Community Connections
Tapping into strengths reaps the reward
Professor Barbara Pamphilon, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Education, is very humble about her most recent accolade – the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours award of the Order of Australia Member – but when you spend a little time getting to know the passion behind her work, it is quite evident that the award is richly deserved.
Barbara has the stamina to match any of her students, the heart of a grandmother and the mind of a skilled academic but the one thing that blends every facet of her life together is her passion for sustainable communities, gender equality and empowering women to care for themselves, their families and their futures.
“I describe myself as a feminist researcher,” said Barbara. “After entering the world of academia in the 1970s when the feminist movement was being rebirthed, it really shaped my career in so many ways as I chose to work on issues by women, for women, with women.”
Barbara is very clear that her award is recognition for her life’s work but more importantly that it signals to every graduate who studied with her over the years that social good is a worthwhile and valuable area to invest one’s time, effort and energy.
“There are many of our UC graduates making a difference around Australia doing incredible work in the community and for me that is the reward,” Barbara said.
“This award acknowledges those who studied with me, challenged me and worked with me. I am privileged to witness the work they are doing; it is important and I firmly believe that this award is for them too.”
Barbara is certainly well grounded in the understanding of who she is, what she wants to achieve and the intention of her academic pursuits.
“One thing that I have been aware of across my career is that I am an ‘accidental academic’,” she said. “I wasn’t someone who did really well at school then followed the traditional approach in my tertiary studies. In fact, I was a university dropout, but I was lucky to have worked for many years as a community worker. I was passionate about the community work that I was involved in and loved all that I was able to do but realised I wanted to know how I could do it better.”
As a mature age student Barbara returned to university to complete her undergraduate degree at the then Canberra College of Advanced Education.
“It was life-changing and what I learnt in my studies enriched all that I did as a community worker,” Barbara enthused.
Very soon Barbara was a sessional staff member at UC enjoying her time as a tutor but very soon it became evident that in order to contribute to her work and make a meaningful difference, she would have to complete a PhD. And so a career in academia was born and Barbara has had her sights firmly set on contributing in areas where her interests and passions can make the biggest impact.
“My passion lies in contributing to building equitable and sustainable communities,” she said.
“I didn’t have a plan but when I saw a door worth going through, I did,” she said. “Many doors of opportunity have opened to me during my time as an academic, researcher and more recently as director of the Australian Institute for Sustainable Communities in the Faculty of Education.”
It is really interesting to look back at the opportunities I had at UC, a perfect example is when we started the first bilingual course in China.
Barbara was the Head of School at the time when the University decided to launch the course in China. “I remember thinking ‘you are joking, not me, I couldn’t lead an initiative that ambitious’, but the Pro Vice-Chancellor at the time thought it would be good and there I was on a flight to China for the first time, feeling totally out of my depth.”
True to Barbara’s exuberant approach, she embraced the opportunity and did what she knew best. “I listened to people and could see there was a wonderful opportunity to work in a true two-way learning partnership with our academic colleagues at Hangzhou Normal University. And so, the co-teaching concept was born. I then led the implementation of the course where we built the course together with our Hangzhou colleagues.”
Barbara’s work has taken her to unchartered personal territories and unexpected experiences. From travelling to projects around Australia, to Africa and Asia, it was Papua New Guinea that really caught Barbara’s attention … and heart.
Focused on working with participatory processes, collaborative networks and helping women to learn and develop, Barbara was immediately intrigued by the opportunity to positively influence the women farmers of Papua New Guinea; most of whom are disadvantaged and live near the poverty line.
“I was motivated to see what I could do, and it keeps me going back; and I will continue to go back,” she said.
Most women in Papua New Guinea only go to school until grade three or four, yet with this limited education they work hard in the daily struggle of growing enough food for their families, marketing their surplus crops and getting their children through school.
“Our research for development work has identified how to support these women through experiential learning activities. We have developed the Family Farm Teams learning workshops that help women and men in a family move from subsistence farming to planned farming and to do this in an effective and gender equitable way,” said Barbara.
“Working with these hungry learners is a joy! With a little bit of help these women are achieving success for themselves, their families and their communities.”
With each trip to Papua New Guinea Barbara admits that she too learns something new, different and interesting.
“The key to their success as adult learners is their strong indigenous and local knowledge and it is our role as researchers to help them surface their knowledge,” she said.
As much energy as Barbara commits to her students, research and collaborative academic networks, she places an equal amount of importance on her family.
“I take my two grandchildren to school every Wednesday which means I get to spend quality time with them and help my family along the way,” she said.
“My family says that I will never retire and it is true. There is always a reason to do something and one of the beauties of being an academic means that you can rebalance and review your career along the way.
“I am at the stage now where I can choose to do something that I feel is close to my interests and passions. If I can add value through doing that at UC count me in because if I see people are serious about doing participatory, gender-related work I will gladly get involved.”
This dynamic, incredible woman is an inspiration to many and those working with her have the benefit and privilege of learning from an academic with a heart for people.
“It is very common in today’s fast paced society to think we don’t have enough time to do the things we want to do. But what I have learnt through my career is that at the end of the day, time is not an issue when you pursue the things you care about and that are worth doing,” said Barbara.
“One of the joys of having worked in a range of roles at UC is that I went with my heart and have been instrumental in bringing people together. This approach is what feeds me because as you start to see where your strengths lie, you reap the reward.”
Words by Andy Visser and photos supplied.