Worthy Stories by Keynoteworthy (Melbourne)

Worthy Stories by Keynoteworthy is a series of open-mic storytelling nights where the stories are told live and straight from the heart without notes.

Think of stand-up comedy, but without the jokes (although most of the
stories are contagious and funny). The stories are guaranteed to move, make you cry, gasp or spontaneously cheer.

At Worthy Stories events, we leave ego at the door and instead, come with an open-mind and open-heart. 

After a successful event in Sydney, we are excited to host our second storytelling event on the theme of Perspectives in Melbourne.

We’ve invited four diverse storytellers to share their personal stories with us to inspire you to see the world in a new way.

Our storytellers for the night are:

Nicole Lee – family violence survivor and passionate advocate. After suffering a decade of abuse at the hands of her former husband, Nicole now uses her lived experience of family violence to speak out for those who don’t yet have a voice. Nicole, who also uses a wheelchair, focuses on family violence perpetrated against those who have a disability, or who depend on carers or family members for support.

Gabrielle Ebsworth – proud Wangkumara and Barkindji woman who is passionate about Indigenous education and healthcare. This was deeply engrained in her from a young age after growing up in a community with poor education and health outcomes for Aboriginal people. With so much drive to give back to her people and community, Gabrielle has spent her career advocating and lobbying on behalf of Victoria’s Aboriginal Community, for both State and Federal.

Jieh-Yung Lo – inaugural Director of the Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership at the Australian National University (ANU), a Centre which aims to address the significant under-representation of Asian-Australians in senior leadership positions across the public and private institutions of Australia. He is currently writing his first book titled ‘Hyphenated Australians’. 

Joanna Abraham - she's an immigration and refugee lawyer who works with clients from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, victims of family violence, and those facing the prospect of visa cancellation or deportation. She hails from the land of the “Crazy Rich Asians” – Singapore, and being a migrant herself, Joanna is passionate about championing diversity, both in the legal profession and wider community. She is the Co-Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee at the Victorian Women's Lawyers (VWL) and is happiest when she is either singing, eating (dessert is always welcome!) or working with the community. Joanna also volunteers with the Professional Migrant Women’s Group and has been a mentor at the Diverse Women's Mentoring Association and the VWL.

Do you want to share your story? 

A lucky audience member will have the opportunity to share their own story on the theme – just pop your name down in a hat if you want to get involved. A name will be picked out on the night to perform. 

Check out our video below for a little preview into our last event in Sydney. 

Tell me more about the theme, Perspectives

Sometimes, the only thing we have control of is our own perspectives. We might not have control over our situation, but we have a choice on how you view it, like the glass with water to the middle – do you see it as half-full, or half-empty?

We hear it all the time – perspective is everything. But how are our perspectives formed? Who, or what, is influencing our perspectives—the forces both seen and unseen? Haven’t the great breakthroughs in history been a result of the artist, scientist or entrepreneur seeing things from new angles? 

Words of gratitude

This event has been held at YBF Ventures - Melbourne’s top startup hub for tech and innovation. 

We also thank FCW Lawyers for being a proud sponsor to this event. 

We keep these events free and inclusive to all. If you'd like to see this sustained, we invite you to partner or sponsor Keynoteworthy. Please let us know how you can help, contact Catherine Ngo: hello@keynoteworthy.com.au

About Keynoteworthy 

Keynoteworthy is a platform and directory connecting event organisers with diverse speakers – both emerging and experienced.

Our mission to see diverse representation on stage. That way, you’ll have engaging conversations, personalities and perspectives at your next event or conference.

For more information or to list yourself as a speaker, visit keynoteworthy.com.au 

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“What I need is perspective. The illusion of depth, created by a frame, the arrangement of shapes on a flat surface. Perspective is necessary. Otherwise, there are only two dimensions. Otherwise, you live with your face squashed up against a wall, everything a huge foreground, of details, close-ups, hairs, the weave of the bedsheet, the molecules of the face. Your own skin like a map, a diagram of futility, crisscrossed with tiny roads that lead nowhere. Otherwise, you live in the moment. Which is not where I want to be.”

― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale.

Note: Photographs and video will be taken at this event. By taking part in this event you grant the event organisers full rights to use the images resulting from the photography and video filming, and any reproductions or adaptations of the images for fundraising, publicity or other purposes to help achieve Keynoteworthy's mission. This might include (but is not limited to), the right to use them in their printed and online publicity, social media, press releases and funding applications. If you do not wish to be photographed please let us know.