. Backpacking and solo travelling remains a popular rite of passage among university students and young adults. Ninety per cent UOW students surveyed today have either travelled solo or with another companion, with 80…
The big screen is about to showcase a seldom seen slice of Australian industrial and political history. The short film, The Women Who Were Never There, recounts the 1973 protest where Illawarra women chained themselves to the front gates of BHP to fight for the right to work at the Port Kembla, and documents the subsequent discrimination and harassment they faced after they secured work. The film was largely financed via crowdfunding, and it is now being used as the basis to fund for a full-length feature film on the 1980’s ‘Jobs for Women’ campaign. The Women Who Were Never There will…