Ms Elizabeth Ho

Elizabeth Ho has been Director of the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of SA since 1999. The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre is an internationally recognised public learning/visitor and research facility serving young people, national and international scholars and local and global audiences. It honours the contribution of South Australia's only Prime Minister, The Hon Bob Hawke AC. International patron, Nelson Mandela has personally endorsed the Centre’s values: strengthening our democracy, celebrating our diversity and building our future. The Hawke Centre represents an important engagement with local and international communities through public learning activities, alliances, and research projects. The Centre attracts local and international visitors and offers a vibrant public program of lectures and seminars on key concerns for the 21st century, including sustainable societies, global citizenship, democracy, youth leadership, mediation, and responsible economic development. The Centre has received an SA GREAT AWARD for services to education and three UniSA Community Service Awards from the Chancellor. The prestigious Annual Hawke Lecture brings credit to the State, features highly influential speakers and is broadcast nationally.

Leading the Hawke Centre's strategic directions, Elizabeth has created partnerships to increase community engagement with civil society issues. Since 1999, the development of the Centre’s Public Program has grown apace contributing to the reputation of the Centre. Its move to the stunning new Hawke Building on North Terrace means that it now offers the Kerry Packer Civic Gallery as well as numerous civil society activities in the Bradley Forum. The Hawke Centre raised $8m in private donations and government grants towards these new facilities. Elizabeth has a background in the development of state and national public projects and has held various senior posts in library and education sectors. As a former Associate Director of the State Library of SA, she worked with the corporate team to build more robust connections between the community, the library and its cultural collections. She was also Project Director for the permanent Sir Donald Bradman Exhibition opened in 1998 by the Prime Minister of Australia. In April 2008 she was selected as one of 1000 Australians to participate in the PM's 2020 Summit to consider future directions for Australia and was a member of the Governance stream.

Elizabeth has previously been a member of the State Heritage Authority, the National Preservation Board of the National Library; and, the Australia Remembers (World War II) State Committee. In May 2006 she was appointed by the Premier as a South Australian Business Ambassador and in October 2006 was appointed a National Fellow of the Institute for Public Administration Australia (IPAA) for an outstanding contribution to public sector administration in education and libraries. In 2009, she was appointed Deputy Chair of the Board of The Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia (MRCSA) - an independent agency responsible for the settlement of migrants and refugees in SA. She is also a member of the Catherine Helen Spence Memorial Scholarship Committee,the Hawke Research Institute Steering Committee, and of the Advisory Committees to both the UN Society and Architecture Museum at UniSA.

The Hawke Centre's mission is to: deliver dynamic civic education programs that explain our democracy, encourage debate on public issues, and celebrate our cultural diversity for public, tourist, academic and student audiences; strengthen Australia's international links through assisted projects, scholarship and alliances;foster excellent research for the public good and in the context of creating sustainable societies. Elizabeth works closely with the Hawke Research Institute and Hawke Library to realise the vision of the Centre.

The Hawke Centre has collaborated with a range of organisations, from UNIFEM to The SA Government Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Program and World Vision, IWDA and AusAid.

http://www.hawkecentre.unisa.edu.au

National Fellow , Institute of Public Administration in Australia

Past Associate of the Australian Library and Information Association

BA(Hons)University of Adelaide. History Major. AALIA

• Member, SA Centre for food and drink, University of Adelaide
• Civil society, human rights, libraries and literature, and cultural communication and interpretation

CHEONG LIEW AND ELIZABETH HO: MY FOOD: Allen and Unwin: 1995

Cheong Liew is one of Australia's most celebrated chefs, and noted by Patricia Wells, leading international gastronomist as one of the world's ten best. This book has been hailed as an important milestone in affirming the multicultural philosophy that has come to epitomise Australian cuisine.

Various article and conference paper contributions in the library and information field 1990-8

Numerous editorial and advisory roles eg: Regional Integration in the Asia Pacific Issues and Prospects OECD, The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia . Published by : OECD Publishing 2005

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline:

• civil society issues
• SA heritage issues
• community engagement