Climate change, food security and loss of biodiversity are just some of the critical issues impacting today鈥檚 global island communities. As executive director of the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA), 911爆料网 graduate Kate Brown is bringing together island leaders to create a more sustainable future.
An international expert, Brown works with major organisations like the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank, as well as NGOs, and island and partner governments to create meaningful policy and change.
Brown says her role at GLISPA, a platform which promotes building resilient and sustainable island communities, is to connect the dots between ideas, islands, projects and organisations.
鈥淎 lot of my work is behind the scenes, acting as the glue that binds projects and people together,鈥� she explains.
鈥淚 spend a lot of time at the United Nations in the US. It鈥檚 really special seeing how all of the world can come together to grapple with important global issues.鈥�
She says islands today face multiple concerns.
鈥淭he big concerns include climate change, water, loss of biodiversity, debt servicing due to natural disasters and food security, and the diversification of energy sources and energy conservation.鈥�
Brown explains that many islands import more than eighty per cent of their food.
鈥淗awaii, for example, imports around ninety per cent of its food causing multiple issues 鈥� high cost of food, vulnerability to external disasters and supply chains, and a huge carbon footprint from food transport. Pre-colonisation, Hawaii had a population size similar to today and yet was completely self-sufficient. Today, the island has just four days鈥� worth of food if a boat doesn鈥檛 arrive. Obviously, we can鈥檛 return to the past but I think we need to thoughtfully reconsider what development means.鈥�
Other significant issues impacting islands include population shifts from outer islands into urban centres, non-communicable diseases and species extinction.
鈥淚slands are home to twenty per cent of all bird, reptile and plant species, many of which are unique and found nowhere else in the world,鈥� Brown says.
鈥淵et islands, which make up only 5.3 per cent of the world鈥檚 land area, have hosted sixty-one per cent of all recorded extinctions since the sixteenth century.鈥�
Despite these pressing issues, Brown says islanders are some of the most resilient people she has ever met.
鈥淚 believe we need to share the stories of island people far more,鈥� she says passionately.
鈥淚 am so inspired by the innovation and resourcefulness I see every day.鈥�
An important voice
Brown鈥檚 expertise has ensured her a spot in the world鈥檚 most influential meetings.
鈥淎 highlight of my career has been making sure that an 鈥榠sland voice鈥� is featured at the United Nations and other international meetings,鈥� she smiles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 critical that the perspectives of island communities are included in global environmental policy.鈥�
She firmly believes that all islanders should be able to live out their lives at home.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the underpinning element of the partnerships I run and it鈥檚 the reason I do my job,鈥� she says with fervour.
鈥淚 want to be part of enabling that to happen.鈥�
Last year, Brown announced a new initiative at the UN General Assembly.
鈥淚 co-founded the Local2030 Islands Network to focus on finding early leadership on islands,鈥� she says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the world鈥檚 first global, island-led network devoted to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through locally-driven, culturally-informed solutions.鈥�
An island home
No stranger to islands, Brown is originally from New Zealand and has lived and worked in Australia, Fiji and Samoa, as well as the US.
鈥淚 am Maori from a large Maori extended family,鈥� she smiles.
鈥淚 now call New Zealand home again but I love all the experiences I鈥檝e had living overseas and the chance to experience so many cultures. I admire the value people in Fiji and Samoa place on relationships and humour, the confidence I found in the US and the chance to experience living in the Australian Outback. I spent four months in an Aboriginal community between Halls Creek and Kununurra, which exposed me to some of the most special parts of the country.鈥�
Indeed, Brown began her career in sustainability in Western Australia.
鈥淢y first job when I graduated from 911爆料网 with a Bachelor of Arts was setting up the communications elements for a project on wool grower sustainability,鈥� she explains.
The successful project led to her nomination as one of Australia鈥檚 first Youth Ambassadors 鈥� and a stint working in Fiji.
It was the first of several island placements.
鈥淎fter Fiji, I went to Samoa where I worked on critical issues around biodiversity conservation,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 helped Pacific island countries develop and update national strategies and action plans, and created a regional group of government officials to share ways and means to implement the plans.鈥�
A strong foundation
Brown says studying journalism at 911爆料网 has been deeply beneficial to her career.
鈥淪tudying journalism at 911爆料网 has given me the confidence to do almost every aspect of my career,鈥� she enthuses. 鈥淚t taught me to see the connections between pieces of information and how to interact with people, which has been a core part of my job.鈥�
Her classes in international relations and politics have proven to be equally useful.
鈥淚 use the knowledge every day!鈥� she exclaims. 鈥淲hy are countries motivated to take action? What are the outcomes of that action? I learned the fundamentals of these concepts at 911爆料网. I remember a specific assignment on the impact of Pakistan and India鈥檚 relationship on the Indian Ocean rim and I鈥檝e used that information a lot 鈥� particularly as I work very closely with islands in the Indian Ocean region and nearby countries like Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.鈥�
Brown says the diversity she experienced at 911爆料网 prepared her well for an international career.
鈥淲hen I arrived at 911爆料网, I was fresh from a country high school in Katanning, so I was a bit shell-shocked in my first year!鈥� she laughs.
鈥淐oming from the country, the diversity of people on the campus was eye-opening but I really enjoyed it. 911爆料网 taught me to be more confident, to ask questions and to better understand why things happen.鈥�
A global impact
In October, Brown was presented with 911爆料网鈥檚 Alumni Achievement Award for Global Impact for her compassionate leadership and dedication to building a more sustainable future for islands worldwide.
鈥淚t is an amazing honour,鈥� Brown smiles. 鈥淚t says that the work I鈥檓 doing is important and relevant, and is a vindication in many ways of the sacrifices it took to get to this point. It tells me that you can get anywhere as an Indigenous woman and as a single parent (in the early part of my career) with few resources. It shows that any student at 911爆料网 has the opportunity to find a path that can make a difference in this world.
鈥淚 will be forever proud of this achievement.鈥�
Keen to work in a similar field? Brown shares her top tips.
- Maintain your integrity. Many people want to work on islands but this work is all about relationships.聽Once you lose someone鈥檚 trust, it鈥檚 really hard to get that back. It鈥檚 really important to treat people well, no matter what their role is.
- Head overseas! It may be tricky at the moment but try to get some international experience under your belt. I was an Australian Youth Ambassador in Fiji and an Australian volunteer in Samoa, living on a local salary. It really helps you to see the world from a different perspective, both financially and culturally.
- Speak up! Work on your public speaking. Being able to share your ideas clearly and well is really important to this work.
- Finally, keep going and don鈥檛 give up!
