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Sociology from the Regions for the Regions

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About this event


Australia’s regional communities continue to navigate complex social and economic challenges, including unequal access to education, healthcare and housing, limited employment opportunities, changing industries and population shifts. While these issues are often addressed through broad policy responses, the lived experiences of regional communities can be overlooked.

Sociology from and for the Regions will bring together researchers, students and community members to explore how sociology can help us better understand the realities of life in regional Australia and contribute to more responsive, place-based approaches to social change.

Hosted at the University of Tasmania’s Cradle Coast Campus in Burnie, the event will foreground Tasmanian stories and lived experiences, with a particular focus on the social issues affecting communities across North West Tasmania. Through discussion of education, health and wellbeing, housing, employment, ageing, community connection and inequality, the event will demonstrate the practical value of sociology in connecting individual experiences with the broader social, economic and geographic forces that shape regional life.

A highlight of the day will be a panel discussion bringing academic and community perspectives together. Merete, Peta and Nick will be joined by community members with lived experience across education, ageing and kindness including higher education students from the Cradle Coast Campus, representation from COTA and a participant engaged with kindness initiatives and kindness in practice.

Together, speakers and participants will explore what regional communities can teach us about inequality, resilience, connection and social change, while considering how local knowledge and community voices can play a stronger role in shaping research, policy and practice.

This free event welcomes researchers, students, practitioners, policymakers, community organisations and members of the wider community interested in the future of regional Tasmania.

Event Details:

Date: 18th November 2026
Time: 9:30am - 2pm
Location:The Field Building, The University of Tasmania
Cost: Free
Format: This is a hybrid event

Program

09:30am: Registration & Morning Tea

10:00am: Acknowledgement of Country & Welcome to event.                 
                  Presented by Professor Sonya Stanford

10:30am:  Panel discussion on Education, Ageing and Kindness.
                   Facilitated by Professor Alana Mann
                  Dr Merete Schmidt, A/Prof Peta Cook and Dr Nicholas Hookway together with participants with lived
                  experience in education, ageing and kindness

12:00pm: Lunch & networking

01:00pm: Workshop with panel members

01:45pm: Wrap up and reflection

Your Speakers

 

Dr Merete Schmidt (University of Tasmania, Cradle Coast Campus)

Merete is a sociologist specialising in educational inequality. She is part of the School of Social Sciences and is based at the University of Tasmania's Cradle Coast Campus in Burnie.

Merete has extensive experience in undergraduate teaching and is a passionate teacher who has won multiple awards and commendations for her interactive and collaborative approach to engaging students in sociology. She is committed to creating learning experiences that are relevant and meaningful, and she thoroughly enjoys the opportunity to learn alongside her students.

Merete leads teaching, research and community partnered initiatives with a focus on equity and access to education and an emphasis on the powerful role of individual and collective agency in social change. She has a strong commitment to working with communities, and her research emphasises co-designed, place-based approaches that foster knowledge sharing, peer learning, and locally grounded solutions.



A/Prof Peta Cook, University of Tasmania

Associate Professor Peta Cook (she/her/they) is a sociologist of inequalities whose research focuses on ageing, disability, chronic illness, medical science and social justice. Her work explores lived experience, ageism, ableism, healthcare decision-making and the ways knowledge shapes people’s lives and care.

Peta has extensive experience researching sensitive topics using qualitative and arts-based methods. She is a former Vice President and Treasurer of The Australian Sociological Association (TASA), currently co-convenes TASA’s Ageing & Sociology Thematic Group, and received TASA’s 2020 Sociology in Action Award.


Dr Nicholas Hookway (aka Dr Kind in Australia’s Kindest Person Awards)

Dr Nicholas Hookway is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences and a cultural sociologist whose research explores social bonds, emotions, identity and social change. He is internationally recognised for his work on kindness, everyday morality, sports charity, loneliness and digital methods. His book Everyday Moralities received the 2020 Stephen Crook Memorial Prize for best book in Australian sociology. Nick has held leadership roles with The Australian Sociological Association and is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sociology. He is also passionate about public sociology and regularly contributes to national media.


Organising Committee

Dr Merete Schmidt (University of Tasmania, Cradle Coast Campus)
Professor Vaughan Higgins (University of Tasmania, Hobart Campus)
Dr Lucinda Aberdeen (La Trobe University, Shepparton Campus)
Dr Janet Congues (Family Care Inc., Shepparton)


Proudly supported by The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) and the University of Tasmania – Cradle Coast Campus.

Date and Time

Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 9:30 AM until 2:00 PM

Location

The University of Tasmania - Cradle Coast Campus, The Field Building
4-8 Bass Highway
Burnie, TAS  
AUS
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Category

Thematic Group Events

Registration Info

Registration is required

Capacity

48 Total Slots

Number of People Who Will Attend

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