Vinathe Sharma-Brymer’s Post

Looking forward to 20th HDCA Conference, Kolkata 2024. I will be presenting on 'Natural disaster management and Indian women: Exploring marginalisation, capabilities, and multi-actor response' offering a social justice perspective through autoethnography. My collaborator is Ann Job from India.

I am happy that we were able to put this together, reporting the findings from Germany, Sweden and England. It was an amazing project (UK and EU partnering countries) in 2016-18 from SIRIUS network. There were many useful good practices that practitioners, policy-makers, volunteers, NGOs, academic researchers, and governments shared for supporting the educational integration of young people seeking asylum and refuge. Sharma-Brymer, V., Kakos, M., Koehler, C., & Denkelaar, M. (2024). Supporting the educational integration of young people seeking asylum and refuge: examining good practices from Germany, Sweden and England. Intercultural Education, 1–20. https://lnkd.in/g9hXfBYg

Another output from last year's work. Something that I am passionate about - Forest School. There are many health and wellbeing benefits from Forest School practice and its variations. It encourages place-based relationality which is embedded in Indigenous worldviews around the world. I trained as a Forest School practitioner in England, UK. Often, people saw me as a traditional Indian woman, not practical, too much educated, socio-culturally different, and not really fitting into Forest School training. But, I was a different Indian woman! Learning and practising in the outdoors, toiling through the cold, rain, and snow, and using knives, axe, loppers, hammer, bow saw, machete, billhook, flint and steel, fire pits, ropes, tarps and what not other things. Oh, I loved it. Sharma-Brymer, V., Brymer, E., Willis, R.L., & Leach, M. (2024). Synergies of affordances and place-based relationality in Forest School for enhancing social and emotional well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 15(1352374), 1-6.

Happy to share this publication. This research brings to the forefront a critical discussion of practitioner perspectives on Indian outdoor industry, nature-human relationships for wellbeing, and emerging new trends of OE in globalised India. https://lnkd.in/gYk3jmik Mitra, S., Sharma-Brymer, V., Mitten, D., & Ady, J. (2024). India’s emerging trends and meanings in healthy human-nature relationships: Indian outdoor education practitioner perspectives. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 1–14.

I had the honour of being on the International Women's Day panel at our university yesterday. I dressed up in this special sari. My first ever sari that my mother bought for me. She was an inspirational woman. Thank you to my wonderful colleagues for this photo!

Happy this paper is published by Frontiers in Psychology. Focusing on nature-human relationships and wellbeing. Willis RL, Brymer E, Sharma-Brymer V and Leach M (2024) Refocusing on nature: the role of nature reintegration in environmental, mental, and societal wellbeing. Front. Psychol. 15:1351759. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1351759

My new book 'Aboriginal Australiakkondu Valasiga Lens' (A migrant's lens to Aboriginal Australia) is now available in the market. It is a series of 30 different articles written in Kannada language, providing perspectives and reflections. The information documented is from credible sources with authentic research. The book provides glimpses into my insider-outsider experiences too. Huge thanks to VividLipi for publishing it.  Please buy the book for yourself, family and friends. I am super excited and happy that my book is out in the market today, 14 October, when Australians are voting YES or NO to the 'Voice to the Parliament - Referendum 2023'. As we know, the last referendum took place in 1967. This is my another way of saying Yes! What a significant day! This day and my book will be etched in my memory. 

Great to be working with this amazing Declaration.