YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Building Bridges, Not Walls - Gill Hicks

Building Bridges, Not Walls - Gill Hicks — Transcript

by Auckland Conversations · 12,282 words · 1,945 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:02foreign
0:09[Music]
0:20[Music]
0:29[Music]
0:35foreign
0:48welcome to this evening's uh Auckland
0:50conversations Building Bridges not walls
0:54um we're very proud and uh brought to
0:56you uh by uh the Human Rights Commission
0:58and Auckland Council and we're really
1:01delighted to have a speaker of such
1:03incredible inspiration tonight Dr Jill
1:06Hicks but we'll uh we'll come back to
1:08the deal in a minute
1:09um I am Ludo Campbell Reed I am a
1:11council's design Champion I'm also the
1:14proud sponsor of the Auckland
1:15conversations series and I'm also the
1:18general manager of what we're calling
1:20the Auckland design office so UH
1:22responsibilities for Urban Design across
1:24the Auckland region and I'm very proud
1:27to be here tonight
1:29um the Auckland conversation series aims
1:31to inspire to inform to educate and to
1:35to entertain and tonight's conversation
1:38I don't believe will it'll be be
1:40absolutely wonderful and I think it'll
1:41it'll do everything Justice to that
1:44um but firstly I'd like to um say we're
1:47live streaming tonight's event so the
1:50idea really around that is to tell the
1:52story a little bit more widely than just
1:53Auckland and to help our conversation
1:56around the globe so we'll be live
1:58streaming the events around the world
1:59and tonight for the first time we have
2:02um some signage speech signage
2:05interpreters to help the conversation
2:07flow and to also get the message out
2:10there to all those that need to hear it
2:12so um I um firstly want to ask you all
2:16to show your appreciation of our
2:19fantastic and generous sponsors in
2:22particular resin and jib so would you
2:25all put your hands together and thank
2:32I'd also like to thank extremely thank
2:35our program supporters and the names are
2:38all up on the screen there's quite a few
2:40of them
2:41um so I was just talking to the lady
2:42from connect and we'll try and just go
2:45through those but do we have a slide for
2:46the program sponsors
2:48here they come slowly
2:52next slide please
2:58no okay
3:00oh here we go
3:05okay so there's resine and so thanks to
3:08those guys the next slide please
3:11so you can see that we're doing these
3:12these uh these conversations you know
3:14funded by a whole group of allies across
3:17the industry
3:19um so I'd like to thank the um the
3:21architectural designers Institute
3:23Mr Cagney
3:25the New Zealand planning Institute
3:28offer mythical
3:31brookfields lawyers
3:33and also the New Zealand Institute of
3:35Architects so thank you very much to
3:37those guys would you mind putting your
3:38hands together
3:43so on to this evening
3:45um there's nothing really more Central
3:46to a livable city than its people and in
3:50all their diversity and abilities and
3:52I've always gone back to the the
3:54wonderful saying that William
3:56Shakespeare talked about which is what
3:58is a city but it's people and in
4:01Auckland in New Zealand we talk about
4:05what is the most important thing for
4:08these people is people it is people
4:10I've often thought that most planners
4:13and Architects should be psychologists
4:15before they become those professions
4:17because at the end of the day if you
4:19understand people you understand how to
4:21design great cities for them
4:24and I guess set against the backdrop of
4:26of massive urbanization around the world
4:28climate change and aging and
4:31increasingly diverse population we must
4:33ask the question how do we as
4:36aucklanders and as Global Citizens how
4:38do we deal with this and how can we
4:41physically and psychologically design
4:43our city to cope with such demands
4:48so tonight
4:49we are you know extremely fortunate to
4:52have an amazing speaker with us the
4:55inspiring and design Savvy Dr Jill Hicks
4:58who can help us start to answer some of
5:00these questions and to stimulate debate
5:03Jill is in Auckland to speak at the New
5:05Zealand diversity forum
5:07which took place yesterday and was
5:09organized by the Human Rights Commission
5:10and who we partnered with tonight to
5:13bring you the series and we feel very
5:15privileged to have her speak to us
5:17but before Jill comes to the stage I'd
5:19firstly like to talk about accessibility
5:21just briefly not only is design Champion
5:24but also as a member of a group called
5:27The Fab 50 Network which is a team
5:30that's been set up by the be accessible
5:31mini barragraph and the team have chosen
5:34sort of 50 prominent new zealanders to
5:36Champion accessibility across the
5:38country and across the region and I'm
5:40just very proud to be a member of that
5:43that team
5:44but before Jill comes to the stage I
5:46want to talk a little bit about the
5:48Auckland design office and the plans we
5:50have around accessibility and universal
5:52access in particular you may have
5:55noticed a small little stand at the back
5:56of the the auditorium it's uh it's
6:00developing up a Universal Design hub
6:02and the Auckland design office is
6:05promoting Universal Design as a
6:08fundamental requirement for delivering a
6:10livable city which in part will help us
6:12address some of the issues that Jill
6:14will touch upon during her talk
6:16as part of our Department's disability
6:18action plan and all Council departments
6:21are preparing one at the moment we have
6:23established a Universal Design Forum
6:25which brings together professional
6:27institutes and interest groups and
6:29organizations to develop a shared
6:31advocacy for Universal Design City
6:33and and we are very very close to
6:37appointing a new Universal Design leader
6:39who will drive the issues and Champion
6:41those across the organization
6:44the Auckland design manual within which
6:46this Universal Design Hub will sit
6:49um is is going to be there to use to
6:52support the Forum and working with it to
6:54develop new tools new training and new
6:56guidance to help designers and clients
6:58to adopt Universal Design much more
7:01quickly and much more easily we want to
7:03try to demystify it this will help
7:05support auckland-wide approach to design
7:07which incorporates all life stages and
7:10scenarios to disability and Beyond
7:12including pregnancy childhood injury and
7:14older age
7:16we should be launching the content for
7:17engagement later this month on the ADM
7:19site and invite everybody to contribute
7:21their thoughts and ideas on what else we
7:22could do to support designing our city
7:25for all and for everybody
7:27so now on to the main event tonight I'd
7:30like to welcome Dane Susan devoy to
7:33introduce Dr Jill Hicks
7:35name Susan the nzm CBE has worked across
7:38the sport community and charity sectors
7:40since she retired undefeated as the
7:43world's women's squash Champion 1992. I
7:46believe she was seven times champion
7:49um some of my team remember you Susan
7:50actually on TV
7:52um back in the 80s and
7:55well I'm told that you were on
7:57television in the 80s and uh
7:59um watching squash on the 80s I don't
8:01think squash has ever been watched so
8:02often on television so that's fantastic
8:06a member and chair of the halberg trust
8:08patron of the muscular dystrophy
8:09Association of New Zealand and other
8:11Charities Dame Susan was the chief
8:13executive officer and chair of the sport
8:15Bay of Plenty she has served on the
8:17Auckland District Health Board the
8:19Tauranga energy consumer trust and
8:21chaired bnz partners they have plenty
8:24since her appointment in April 2013 to
8:26the office of the race relations
8:27commissioner Dame Susan has taken a high
8:30profile role in encouraging new
8:32zealanders to take personal
8:33responsibility for race relations and to
8:36stand up for victims of racial abuse
8:38name Susan it's been a privilege and I'd
8:40like to welcome you to the stage
8:42[Applause]
8:55acknowledgments and warm greetings to
8:57you all
8:59Australian designer Jill Hicks was
9:02heading to work just over 10 years ago
9:04when her life was changed forever
9:07a suicide bomber called Jermaine
9:10detonated a device less than a meter
9:12from where Jill was standing
9:15incredibly dual survived and after the
9:18terrorist attack
9:19she dedicated her life to peace and the
9:22power of the individual everyone can
9:25make a difference
9:27it is poetic justice that an act of
9:29terrorism gave the world an
9:32unforgettable and inspirational advocate
9:34for peace and human rights
9:37two years after the bombing Jewell
9:39founded the not-for-profit organization
9:41mad making a difference for peace
9:44a platform that connects people globally
9:46and encourage us to think of Peace as a
9:49verb something that we have an
9:51individual responsibility to do every
9:54day
9:55in parallel her work confronting violent
9:58extremism through counter-narrative and
10:01communication is at the Forefront of
10:03current International thinking
10:06she has many accolades Australian of the
10:08year in the UK 2009
10:11an Australian woman of the year in the
10:13UK 2009 she's been awarded an MBE South
10:17Australian of the Year carrier of the
10:19Olympic torch an ambassador for peace
10:22Direct
10:23but there's another title that I know
10:24she is most proudest of
10:27as if building World Peace wasn't enough
10:29to eat two and a half years ago Jill and
10:32her partner Carl another designer
10:34welcomed their daughter Emily into the
10:37world
10:38Jewel told media that becoming a mum to
10:40Emily was one of the best things to ever
10:42happen to her and that it changed her
10:44life
10:46yesterday at the diversity Forum Jill
10:48spoke to many people and after her
10:51address
10:52they said that Jill had changed their
10:54lives here are a few of their comments
10:58she makes me want to be a better person
10:59she makes me want to start yesterday
11:02I am all of Dr Hicks I will never forget
11:05the moment she started talking and she
11:07has changed my life
11:09she says think of Peace as a verb and I
11:13say if peace was a person its name
11:16should be Jill Hicks and I have to agree
11:19with them
11:20it's not often you meet someone and
11:22realize that you are meeting a person
11:23who was changing the world and
11:26challenging all of us to be better to
11:29honor life and to honor each other
11:32it's my honor and my pleasure to
11:34introduce to you Dr Jill Hicks
11:37[Applause]
11:58well if that didn't already set you off
12:00into tears I know that um it's certainly
12:03did me and I possibly should join you
12:08with a glass of red wine sitting with
12:10you
12:11um
12:12I find introductions very difficult to
12:14sit through and mostly because I'm such
12:18an ordinary person who found herself in
12:22such an extraordinary situation and
12:25never am I
12:28um ever
12:31I should say I'm always mindful
12:34of the of the great privilege it is to
12:37ever be given a platform and not
12:40everyone gets an opportunity to share
12:43their insights their learning their
12:47experience so I am always grateful and
12:50always very humbled by the privilege to
12:52be able to
12:54stand
12:55and be able to stand before you
13:00um also this evening is a bit of a clash
13:03of worlds for me so I've had a my own
13:06emotional journey of exploring who I was
13:10very much so 10 years ago prior to the
13:14bombing and as Dame Susan very
13:17beautifully introduced me who I am today
13:20as a peace Builder rather than someone
13:23who worked within design
13:26and this brought me to of course the the
13:28title of this evening's talk
13:33a journey I've added some words a
13:37journey of Building Bridges and rather
13:40than saying instead of walls I thought
13:44that actually it's about building
13:46bridges over walls and the metaphor the
13:51beauty of the metaphor in that piece
13:55and particularly hitting for me being
13:59someone who used to work in architecture
14:01so Building Bridges and building walls
14:04was something that I was very familiar
14:05with
14:06but the metaphor I wasn't
14:11um I'd like to talk to you a little bit
14:12about my life number one as I call it
14:15and that was the Journey of a very young
14:19girl in every sense of the word young
14:22who left Adelaide in South Australia
14:25um went over to London in the hope of
14:28finding not just a job but finding a
14:31career
14:32and I any of you who are familiar with
14:35London will very much know that London
14:37in all her beauty and glory is actually
14:40quite an unforgiving City and there I
14:43was as a very young Adelaide girl
14:46and I'd walk up to anyone who happened
14:50to be sitting next to me or anyone
14:52innocently queuing for a coffee or
14:55anyone innocently in my viewpoint at all
15:00and I'd say
15:01hello my name's Jill what do you do for
15:05a living
15:06and these poor people I mean I look back
15:09now an absolute horror and I'm sure some
15:12of them may put two and two together and
15:15think I know who she is
15:17um and I'd have all sorts of array of
15:19answers from from these poor people that
15:21would say oh I'm a I'm a lawyer or I'm
15:24an artist and I said I could do that
15:27that's fantastic so um short of stalking
15:30people back to their office I eventually
15:33found my beginning in life in London
15:37when I was crossing Waterloo Bridge
15:40because I gave up on my hope of just
15:43falling into this wonderful sequence of
15:47a career by finding the right person
15:50because I've always believed in magic
15:54so there I was on Waterloo Bridge and I
15:57was I was a bit emotional and I saw this
16:00building in the distance and it was the
16:02tallest building
16:03that I could see
16:05and I said to myself that is where I'm
16:09going to work
16:11now I didn't know what they did in this
16:13building
16:14and I had to I had that little moment of
16:17what if they're a plumbing firm
16:20that's okay I can plump that's okay that
16:23it was meant to be
16:24and I walked over to the front windows
16:27of this building and to my absolute
16:29Delight what did I see
16:32and that were they were the posters for
16:36the front cover of Murray Claire
16:38magazine so it was the largest
16:41Publishing House in Europe
16:44and I walked in and I said oh fantastic
16:48I finally found where I'm going to work
16:52person looked at me a bit puzzled and I
16:55said oh I'm here I'm brilliant I can
16:57write about whatever you want me to
16:59write about and um anyway to cut a very
17:01long story short I ended up saying to
17:03them okay I understand I will come in
17:07for three months every day without pay
17:11and I guarantee you at the end of that
17:13three months you will employ me and
17:16wonder what did you do without Jill
17:18Hicks before this
17:20it worked
17:22um so I ended up my I began my career in
17:25London working within magazines that
17:29lasted for me all of a good two years
17:32before I just thought this is insane I
17:36can't write about another shade of red
17:38lipstick again and there would be
17:41meetings about red lipstick so let's
17:44just really tell it for what it is
17:47um
17:48so I I felt that I needed to follow my
17:51heart and my heart was always in the
17:54arts and architecture and particularly
17:57design I'd always wanted to be an artist
17:59and it was my father who deterred me
18:02from that by saying Jill you will never
18:05make any money unless you're dead
18:07and I thought okay that's tricky I do
18:11need to have a living I do need to have
18:13a career
18:14So eventually I again found myself in
18:18the in the role of publishing and ended
18:21up
18:22um being the publisher of one of the
18:24well the one of the most respected
18:27International architecture journals I
18:30hope still to this day and that was a
18:32journal called blueprint
18:34and blueprint really gave me my
18:37introduction to the world of
18:39architecture and design and contemporary
18:42thinking
18:45I couldn't have asked for a greater life
18:48and London really got under my skin I
18:52couldn't believe that here I was a woman
18:55a young woman
18:57an Australian working in a very male
19:00dominated field
19:02but in something I loved but I really
19:04felt that I needed to prove myself above
19:08and beyond my colleagues I think that's
19:10possibly why I ended up running the
19:13business of the magazine
19:16I was the person that always insisted on
19:18very clean very crisp photography
19:22and I'd almost feel quite annoyed by the
19:25idea that one day in this beautiful
19:27building that we've just photographed
19:29and we've just written about there'll be
19:32people
19:34and they'll be messing it up
19:37um
19:38it's it's really and that's that's the
19:40absolute truth that's how I felt that
19:42something so beautiful could be tainted
19:44by the people that were going to use it
19:47um I then had some design consultancies
19:51and I adopted the
19:54um very interesting addition of science
19:58so I was one of the first people to be
20:00looking at how does science also help
20:03influence all scientists help influence
20:06our design thinking I didn't make much
20:09money in those design consultancies and
20:12so when the design Council Came Calling
20:15and said we'd like you to come and work
20:17with us I said yes please that would be
20:20fantastic
20:21so my remit very strangely was at the
20:25design Council to be in charge of a team
20:28of people
20:29that was looking at and exploring how
20:32can the general public
20:34demand design
20:36because if the general public demand
20:39design then we've got this group of
20:42designers who can supply the demand
20:46and that way the UK can grow in its
20:50profit through design so that was our
20:52remit
20:53I was then given the very interesting uh
20:56project as an aside of exploring and
21:01this is quite chilling exploring how
21:04much amputees cost
21:08the National Health Service
21:10and how can design help lower that cost
21:15so we looked at two exploratory routes
21:18which were one we found that smoking
21:22related illness and diabetes were the
21:24two major causes of amputation
21:27so how could design play a role in
21:30lowering those rates
21:32could redesigning cigarette packets help
21:35deter people from smoking could getting
21:38people more active and changing their
21:40diet help deter people from becoming on
21:43the road to diabetes
21:46and I remember looking at all of these
21:48vast numbers and thinking I've never
21:50ever met an amputee
21:53surely there can't be that many amputees
21:55in the UK
21:57and then and now I smile about this and
22:00maybe some of you can appreciate what
22:02I'm about to say we had a buzz that ran
22:06through the design Council and that was
22:08everybody was future proofing
22:12and they were future proofing this and
22:15future proofing that and I remember
22:16having meetings with colleagues who
22:19didn't work within design and I'd say
22:21well are you future proofing
22:23and they'd look at me and go what you're
22:27not future proofing oh my God and I was
22:31absolutely shocked that not only were
22:33they not future proofing but they didn't
22:35even know they had to
22:39how interesting how interesting
22:41hindsight is and how much I smile now to
22:45think of course there is no such thing
22:48as being able to Future proof our future
22:53I lived to work
22:56I was always the first person in the
22:58office and always the last to leave I
23:02had a personal relationship with all of
23:04the security guards I bring in Christmas
23:07presents for their families and children
23:09and I thought that that was something to
23:11be proud of
23:13coming through the other side
23:15I now look at that life and wish that I
23:18had lived more
23:31on the morning of July 7 2005.
23:36suddenly I wasn't a design champion
23:40I wasn't someone who was a little
23:43hungover from the very Fierce
23:46celebrations the night before that
23:48London had just successfully won its
23:51Olympic bid and of course I was getting
23:54excited thinking well what's our role
23:56going to be with design how can we
23:59ensure that this is London's chance to
24:02shine internationally how can design
24:04play a huge role in that Shining
24:09it was just hours earlier that I would
24:12have been having a celebratory glass of
24:14red wine
24:17that morning I was all of these
24:21identities
24:24and I must say that the first word there
24:28enemy
24:30is something that I've had 10 years to
24:33really Ponder and think about that
24:35somebody thought of me labeled me as
24:39their enemy
24:42the them as opposed to the US
24:47that was Jermaine Lindsay
24:50Jermaine Lindsay was a 19 year old
24:52suicide bomber
24:54and he's taught me my very first
24:57valuable lesson from that day
25:00and that is that I should never presume
25:04anything about another
25:09he placed me as his enemy
25:12and in doing so he believed that he
25:16legitimized his actions
25:19his ignorance
25:21his arrogance and his lack of empathy
25:25have changed my life and those around me
25:28forever
25:29but he's taught me some very powerful
25:31lessons
25:33the thing that I've pondered the most
25:35though over the last 10 years
25:39is he never asked me
25:43how wonderful that we're sitting here
25:45this evening having a conversation
25:49because I didn't have the luxury of a
25:52conversation at 8 50 a.m on Thursday the
25:577th of July 2005.
26:00bugs me
26:02that he didn't know me
26:04he didn't know I was Jill Hicks
26:07and his actions show me time and time
26:10again
26:11that no matter who we look like what we
26:14wear and I thought I was cool I thought
26:17things didn't happen to cool people
26:20didn't matter nothing mattered I was his
26:23enemy
26:25I've often thought if we did have that
26:27conversation what would have been the
26:30alternative
26:31would there have been an alternative
26:35in the time it takes to
26:39just click your fingers
26:41or even just to draw a breath
26:45our world changed forever
26:48and the only way that I can ever really
26:51take you through that experience and the
26:54impact of that experience is we are very
26:56conveniently situated this evening right
27:00by a body of water
27:02so imagine in the time that you take
27:04your next breath that suddenly we are
27:07all in that body of water we don't know
27:10how we got there we don't know what just
27:12happened but we are together there and
27:15our only instinct is how do I help you
27:19how do you help me
27:21how do we survive
27:26the next
27:28label identity Priority One
27:33um that was a triage tag and I remember
27:37vividly seeing that first light appear
27:40in the carriage and that was carried by
27:43someone called Tracy who I'll get on to
27:45in a little while but Tracy was the
27:48first responder into the carriage
27:49carrying that torch and I thought a
27:51touch on my shoulder in the words yield
27:53Priority One
27:55and
27:57absolutely every word of the truth the
27:59little bit of Aussie character in me
28:02with a still had a sense of humor in
28:04that time
28:05thought that does sound a lot better
28:08than a two or a three doesn't it so I
28:11knew absolutely that I am out of there
28:16um
28:17chillingly though I ended up as one
28:22unknown
28:23estimated female
28:27and that particular label is the thing
28:30that's really got to me and indeed
28:33shaped my life going forward because
28:37what that label taught me and showed me
28:40was that people actually risked their
28:44own lives to come and save one unknown
28:48estimated female
28:50and to them it didn't matter who I was
28:55it didn't matter whether I was male or
28:57female it didn't matter the color of my
29:00skin
29:00it didn't matter whether I had a faith
29:03or no faith at all
29:05it didn't matter if I was rich or poor
29:08it didn't matter if I worked at the
29:10design Council or not nothing mattered
29:14other than I was a precious human life
29:19and that has really sat at the core of
29:23my being since I saw that label in
29:26hospital
29:28I then became as you can see from my
29:31passport Jill Hicks an Australian
29:34National
29:35who'd been living in London for the best
29:37part of two decades at the time
29:48over the course of that day and the last
29:5310 years I've been so fortunate to be
29:56given such incredible insight and
30:00knowledge and wisdom through my journey
30:02of understanding people and it's this
30:05that I would most love to share with you
30:08this evening because that these are the
30:10things that have had the greatest impact
30:12on me
30:14and of course the first one being people
30:20Ludo beautifully spoke this evening
30:23about the importance
30:25of people and placing people at the
30:28center of design and design thinking and
30:32the impact that has
30:34and I couldn't agree more
30:37I'd like to if if I may recite a
30:42beautiful Maori saying which I'm I
30:47believe also Ludo
30:49gave some of this in his opening speech
30:52but
30:54he haha tear knewing
30:59hitongaata her tongaata
31:03what is the most important thing
31:06in the world it is the people it is the
31:09people it is the people and when I heard
31:12that just today I thought absolutely
31:16this is how I feel and that people have
31:19made the difference to me
31:22interesting because the anonymity of
31:25urban life is something I loved in my
31:28life number one
31:30particularly in London and I loved the
31:33idea of having these Unwritten rules of
31:36um in in commuter travel of no eye
31:39contact and absolutely no talking and
31:43after nearly 20 years that Adelaide girl
31:46certainly wasn't speaking to a soul but
31:49had conformed into being a true Londoner
31:53it affects me now
31:55deeply that the person who stood between
32:00myself
32:01and the bomber
32:04saved my life
32:07and yet I would not be able to tell you
32:09what he looked like
32:12I could feel his breath
32:14on my forehead
32:16I could fill his warmth on my body
32:20but I wouldn't be able to tell you what
32:22his face looked like
32:25I've changed my thinking a lot since
32:28those moments
32:34here's a very particular poignant
32:37um reminder for me and this is one of my
32:40Rescuers and his name is Andy and I know
32:45all of my Rescuers very well I've
32:48tracked them down and made very close
32:51friends with them because all I wanted
32:53to do was to look at these people
32:55in the eye and say thank you
33:00thank you
33:03I guess the best way for me to share the
33:07importance of people for me is to tell
33:10you a little bit about some of them that
33:13have made the most impact I spoke
33:15earlier of Tracy Tracy is now my closest
33:18friend her daughter and my daughter are
33:21best friends and they face time all the
33:24time and one day I'm looking forward to
33:27being able to tell my little Emily just
33:30what Tracy means to me and how her
33:33actions saved my life
33:36Tracy broke all the rules
33:40and I quite like the idea that we're the
33:43same age she was getting married at the
33:45end of that July
33:46so she had a lot on the line she had a
33:50lot to risk in risking her life
33:52and Tracy there was a protocol that that
33:55day of no one up and no one down and
33:58Tracy grabbed her paramedic kit and she
34:00said sorry I'm going
34:03and with that every police officer on
34:06that platform followed her so Tracy
34:09bought me some precious time that I may
34:12not have been given
34:15I was essentially like a human baton
34:18that morning passed from one person to
34:21the next
34:22and again it gets to me that it all it
34:25would have taken is just one person
34:29to give up
34:30just one person to do something
34:33differently and my story may have been
34:36very different indeed
34:39there was a fantastic man called Dave
34:42and Tracy passed me to Dave a paramedic
34:45and Dave is one of these chaps that you
34:47just want on your team I I lovingly call
34:51him a rescue geek because he had he
34:54carries the equipment with him all the
34:56time regardless of where he is and it
34:59was Dave who ordered ice to come from
35:03above
35:04and so police officers went to hotel
35:07local hotel and brought ice down to the
35:10platform and Dave packed my body with
35:13ice
35:14and then my lungs had had collapsed my
35:18I'd had three cardiac arrests so Dave
35:21got some biro's and stuck birose to
35:24inflate my lungs and said to a passing
35:27by Officer here blow on this and to meet
35:31all these people now and to hear them
35:33recount these stories is quite
35:36Sensational to think that's my body
35:39that's my body that they're talking
35:41about but I wasn't Jill I was still one
35:46unknown estimated female
35:50then there's Brian and Dave passed me to
35:53Brian and
35:55um I loved the story of Brian because
35:57Brian still to this day just always
36:00likes to fill my pulse just to make sure
36:03it's still there
36:04because Brian had me in the back of his
36:06ambulance and he was performing
36:08frantically CPR and we were on route to
36:12the hospital and Brian tells the story
36:15that there was nothing on his monitor no
36:18output there was no pulse coming from my
36:21body and yet
36:23I was looking at Brian and I was talking
36:28so Brian knows me quite well now and he
36:33loves to say Jill of course why would
36:36you let a little thing like being dead
36:39shut you up
36:41um
36:43but it was a great precursor from
36:46ensuring that my life was saved later
36:49down the line
36:50um I must also tell you the story of
36:53James and this is how I became Jill
36:56Hicks an Australian National and James
36:59was a detective that was assigned my
37:02case at the hospital
37:03and
37:05James was was told I had at most an hour
37:10so he looked at my body
37:12and thought where do I start how do I
37:15find the identity of this person
37:18so he tells me the very harrowing
37:20um story of his plan when he looked at
37:24my face my eyes blinked and he said
37:27that's it I will go through the alphabet
37:31and perhaps this person can blink at the
37:34letters to form their name
37:36so you can imagine what I've said to
37:38James since which is isn't it great that
37:41my name's just Jill Hicks and what would
37:44he have done if it was a longer version
37:46of something else then I thought I'm
37:48going to push the envelope a bit further
37:50with James and say okay James like if
37:52this ever happens to me again I'm
37:55absolutely going to Blink Angelina Jolie
38:00just to see
38:02I want to now tell you the story of
38:05Linda who showed me incredible empathy
38:07and I'm telling you these very personal
38:10stories because these are the things
38:11that have shaped my life going forward
38:15and the very first time that I had to
38:18have a shower was quite a daunting
38:20experience and especially as a double
38:23amputee
38:24I didn't know where to start I didn't
38:26know what I was going to do how I was
38:28going to tackle this
38:30and a very wonderful and compassionate
38:32and empathetic nurse called Linda
38:35looked at me and she read my face
38:38beautifully and understood exactly how I
38:41felt so she hopped into the shower with
38:45me in her uniform in her scrubs and
38:48there we were together giggling like two
38:52silly friends having a shower and I must
38:55say that walk back to my ward of hearing
39:00just Linda squelching behind as she
39:04pushed the wheelchair is a sound that
39:07will stay with me for the rest of my
39:09life
39:16there's
39:18a saying that really I think sums a lot
39:21up
39:22and that is that someone somewhere is
39:25feeling the effects of something you
39:28have said or done
39:30and it's our personal responsibility to
39:33ensure that our actions and our words
39:36are always from a position of
39:38encouragement and positivity because it
39:41makes a difference
39:50choice
39:52is my second insight
39:55wow Choice
39:57um
39:58everything is about our personal choice
40:02when I understood this it transformed my
40:07entire way of looking at my life
40:10because once I realized that actually
40:13choice is something no one can ever take
40:16from us
40:18the world may change around us events
40:21May Collide to affect us
40:25but we have always got the power to
40:28choose how we react and how we respond
40:31and once I understood that my whole life
40:35changed
40:39because I also then understood
40:42about change
40:45and we do fear change and when I saw
40:48this jar I thought that has to go into
40:52the slide album because it summed
40:54everything up perfect perfectly if you
40:56fear change leave it here
41:00um because we can choose how we navigate
41:02around the changes in our life I've now
41:06adopted something that's made things a
41:09little easier for me which is I should
41:11expect change to happen because change
41:14happens daily for me on a very physical
41:17level but I should expect it to happen I
41:20won't say I'll embrace it but I'll
41:23expect it and respect it so now I've
41:26added that change should be something
41:28that that in addition to our thinking of
41:31expectation of death and taxes should
41:35also come change
41:38change also
41:40I took as a positive for myself
41:44because I ensured that I gained a bit of
41:48height
41:50um
41:51there's a very funny story about this
41:54as you possibly would expect for me to
41:57say and that is that you probably know I
42:00didn't know at the time that we are as
42:02tall as our arm span
42:04something I should have known and I
42:06didn't so when the consultant came into
42:08my room to measure me up for my
42:10Prosthetics he said right Jill arms out
42:13let's have a look at how tall you were
42:15and I thought
42:16crumbs
42:18um so I was stretching as well I was
42:21like but then I realized of course you
42:23can't blag a consultant this guy knows
42:26what he's doing
42:27so I in my best Jill
42:31um voice that I could muster up and my
42:34most forceful being I looked at him and
42:37I said
42:38I thought we could use this opportunity
42:41for me to take some positives
42:46what's he going to say to that you know
42:49so he said what were you thinking and I
42:51said well I was thinking
42:55[Laughter]
42:57I was just five foot before
43:01um
43:02I brilliantly walked out of that
43:05hospital three and a half months later
43:08standing an impressive five foot eight
43:12and I must say it was fantastic so
43:17there's not many things that's good
43:19about being a double amputee but five
43:21foot eight was one of them
43:23a little quote that I like to use in
43:26Choice as well and that is
43:28if you can
43:30you should
43:32if you can
43:34you should
43:39the next Insight is purpose
43:43now this is actually me doing a
43:45handstand which was another uh although
43:47I'm Australian I'm rubbish at sport so I
43:50feel very embarrassed being in the great
43:51company of Dame Susan
43:54um because I am an absolute I don't tan
43:56I don't drink beer I shouldn't be
43:58Australian of the year in the UK
44:01um but I haven't told them so hopefully
44:03the the live streaming of this event
44:05this bit can be bleeped out
44:08um
44:09what is our life if it has no meaning
44:13what is our life
44:16if we don't have a purpose what do we
44:19wake up every day to do who are we
44:23now I know in my previous life life
44:25number one the thing that motivated me
44:28was who was I on my business card
44:32that really mattered to me
44:35in life number two it's about what am I
44:39leaving as my legacy
44:41what am I doing every day that leaves my
44:45legacy so they're very different things
44:47for me
44:48I now have
44:51a short film
44:54to play if that's going to play
44:58and it's silent so I shall leave you in
45:01silence for a minute
45:42[Music]
46:47foreign
46:50of that sequence of film it's one minute
46:5358 seconds long and the idea of time is
46:57something that is really poignant for me
47:00um and in communicating in a very short
47:03space of time
47:05equally not saying a single word but
47:08letting my body do the talking is
47:10something that then can transcend divide
47:14of language of culture of age so and of
47:19situations so this this film is played
47:22in schools this film was played in
47:24evenings like this evening so it
47:26transcends events as well and I'm I'm
47:30very proud of it I did do all the work
47:32myself there is no computer generated
47:34imagery and I the hardest thing to do is
47:37to not talk for a minute 58 seconds but
47:40surely there's something I can say no
47:43silence
47:44um but what I like about this also is I
47:46think it's starting to bring in my
47:48skills from Life One
47:50and that's looking very strongly at
47:52choreography it's looking at symbolism
47:55so feeling very much that what is it
47:59with this peace symbolism that we've got
48:01an anti-nuclear symbol from the 60s and
48:05we've got doves
48:06oh dear so that's why I felt compelled
48:10to say let's rethink what peace looks
48:13like let's re-brand peace
48:17let's make peace cool
48:20what if peace wasn't passive but active
48:23hence peace being a verb was something
48:26that came out of our thinking with a
48:29group of designers so it's it's quite
48:32interesting using those skills from Life
48:34One into life too the other things that
48:37have still carried through from life one
48:39is that I still wear black
48:41and again I'm quite happy about that
48:44particularly working in the world of
48:46peace that I haven't felt compelled to
48:48wear a different color or to be colorful
48:49but still nod my head to my past and I
48:54still had the same very bad sense of
48:56humor so thank you for the laughter this
48:58evening
49:00um
49:00I'm still very passionate about cities
49:03except now the built environment for me
49:06is something that should be serving the
49:09people rather than the other way around
49:11rather than icons that create a
49:15landscape
49:17and I think that we should be serving
49:19the People by absolutely creating the
49:22opportunities in which people can do
49:26what they do best
49:27and that is to talk to meet to socialize
49:31to grow together
49:39the next Insight is confidence
49:42I love this image on perspective because
49:46for me it says everything about being
49:49confident
49:51when we're confident I'm not fearful of
49:54another's opinion that may be different
49:57to my own
49:58instead
49:59I'm able to stand with as opposed to
50:02someone else and say that's fabulous you
50:05see four blocks ic3 now let's go and
50:08have a drink
50:10um
50:11and there's nothing that's challenging
50:13or fearful or threatening about that
50:17exchange of idea equally what would be
50:19beautiful is to then for the characters
50:22to walk around
50:23to say how interesting to see that from
50:26your perspective I now see three
50:29wow
50:30so confidence
50:32is such an essential part of our growth
50:35together as a community
50:38confidence also enabled me to walk and
50:43if you can appreciate you know I can't
50:45feel the ground
50:47so those moments in my glorious five
50:50foot eight situation to be told right
50:53Jill you've got to take a step
50:56I needed the confidence to be able to
50:59take that step
51:00and I must say that actually it was
51:03people that gave me that sense of
51:06confidence they beautifully intuitively
51:09knew when to hold my hand
51:13but more importantly when to let go
51:17because the whole idea of teaching me to
51:21walk was that I could have an
51:23independent life
51:25um I know he'll hate me for saying this
51:27but actually one of my physios was very
51:30good looking and
51:33um so I didn't mind being a little bit
51:34dependent on him and I would sort of say
51:37oh I don't think I can do that today
51:40um I think it needs to hold my hand and
51:43um so yes I did perhaps maybe I could
51:45have walked out two and a half months
51:47earlier but um
51:51what do you do
51:52um
51:54I think the other great thing that they
51:56taught me was the confidence to fall
52:01the confidence to fall what the physios
52:04taught me to do was to get back up
52:08metaphorically and physically
52:11always get back up so having the
52:14confidence to fall was a major part of
52:18me feeling that I could have an
52:19independent life with prosthetic legs
52:26and I believe
52:28yes it looks a little disjointed doesn't
52:30it so that's again me having a a I guess
52:33a little wink at life number one but I
52:36absolutely firmly believe that the
52:39greatest antidote to the things we fear
52:41is to have the confidence within
52:44ourselves to face them
52:48I was very fortunate that I was taken to
52:51a hospital that had a culture
52:53of permission
52:55and that culture of permission actually
52:58stimulated all of the teams the nurses
53:02the doctors the cleaning staff to all
53:06feel confident in their actions and what
53:09an impact that had on me
53:15confidence also gave me the strength
53:20um to go and visit the communities where
53:23three of the four bombers had come from
53:26and that was in Leeds in the north of
53:28England
53:30and I guess it was the belief of that I
53:35needed to reach out and I needed to make
53:37a difference and in my reaching out
53:39their confidence embraced me back
53:44um there's a fantastic story attached to
53:46this so I went up to Leeds and I met
53:48with the local community leaders
53:52and we were all looking at and exploring
53:54ideas a little bit like a design process
53:57of exploring ideas of how can we work
54:00together
54:01how can our Unity offer a strength at
54:05such an awful time and how do we mend
54:08divisive and division within our
54:11communities
54:13and so one of the hair brain ideas that
54:16I threw onto the table
54:18um almost expecting the community
54:20leaders to laugh was I said
54:23what if I walked from Leeds down to
54:26London
54:28and I went quiet
54:29they were quiet
54:31then they collectively said what a
54:33fantastic idea
54:36um so I roped myself into walking the
54:39length um I think it was over 500
54:42kilometers it took me a month on the
54:44road to walk from Leeds to London
54:47and we went through 22 towns and cities
54:53and it's very interesting what you see
54:56when you slow down the pace
55:00walking the distance of 22 towns and
55:03cities meeting with people in those
55:05towns and cities and being very slow
55:09certainly gave me a whole new
55:11appreciation of what these places were
55:15going through what their challenges were
55:18and indeed how we can make a difference
55:20within those places
55:22some of the people joining us on the
55:25walk halfway through would often say
55:27we're expecting you to be a lot more
55:30like Mother Teresa
55:32um and I said yes but this is actually
55:35hurts me quite a lot and I'd been
55:37hungover from the night before drinking
55:39with the locals so um I wasn't really
55:42the mother to raise a figure that they
55:44were expecting but
55:46the belief in humanity to get us through
55:50the belief in humanity to come together
55:52and to walk and talk with each other was
55:56extraordinary
55:58and I remember on several occasions just
56:02the richness of the conversation of
56:04people having a platform to be able to
56:07come together
56:09this is myself with some Community
56:11religious leaders and I am there
56:14representing the non-religion of the
56:18voice of ideology
56:20and how passionate I am about separating
56:23an ideology from a religion so that that
56:27is my position in that line
56:31and these were the guidelines for the
56:33walk talkers because of course the local
56:35police were very concerned that we may
56:37have groups that Clash we may have
56:40people that don't get along how are we
56:42going to combat that so everyone was
56:44given a little leaflet and this was what
56:47they were expected to adhere to
56:50um and it was you know almost pointless
56:53by the end of it I think thought that
56:54people didn't really need to be told how
56:57to act they just did
56:59um and it was an amazing thing to see
57:03the other beautiful project idea that we
57:06did during the walk again a thread from
57:09my first life was we gave everyone a
57:12little card and that card had a little
57:16quote on it that said
57:18I am going to be dedicated to doing X
57:22for peace what are you going to do
57:25and that card was released so there was
57:28this beautiful idea of someone randomly
57:31finding in their back Garden a balloon
57:35with a note that said I'm going to do
57:37this for peace what are you going to do
57:39and then we had a website where people
57:41would come on and say I've just found
57:43this note what am I meant to do now bear
57:46in mind these were the days before
57:47Twitter
57:49and how much I would have valued having
57:51the beauty of the hashtag now for us all
57:55to have felt much more immediate in that
57:57project
58:02and I yes even managed to do the Congo
58:05as we neared London in the anticipation
58:08that it was nearly over
58:12and here we all are in Trafalgar Square
58:15I was surrounded by the paramedics that
58:18saved my life
58:19and they came on the journey with me the
58:22entire route from Leeds to London
58:24because Tracy said to me
58:27you're doing what I said I'm walking
58:29from Leeds to London
58:31and how much preparation have you done
58:33for that
58:35I don't know nothing what what
58:36preparation do I need to do
58:38right I'll rally around the troops we
58:41can't have you kill yourself on the way
58:42down so all of the paramedics on their
58:46days off
58:47did a rotor to join me during the walk
58:50so again an incredible show of the value
58:54of people being everything
59:01again
59:02what spaces
59:04can be transformed in to become when
59:08people are involved
59:10I rushed to Saint Martin place after the
59:14Sydney Siege and was overwhelmed by the
59:18coming together of people
59:20in a sign of solidarity but also I think
59:24in a sign of Hope
59:26and it was the hope that really
59:28encouraged me and made me feel the most
59:30proud and I saw this little message that
59:34said may this love that's here spread
59:37far and wide not just to heal this city
59:42but to go through the world
59:44and that really touched me because again
59:47I was witnessing space within a city in
59:51a very different way
59:58and of course being the bridge is a very
1:00:01different idea for me now than it was in
1:00:05life one following the I will ride with
1:00:08you campaign I felt absolutely
1:00:11passionate about how do we sustain these
1:00:14messages so as as brilliant as the
1:00:17hashtag is
1:00:19they often offer us spikes in a moment
1:00:22where people can rally together for that
1:00:25day for that moment but it's not
1:00:27sustainable so I was exploring how do we
1:00:30create a sustainable Gathering so a
1:00:33message of being the bridge was what we
1:00:35formed and that was formed in Sydney
1:00:38with a variety of people all from
1:00:41different cultural backgrounds and we
1:00:43decided that we would send out a message
1:00:45to say to people wherever there are
1:00:47walls
1:00:48be the bridge
1:00:50wherever there is division
1:00:52be the bridge
1:00:54think about the bridge and the
1:00:57connection between and us
1:01:00and to them
1:01:02very very powerful and that group still
1:01:04regularly meets even Emily there in the
1:01:08Forefront representing the future
1:01:10bridging
1:01:16and the last Insight which is love
1:01:20um I never talk about love lightly
1:01:24because for me it's something that
1:01:27actually did save my life
1:01:31the unconditional love shown to me by
1:01:35humanity is something that not just
1:01:38saved my life on July the 7th but has
1:01:41saved my life every day since
1:01:46unconditional love has wrapped me so
1:01:49tightly
1:01:51that any thoughts of bitterness or
1:01:54hatred simply have never been there
1:01:58everything has been replaced by The
1:02:00Power of Love
1:02:03and I think everything I do has been
1:02:05shaped by The Power of Love
1:02:10I went as far to think of a little
1:02:13formula
1:02:15that if Love Actually is at the seat of
1:02:19everything that's positive
1:02:21then for us to gain this vital
1:02:23confidence to overcome fear
1:02:26how do we get confident
1:02:29then we need to have courage
1:02:32how do we have courage
1:02:34we need belief
1:02:36how do we find belief we have to have
1:02:39faith
1:02:40and to have faith then it's about love
1:02:43about how we value and love ourselves
1:02:47and I value and love myself far too much
1:02:51and my life to ever have a moment where
1:02:54I'm filled with hatred for another
1:03:00I then thought
1:03:03yes it's dangerous isn't it
1:03:06to take love to another level
1:03:09to take empathy to another level imagine
1:03:12if we co-created and built
1:03:17empathetic communities and as you
1:03:20entered a neighborhood you saw this sign
1:03:23that didn't say only women with
1:03:26Stilettos allowed what it actually meant
1:03:29was you are now entering a neighborhood
1:03:31that values empathy please walk in
1:03:35another shoes
1:03:37imagine that
1:03:40then imagine the empathetic Park
1:03:44where all the shoes are gathered
1:03:46where there's a space that's absolutely
1:03:49designated and understood that we go
1:03:51there to learn about another to
1:03:55appreciate another
1:03:57to stand in their shoes
1:04:03then I thought
1:04:08the very familiar campaign of I love
1:04:12I love New York I guess it's something
1:04:14that most of us would be familiar with
1:04:17I love Auckland of course came to my
1:04:20mind
1:04:22and I thought that very much is about
1:04:25place
1:04:26not people
1:04:28so what would happen
1:04:30if we added three letters
1:04:35I love aucklanders
1:04:38and then we all became the people of the
1:04:41place not the place
1:04:43we all celebrated and fell in love with
1:04:46each other as people not just the place
1:04:49because as people we make the place
1:04:54the buildings Serve the People
1:04:57the people are the king
1:05:00it's very interesting I'd love to see
1:05:02this on some T-shirts tomorrow I've been
1:05:04busily making these today
1:05:07and here they are as mugs
1:05:10and as you can see there's two there one
1:05:12for you and one for your friend
1:05:18at the end
1:05:20um I I travel cities far and wide and I
1:05:23always look for the signs the little
1:05:26hints the little things that the city
1:05:28want to say back to me and this is
1:05:31something that recently was shown to me
1:05:34in and got me in the very right moment
1:05:37and that was that actually everything is
1:05:40a work in progress
1:05:42so if we feel that we've taken a step
1:05:44forward
1:05:45and then that's ended up being three
1:05:47steps backward we should never feel too
1:05:50disheartened because our life I believe
1:05:53is a rather fantastic Journey
1:05:56and everything we do is about being a
1:05:59work in progress and I hope that this
1:06:02evening
1:06:03I've inspired you all to think about
1:06:06loving aucklanders and I may even
1:06:10stretch you far enough to say we could
1:06:12change that as well to say I love
1:06:14Australians
1:06:16um but I don't want to overdo my welcome
1:06:18so thank you so much it has been a great
1:06:21privilege and pleasure to be with you
1:06:23this evening
1:06:25[Applause]
1:06:41wow I've been doing this for 10 years
1:06:44now and um well been in next may
1:06:47actually I left London um a year after
1:06:50the bombings actually and I had a friend
1:06:52who was uh who was sort of seemed to be
1:06:54caught up in in that last in back in
1:06:57that time I've actually forgotten about
1:06:58it a lot so um yeah it's interesting
1:07:01once in a while you read a book or you
1:07:04watch a movie or hear a story about
1:07:06something that sort of moves you and um
1:07:09yeah once in a while you meet someone
1:07:10who does it as well so tonight we've had
1:07:13a bit of a double whammy and um so thank
1:07:15you Jill that was that was great
1:07:17so I'm going to try and um uh
1:07:20orchestrate some questions and a bit of
1:07:23a conversation which is really what
1:07:24jewel wants to have here and so I'm
1:07:26going to ask Susan to come up on stage
1:07:28as well if that's okay Susan and perhaps
1:07:30we can direct all the questions and I'll
1:07:32try to sort of choreograph that as we go
1:07:34forward so
1:07:36um would you like a glass of water there
1:07:37because you've been chatting away for a
1:07:39while
1:07:39you're right
1:07:42okay so let's see how we go and um we'll
1:07:45have some 50 minutes or so of questions
1:07:46who'd like to go first who's who's brave
1:07:49enough
1:07:49he's got who's got the courage let's go
1:07:51for it
1:07:52is Susan on is Susan writes up as well
1:07:55or would we need a
1:07:58actually maybe Susan can join me up at
1:07:59the stage here oh you just share that
1:08:01perfect okay so who'd like to go first
1:08:05this lady here
1:08:07thank you very much for coming I just
1:08:09wanted to ask what's the most common
1:08:12question that you get asked in all of
1:08:14these presentations that you do
1:08:17I I think the most common thing is is
1:08:19how am I is so happy how am I able to
1:08:23live such a positive life after after
1:08:27what's happened and to work in the in
1:08:29the field I do and how challenging that
1:08:33is
1:08:33um so I think that's that's the most
1:08:35common
1:08:36question I get answered because again if
1:08:40someone had said to me the day before
1:08:42this is what's going to happen
1:08:44and this is how you're going to live
1:08:45your life I I just would never have been
1:08:49able to comprehend not only just the
1:08:51physical adjustment but how my life has
1:08:55completely changed sitting with you know
1:08:58people who hold a very extreme view is
1:09:01very different than than going to work
1:09:03in a very beautiful
1:09:04designed office and that my world has
1:09:09gone from a very crisp lovely
1:09:12um scene to being something that's quite
1:09:14raw but makes a difference so it's I I
1:09:18feel that I couldn't get further apart
1:09:20from from what I used to do which is why
1:09:22the little moments like this evening
1:09:24have moments to celebrate for me because
1:09:27they they reconnect me to a life I once
1:09:30knew
1:09:35that's great anybody else would like to
1:09:38oh yeah
1:09:41I wonder what cantabrians might feel
1:09:43with the Isle of aucklanders t-shirt
1:09:46I just
1:09:48just give a little Catalyst for people
1:09:50might ask a question it was like this
1:09:51yesterday people were rather overwhelmed
1:09:53afterwards
1:09:55um Jill not only came and spoke at the
1:09:56diversity Forum but like a lot of
1:09:58speakers they come and go
1:10:00do their bit and go Jill stayed all day
1:10:02right to the entire end of the whole
1:10:05um forum she watched all the community
1:10:06present presentations
1:10:10in my role as race relations
1:10:11commissioner
1:10:13it's very hard to build those bridges
1:10:14with some communities you know I don't
1:10:17come from a vantage point of experience
1:10:19I don't have lived experience I'm a
1:10:20white Pacquiao woman makes it incredibly
1:10:23difficult
1:10:24and yesterday Jill tomorrow is going to
1:10:27speak at the mosque
1:10:29it's never happened to a woman in New
1:10:31Zealand
1:10:32so her story was so powerful to that
1:10:34communities and immediately built that
1:10:36trust so I just want to congratulate you
1:10:38Jill and say you've done something
1:10:40that no one else has done in New Zealand
1:10:44that's after she's going to the borders
1:10:45Temple for the anniversary of 7-Eleven
1:10:48and Jill we like new zealanders get
1:10:52really annoyed because Australians claim
1:10:54all the things that are really in New
1:10:56Zealand but you're one thing I wouldn't
1:10:57mind saying that we could have as our as
1:11:00one of our own
1:11:02very good
1:11:09gentlemen right the front um
1:11:13great
1:11:24should I just repeat that just so um in
1:11:27case you didn't hear um yesterday when
1:11:28Jill spoke at the diversity Forum
1:11:31um you were asked what what inspires you
1:11:33and and what drives you and
1:11:36there's a question
1:11:37um no it was a very good question and
1:11:40thank you for for asking it tonight Sean
1:11:43um
1:11:44I'm absolutely motivated by anger
1:11:47I'm so angry and as the years go on and
1:11:52now the days go on especially now I'm
1:11:55the mother to a a very Lively two and a
1:11:58half year old toddler I can't run after
1:12:01her and that frustrates me and makes me
1:12:03very angry so it's the senselessness and
1:12:08therefore the motivation that using
1:12:10anger as a positive motivator to keep me
1:12:13going to keep me working in a field
1:12:16that's very difficult to find immediate
1:12:19feedback and rewards I don't know
1:12:21whether I'm effective or whether I'm not
1:12:23and
1:12:25to just feel that actually I need to be
1:12:28angry and to stay angry and to ensure
1:12:31that actually what I'm trying to do is
1:12:33to prevent this happening to anybody
1:12:36else and not just in countries that we
1:12:39live in but throughout the world the
1:12:41senselessness of it is never escapes me
1:12:44um so it's using anger not for a
1:12:46destructive means but for a very
1:12:49positive means
1:12:51um
1:12:53great there's a lady in the middle here
1:12:56and then there's somebody at the the
1:12:58back in fact lead at the back go first
1:12:59and then in the middle thank you hi
1:13:01there thank you I um enjoyed that
1:13:03immensely
1:13:05um I just wanted to ask a question about
1:13:07vulnerability
1:13:09because you talk about confidence but I
1:13:12can imagine that through your journey
1:13:13you've faced a huge amount of
1:13:15vulnerability and to accept a lot of
1:13:18help along the way
1:13:19um and just wondered if you had any
1:13:21Reflections on how you find the strength
1:13:24to accept
1:13:25I don't know whether to thank you or not
1:13:28for that question because I I will
1:13:30answer it honestly I found it the most
1:13:32difficult thing to do
1:13:35um particularly being a professional
1:13:36person and then waking up and then being
1:13:39in need and having others to have to
1:13:42help me do something I found that one of
1:13:45the most difficult things to overcome
1:13:47and still to this day I absolutely shy
1:13:51away from having to ask so I will just
1:13:54work my way around it
1:13:56um if there's anything on the top shelf
1:13:58of anywhere in a hotel or at home I
1:14:02would just decide I don't need that
1:14:03after all that's fine
1:14:05um because it's the reminder of my
1:14:08incapacity to be able to do everything
1:14:11vulnerability is a huge part of my life
1:14:14and that's why I think I talk so much
1:14:17about the need for confidence because
1:14:19it's about constantly changing my
1:14:22mindset every single moment where I'm
1:14:25walking on a surface that I feel is an
1:14:29Uncharted Territory I feel vulnerable
1:14:32walking on wet surfaces if it's just
1:14:36rained I feel vulnerable I likened
1:14:39myself probably to what it feels like to
1:14:41be elderly and and shaky and worrying
1:14:44about having a fall having a fall seems
1:14:47to be the thing that is centered on most
1:14:49people when they're getting older and
1:14:52they're the things that I worry about if
1:14:55I break my arm what will I do there was
1:14:58a
1:15:00three years ago now that I lost my
1:15:02eyesight and it was through optic
1:15:04neuritis so I just woke up one day and I
1:15:07was blind and that was the moment for me
1:15:11that I also understood this idea about
1:15:14change of why should I expect that
1:15:18things aren't ever going to still happen
1:15:19just because this has happened they can
1:15:22still happen I'm still vulnerable
1:15:24I'm still susceptible to the course of
1:15:27Life
1:15:28brilliantly wonderfully for me my
1:15:31eyesight returned to about 75 but that
1:15:37whole addressing at that drastic change
1:15:40was
1:15:42um
1:15:42well uncomfortable to say the least
1:15:44because also it was it was giving up
1:15:48um
1:15:48my
1:15:50my great Independence and that's what I
1:15:53thrive on and and cherish I must also
1:15:56say I I even being a disabled person
1:15:59in an able-bodied world that was a huge
1:16:03change for me because I had no idea that
1:16:06there was still such ignorance around
1:16:09disability so I would be in a wheelchair
1:16:12and I would pay for something and the
1:16:16change would be given to the person
1:16:17pushing my wheelchair and I would sort
1:16:20of sit there and think but do you know
1:16:22that I've run businesses and you know
1:16:24it's gone it's completely escaped the
1:16:28person that didn't want to engage with
1:16:30me it's also I'm quite I've lost my
1:16:33eardrums so I have half an eardrum so
1:16:36also I have a layer of deafness
1:16:38again a trouble being in a wheelchair
1:16:41and being so removed from the layer of
1:16:44life so there are lots of things that
1:16:47really impact life and why it's so
1:16:50important those things that I've talked
1:16:52about tonight are absolutely the things
1:16:54that keep me going
1:16:57um and I have to constantly be in
1:17:00engaging in my mind every single moment
1:17:03this is when I need the extra confidence
1:17:05this is when I need to be confident
1:17:07enough to face the fear of you know
1:17:11getting across a room this is when I
1:17:13need that confidence this is when I need
1:17:14my courage this is when I need to love
1:17:17myself
1:17:19um so everything I've spoken about is
1:17:21very true with how I have to live day to
1:17:24day
1:17:25an offense I've never been asked that
1:17:26question so I think thank you
1:17:31sorry fantastic there's a lady in the
1:17:34middle here who who put her hand up
1:17:36um in the middle there
1:17:37great thank you
1:17:39I'm interested in um
1:17:42how your meeting at Leeds went when you
1:17:45went up there I know you said you met
1:17:46with um local community leaders but I
1:17:49just wondered on a wider field how that
1:17:52interaction between yourself and The
1:17:54Wider leads Community went
1:17:56absolutely brilliantly
1:17:58um I have just recently been there again
1:18:00I was back there for the 10-year
1:18:03commemoration and now we're working
1:18:05together with a project called grow
1:18:07where we're looking at how communities
1:18:10can grow produce and the youth can set
1:18:13up micro businesses to sell the produce
1:18:16so our relationship has only
1:18:19um I would say grown and cemented over
1:18:22the years to feel that very much when we
1:18:26meet now we meet as friends and we our
1:18:29families know each other and there's a
1:18:32real sense of being in this together
1:18:34being in the solution together
1:18:37what I was never quite ready for was the
1:18:41impact of what this terrorist attack had
1:18:45done to these communities because they
1:18:48felt very much
1:18:49as
1:18:51we all did in shock that this could have
1:18:55come from their community so for them to
1:18:58be able to work with me has been
1:19:02um
1:19:03not only healing but also very
1:19:05Progressive and something that's
1:19:06positive for us both to be able to do
1:19:12thank you okay gentleman here on the
1:19:16left thanks Kelly
1:19:19are you also there's a microphone thank
1:19:21you I'd just like to say thanks um
1:19:22thanks so much for everything you've
1:19:23said um and um I think you know everyone
1:19:26here sort of feels an affectionate love
1:19:28for you and and the message you've
1:19:29shared but we've all come here probably
1:19:32because we do care about peace and to
1:19:35some extent we're all here because we're
1:19:37on your side of the wall
1:19:39and I just wonder how you find building
1:19:44the bridge over the wall and finding
1:19:46someone who actually is on the other
1:19:47side of the wall not like all of us here
1:19:49but people who are imbued with hatred
1:19:52who are imbued with prejudice and how
1:19:55you get through to them
1:19:57and possibly even more to the point uh
1:19:59how you get through to the prejudices
1:20:02that we carry within ourselves that we
1:20:05put deep down and we deny that we have
1:20:11that it's The Importance of Being
1:20:14continuously being an advocate and
1:20:17that's a great responsibility for me
1:20:18that I've got to always be walking my
1:20:21talk and being the advocate for
1:20:23everything I say so
1:20:25um in my dealings with with anybody it's
1:20:28ensuring that I'm always keeping the
1:20:30conversation to the balance of exactly
1:20:34what I've spoken about this evening of
1:20:36making sure that we are continuously
1:20:39opening ourselves to Building Bridges
1:20:40because walls for us
1:20:43yes they keep people out but they also
1:20:46keep us insular and in and not expanding
1:20:50our own ideas of things so when I'm
1:20:52talking with someone who isn't who I'm
1:20:54not preaching to the converted it's
1:20:57about challenging this idea of right
1:21:00and not ever going into the conversation
1:21:03of presuming my righteousness
1:21:07and opening up to say let's explore your
1:21:11idea of right and that's why that slide
1:21:13of perspective is so powerful for me
1:21:17because someone's saying ic3 ic4
1:21:21is exactly the same conversation I have
1:21:24with people that hold a very different
1:21:26idea than me and sitting with someone
1:21:29the power for me is having lost both
1:21:32legs because that opens the conversation
1:21:35to a whole other level I'm never sitting
1:21:37at a table with hatred or bitterness and
1:21:40that's again what the expectation would
1:21:43be so they're joining me in a
1:21:46conversation expecting me for my very
1:21:48first question to be why
1:21:51and I would never ask that
1:21:54what I look at is how do we create a
1:21:59world together where we can both raise
1:22:01families in confidence that we can live
1:22:05a life without having it cut short by a
1:22:08senseless act
1:22:10and how do we do that together
1:22:12and it's about listening as much as I
1:22:14talk and trying to find that common
1:22:16ground there's always common ground
1:22:19I found that most powerfully on the Walk
1:22:22of getting people to come together it's
1:22:25always about finding the common ground
1:22:27and it's always there you've just got to
1:22:29keep having a long enough conversation
1:22:31to find it once we found it it's like
1:22:34witnessing light bulbs going on and
1:22:37that's the exciting part now that
1:22:39Journey that conversation could take
1:22:41years
1:22:43um and so in some instances it has taken
1:22:45years for me and this is where the
1:22:47motivation of being angry has to keep me
1:22:50there in the conversation otherwise I
1:22:53say oh this is too hard
1:22:55um so it's I always I absolutely believe
1:22:58that we can overcome this but you I also
1:23:02believe that we can't bomb an ideology
1:23:05that an ideology is about ideas and
1:23:08ideas that live very firmly in people's
1:23:11hearts and minds and we need to match
1:23:14that with very different ideas and bring
1:23:17people on that Journey
1:23:19it's a long game
1:23:22there was a um during the walk there was
1:23:26a i
1:23:28privy to a listening to a conversation
1:23:30of two people that had lived across the
1:23:32road from each other for 10 years he was
1:23:36Muslim she was non-muslim and the first
1:23:39thing this woman said to this man is
1:23:41well you lot don't like women
1:23:43and he said oh Madam look that's so
1:23:45wrong I do like women I haven't said
1:23:47good morning to you I haven't greeted
1:23:49you because I felt that you didn't want
1:23:51me to engage so I just have left it kept
1:23:54myself to myself I didn't hear what else
1:23:57they were talking about but within about
1:23:5910 minutes that they were chatting I did
1:24:02hear them say what about the rubbish at
1:24:05number nine
1:24:07true story and I and my heart was just
1:24:10filled with that was their Common Ground
1:24:13they'd both been on the phone to the
1:24:14council they'd both been saying
1:24:17you know and there they were and now
1:24:19they had something in common and it was
1:24:21it was it really got to me really got to
1:24:24me and those sorts of things were
1:24:25happening all the way through that walk
1:24:29fantastic questions I think we we've
1:24:31actually time has just was by I don't
1:24:33know how well you can imagine how
1:24:36um and um I think just maybe one last
1:24:38question just perhaps
1:24:40um the name Susan and yourself to what
1:24:42next for you guys how what happens next
1:24:44with in terms of the Human Rights
1:24:45Commission and and the work of Jill how
1:24:47what are you going to do next and
1:24:49where'd you go where'd you go from here
1:24:52he met Jill this week
1:24:59I don't know where to from here but uh
1:25:02just the Catalyst was I was in Sydney
1:25:04this year in February at the 40th
1:25:05anniversary of the race discriminate
1:25:07Discrimination Act in in Sydney at the
1:25:10Australian Human Rights Commission
1:25:11presentation was given by two Muslim
1:25:13women who had founded an islamophobic
1:25:16register
1:25:17so that Muslim women are not just women
1:25:19but Muslims could feel they had some
1:25:22Avenue to report all the
1:25:24appalling things that were happening to
1:25:25them both at an overt level in it in in
1:25:28you know all sorts of things and I heard
1:25:31them talk about Jill I heard them
1:25:32mentioning Jill's name as this woman who
1:25:35you know gave them hope and in the face
1:25:37of everything and that was when I
1:25:39Googled and did everything and brought
1:25:40her here in fact I didn't bring her here
1:25:43and so if I just give the voter thanks
1:25:45now to the Auckland Council
1:25:48um into many who was the person who
1:25:50instigate initiated the idea of coming
1:25:52to the open conversations
1:25:54um
1:25:55but the gentleman I'd really like to
1:25:56think who will probably kill me and
1:25:58never speak to me again but I'll bear
1:25:59that risk as Sir David Levine who's here
1:26:01with um his partner Olga
1:26:04um
1:26:05when I wanted to bring Jill here I mean
1:26:07these things don't just happen so I rang
1:26:09David and he has supported her trip out
1:26:11to New Zealand
1:26:13um
1:26:15so David describes himself as an
1:26:16agnostic Jew but he is someone who the
1:26:20city in New Zealand has General has
1:26:21benefited from all his generosity but he
1:26:23understands what Prejudice and
1:26:26intolerance is and so Jules left us all
1:26:29tonight with some really interesting
1:26:30messages about our own personal
1:26:32behaviors and attitudes I think
1:26:34you know we're going to Grapple with
1:26:36some difficult issues in the next couple
1:26:37of years you know the announcements this
1:26:39week means that there is a certain new
1:26:42population of people that will come and
1:26:44become new zealanders
1:26:46you know let us understand that when a
1:26:49refugee comes to New Zealand they are a
1:26:51New Zealand resident
1:26:53they're not those people so we need to
1:26:55Grapple and have these conversations you
1:26:57know as hard as they may you might think
1:26:59for I might think three but that's
1:27:01really the challenge that you've
1:27:04and look I think it's really nice I
1:27:05think would be great if Jill could come
1:27:06to New Zealand and not perhaps give
1:27:08speeches and whatever but to have those
1:27:10Cups of Tea conversations with different
1:27:11people because that's really what needs
1:27:13to happen so I just want to say thank
1:27:15you Ludo on behalf of the commission
1:27:17um and David
1:27:20um and most importantly Jill Jill's
1:27:23daughter's sick actually she's back at
1:27:25the hotel not feeling too well so we'll
1:27:27probably get you anyway but and thank
1:27:30you to all of you for opening your
1:27:31hearts and your minds and and coming to
1:27:33listen to someone who's probably a
1:27:35little bit out of the urban planning
1:27:37space now and we really really
1:27:39appreciate it Ludo thank you very much
1:27:43thank you
1:27:52wow what a night so just it's just left
1:27:54for me to thank you all for coming
1:27:56tonight
1:27:57um thank you to our our sponsors as well
1:27:59and um I just want to give a big hand to
1:28:02the uh a wonderful uh sort of I suppose
1:28:04sign language
1:28:06um interpreters who this is the first
1:28:08time we've we've done this I think and
1:28:10um yeah so thank you would you mind
1:28:12putting your hands together for them
1:28:17and um just a couple of last things I I
1:28:20love the uh idea of the the new Street
1:28:22design or the new Street signage I hate
1:28:24I hate science I think they tell people
1:28:27what to do and people don't like to be
1:28:28told what to do but I think your sign
1:28:30gives people permission to do whatever
1:28:31they want to do and so I wonder whether
1:28:34we should produce a few of those and in
1:28:36your honor and and stick them up in our
1:28:38shared spaces across the city and that
1:28:40might be something we could remember you
1:28:42you know going forward as well
1:28:44um with that so I think I'll talk to the
1:28:45Auckland transport tomorrow morning or I
1:28:47might I might tweet it tonight
1:28:50and what and I love that the the T-shirt
1:28:53thing is just a great idea and yeah
1:28:56people do need to fall in love with
1:28:57aucklanders and the Auckland need to
1:28:59fall in love with themselves I think
1:29:00there's a there's a whole journey in
1:29:01amongst that so um I just think that was
1:29:04a really great idea and I was reflecting
1:29:06on your physiotherapy at piece and uh
1:29:09the two and a half months extra of
1:29:10recuperation I shouldn't say this in
1:29:13public probably but that's uh probably
1:29:14you Adelaide girl coming out of you
1:29:16there so
1:29:17thank you everybody thank you Jill and
1:29:19uh thank you Susan thank you everyone
1:29:27thank you very much
1:29:35[Music]
1:29:58please
1:30:01foreign
1:30:06[Music]
1:30:14[Music]
1:30:24[Music]
1:30:30[Music]

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Building Bridges, Not Walls - Gill Hicks by Auckland Conversations, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 12,282 words across 1,945 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.