Rebecca Forrest
After a decade working in crisis media for the Northern Territory Police in the most remote and highly populated First Nations people in Australia, Bec was horrified at the thought that every day people were being attacked in their own homes, displaced, lacking in access to education and basic human rights. She championed anti violence initiatives even though she was living the pain of family violence at home herself.
With three young children and no family support in the Northern Territory, Bec was displaced, broke and alone and her confidence and mental state was shattered.
She founded Noone Left Behind - a series events and community workshops that brings people together to share challenges faced and offer support, connection and solutions at a grass roots level. These initiatives have branched out across the country and Bec leads the largest International Men's Day forum in the country, the Festival of WOmen, free youth conferences across the NT tackling youth crime and empowering youth voice, Aboriginal Empowerment initiatives, LGBTQI, and disability rights.
Connection and care is at the heart of everything that Bec does and these actions have seen her acknowledged as the 2021 Palmerston Citizen of the Year, the 2022 Northern Territory representative for the Australian Men’s Health Awards, the 2022 NT Local Hero Australian of the Year, 2023 Community Achievement Award Winner – Local Legend and 2024 Australian Small Business Champion Award Winner – Social Enterprise Business.
Abstracts this author is presenting: