Grace and Kiri

Grace has a strong commitment to conservation in Papua New Guinea (PNG). She currently is underway with a Master by research, focusing on the indigenous use of wildlife and conservation in the Bismarck Forest of PNG. She intends to use her studies and new networks to encourage Australian and PNG scientists to collaborate and find solutions to conserving PNG's precious and unique wildlife.

Grace also would like to see more Papua New Guinean girls from rural villages attend and complete school. She already has experience in organising and facilitating events in rural PNG that raise awareness about girls' education and gender-based violence and encourage young rural girls to be ambitious in their career goals.

Kiri is a community development and gender specialist with extensive experience in aid and development. Her skills include research, organisational capacity building, gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation, and strategic communications.

Kiri recently was appointed the Gender Advisor for UNICEF Indonesia. Prior to this, she held a range of Pacific-based roles focused on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, with DFAT's Pacific Labour Mobility Program, YWCA Solomon Islands, Plan International and Care (PNG), Oxfam (Solomon Islands), and UN Women Pacific.

Having worked in PNG, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, Kiri speaks fluent Solomon Islands Pijin and is conversant in Tok Pisin.