Two years of COVID
Friday 11 March marked two years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic.
Since then, we saw a rollercoaster of public health restrictions imposed, eased, lifted, and reimposed, panic buying and shortages of toilet paper, RATs and hand sanitiser, outdoor time limited to one hour, fluctuating border closures and reopenings, check-in apps, vaccine and mask mandates, food outlets operating takeaway only, isolation, quarantine, and lockdowns – you name it, we experienced it.
We saw #KenBehrens and #iso trend on social media, and former NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro suggest Canberrans were responsible for the detection of COVID-19 fragments in sewage at Merimbula on the NSW South Coast in August last year. Remember when testing wastewater for the presence of coronavirus was a thing?
ACT Citizen of the Year
Mohammed Ali, founder and president of local charity HelpingACT, was named the Canberra Citizen of the Year for 2022, for his dedication to supporting vulnerable members of the community through his roles with HelpingACT, the ACT Multicultural Advisory Council, the ACT Refugee, Asylum Seeker and Humanitarian Coordination Committee, and Companion House.
Mr Ali, a Pakistani migrant, retired biochemist, and former Multicultural Volunteer of the Year, founded HelpingACT in 2018 to provide food security to Canberrans who need it, particularly homeless people, refugees and asylum seekers, and international students. He also started Forum Australia, a thrice-yearly panel on issues that concern Australians.
“I feel overwhelmed, completely in disbelief, and very, very humbled,” Mr Ali said. “It is not me who is recognised. What is recognised is definitely my volunteers.”
ACT Women of the Year
World record-holding adventuress Kelli-Ann Jackson was named ACT Woman of the Year for her work leading Women’s Adventure ACT, a volunteer-led, community-organised group that treks to keep the outdoors safe and accessible to women and gender-diverse people of all backgrounds.
The world trekking adventurer rode the length of Taiwan and South Korea on a unicycle, and became the first person in the world to unicycle in North Korea.
23-year-old Asha Clementi was named the ACT Young Woman of the Year for founding ‘Girls Run the World’ and co-founding ‘The Girls Leadership Network’. Lee-Anne Daley, a Wiradjuri woman, was named the 2022 ACT Senior Woman of the Year for sharing cultural knowledge and facilitating The Koori Girls group.
Other inspiring Canberrans
Health, wellbeing, and sport were on CW’s mind this month as we talked to top athletes and brave women who had survived life-threatening diseases.
Robert de Castella, Australian former world champion marathon runner, took a ride in a Lexus LC 500 Convertible with CW publisher Nick Samaras, and discussed athletics, health and wellbeing, and his work in community service with his Indigenous Marathon Foundationt. “There has never been a more important time for us as a community to look after our health,” he said.
Caroline Buchanan, BMX World Champion, Mountain Bike World Champion, and dual Olympic athlete, talked about breaking through glass ceilings since she was little, riding on a dirt track amongst the boys, and the limitations women face in male-dominated sports. “I want to be visible and approachable to young girls. I want to bridge the gap and bring their dreams closer to them.”
Penny Jackson talked about taking part in the Relay for Life, four months after her recovery from cancer. “My advice to anyone going through cancer treatment right now is that you’re stronger than you think you are and find what makes you happy … find those small little things in amongst the horrible stuff.”
Leukaemia survivor Jozica Kostrica encouraged Canberrans to donate to the World’s Greatest Shave appeal, and spoke about her overcoming depression. “My wish would be that one day, every patient would be able to be cured and that there wouldn’t be any after treatment side effects.”
Eliza Stankovic-Mowle, a Paralympian who survived meningococcal disease as a teen, spoke about her health, her family, and her love of cooking. “Cooking with the kids is an absolutely fantastic way to build healthy habits and strong relationships.”
Another survivor was Dr Farkhondeh Akbari, an Afghan refugee living in Canberra, who spoke out against the Taliban’s persecution of women, and the Australian Government’s responsibility to welcome them to safety. In the face of unrelenting discrimination since childhood, inflicted by some of the world’s most harrowing terrorists, she is now a catalyst for Afghani women’s rights. “The country has been in conflict for so long now, and women are not the decision makers but are the most affected in war. … For someone like me who has had the opportunity to live abroad, live peacefully, and get an education, it’s not a choice to speak out – I have to.”
Canberra-based astrophysicist Professor Lisa Kewley became the first woman and the first Australian director of the Center for Astrophysics (Harvard & Smithsonian), USA. She talked about her stellar career, including her interest in galaxy formation and evolution, and her work as director of ASTRO 3D, an ARC Centre of Excellence at ANU’s Mt Stromlo Observatory. “We’re going to make major advances in our understanding of the universe, our place in the universe, and how special we are in the universe.”
In the creative arts, first-time Canberra boardgame publishers, Liam Wilson and Ryan Venner, of Yarn Mail Games, designed a real-time biplane boardgame titled Dogfight, while the Beanies, a children’s music group, made their debut on ABC Kids.
Politics
The first Sunday in March was Clean Up Australia Day, when public-spirited volunteers pick up rubbish and keep their local areas clean. Canberra MPs and MLAs from across the political spectrum joined them as they braved wet weather to tidy up lake shores and suburbs, and fill garbage bags with litter.
After years of effort by climate activists and Greens MLAs, the ACT Government became the first jurisdiction to divest its shares in the fossil fuel industry. “That means Canberra’s no longer putting our investor money into fossil fuels,” said Jo Clay MLA.
The use of single-use plastics was cut from more major events in Canberra, including at GIO Stadium and Manuka Oval, the ACT Government announced. “This is another big step in accelerating our city’s shift towards a more sustainable future,” said Chris Steel, ACT Minister for Transport and City Services.
Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee received a prestigious American award for making the ACT the first Australian jurisdiction to criminalise stealthing (the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex). “This award is dedicated to the brave women and men who told me about their experiences with stealthing that was the inspiration for my bill,” she said.
Ukraine
As the world reeled from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Canberrans held peaceful demonstrations outside the Russian embassy every day since the war began. CW editor Julie Samaras talked to one of the protesters, Dr Roman Danylak, a university computing academic who conducts the Ukrainian men’s choir in Canberra. “I speak to my relatives regularly,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking to hear what they are going through at the moment.”
The ANU suspended all ties and activities with Russian institutions; and CW columnist Bill Stefaniak and other Canberrans housed displaced Ukrainian refugees. “Throw open your homes for these most deserving and desperate people,” Mr Stefaniak said.
Heritage and history
Canberra Daily went on a tour of the Canberra Fire Brigade Museum, which had received a heritage grant to repaint a fire tender that served the airport in the 1960s. “We’re in the business of trying to restore history, and keep the history of the fire services going,” volunteer guide Ian McCleary said. “It would be a terrible thing to lose that history.”
Canberra’s Girl Guides received another heritage grant to tell their history – and Canberra’s. The Guides celebrated their 95th birthday this year; they started in 1927 and were there for the opening of Parliament House. Speaking of one girl guide, archivist Fiona Langford said: “There was a lot of early Canberra history in her story.”
And ANU researchers found dozens of mysterious giant stone jars that may have been used for burial rituals in India. “We still don’t know who made the giant jars or where they lived,” ANU PhD student Nicholas Skopal said. “It’s all a bit of a mystery.”
