Empowered Voices, Shared Futures
Empowered Voices, Shared Futures is a landmark Australia–Japan initiative bringing together young people with hearing loss, government representatives, researchers, clinicians and hearing-sector leaders to help shape the future of hearing health.
Led by The Shepherd Centre, in partnership with Macquarie University and Cochlear Limited, the program celebrates 50 years of friendship and cooperation between Australia and Japan.
Across a week of events in Sydney and Canberra, Australian and Japanese Youth Ambassadors will share their experiences, exchange ideas and contribute to conversations about hearing health systems, access to care, emerging technology, inclusion and the transition to adulthood.
At the heart of the program is a shared ambition: to ensure the voices and experiences of young people help inform the next 50 years of hearing health policy, services and international collaboration.
Join the conversation
SYDNEY SYMPOSIUM
Empowered Voices, Shared Futures: Youth Leadership, Evidence and Innovation in Hearing Health
Date: Monday, 14 September 2026
Time: 2:00–5:00pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Australian Hearing Hub, Macquarie University
The Sydney Symposium will bring together Australian and Japanese Youth Ambassadors, researchers, clinicians, industry partners and hearing-sector leaders to explore the role of lived experience, evidence and innovation in creating stronger hearing health outcomes.
Guided by the voices of the next generation, the symposium will identify practical opportunities for Australia–Japan collaboration and consider how each country can strengthen support for people with hearing loss across the lifespan.
FEATURED SPEAKERS AND TOPICS
Australian and Japanese Youth Ambassadors
Sharing youth perspectives on identity, access, inclusion, technology and the future of hearing health.
Professor Koichiro Wasano
Professor, Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery
Tokai University School of Medicine
Topic: Exploring hearing health across the lifespan, including healthy ageing, prevention and opportunities for shared learning between Australia and Japan.
Professor Payal Mukherjee
Adult and Paediatric Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon and Clinical Professor
Topic: Examining how emerging technologies, research and innovation are shaping the future of hearing health and improving outcomes.
Oonagh Macken
Research Fellow, School of Health Sciences and Nursing
Macquarie University Hearing Research Centre
Topic: Discussing national hearing-health data, the adult hearing-health landscape and the development and implementation of cochlear implant guidelines.
Dr Akira Takagi and
Vice President and Director, Hearing, Speech and Language Center
Shizuoka General Hospital
Dr Hollowell
Language Acquisition Researcher and Professor Musashi University
Topic: Comparing international approaches to hearing health policy, research and service delivery, and identifying opportunities for Australia and Japan to learn from each other.
Jermy Pang
Research Audiologist and PhD Candidate, National Acoustic Laboratories and The University of Queensland
Topic: Exploring how leadership, advocacy, inclusion and lived experience can influence hearing health priorities.
Michelle Nealon
Hearing Coordinator and Co-Chair, Lived Experience Network of d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing People, Macquarie University Hearing
Topic: Exploring how leadership, advocacy, inclusion and lived experience can influence hearing health priorities.
CANBERRA SYMPOSIUM
From Youth Voice to Systems Change: Building the Next 50 Years of Australia–Japan Hearing Health Collaboration
Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Time: 3:30–5:30pm
Venue: Old Parliament House, 18 King George Terrace, Canberra
Building on the ideas and insights generated in Sydney, the Canberra Symposium will bring youth voice, evidence and sector expertise into a national policy and bilateral leadership conversation.
The symposium will explore opportunities to strengthen hearing health policy, systems, access and inclusion, while identifying practical priorities for future collaboration between Australia and Japan.
FEATURED SPEAKERS AND TOPICS
Australian and Japanese Youth Ambassadors
Sharing what young people want decision-makers to understand about access, confidence, technology, inclusion and future opportunities.
Associate Professor Jaime Leigh
Director, Cochlear Implant Service, The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
Clinical Associate Professor, University of Melbourne
Topic: Exploring access, candidacy, referral timing and integrated cochlear implant pathways from diagnosis through implantation and lifelong support.
Associate Professor Valerie Sung
Consultant Paediatrician, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Principal Research Fellow and Co-Group Leader, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, University of Melbourne
Topic: Connecting research evidence and child and family outcomes with future models of hearing care and policy priorities.
Dr Scott Avery
Professor of Indigenous Disability Health and Wellbeing, Girra Maa Indigenous Health, University of Technology Sydney
Topic: Examining how Deaf people and people with disability can meaningfully shape policy, and what is required to create genuine and lasting inclusion.
Professor Greg Leigh AO
Director, NextSense Institute, Conjoint Professor of Education and Disability Studies, Macquarie University
Topic: Highlighting post-newborn hearing pathways, longitudinal evidence from the LOCHI study and the implications for early intervention and national policy.
Dr Aleisha Davis
Chief Executive Officer, The Shepherd Centre
Researcher and Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist
Topic: Exploring how early intervention and family-centred language support can strengthen lifelong development, confidence, education and participation.
M. Shayema Khorshed
MQ Cochlear Research Fellow in Hearing Health Policy, Macquarie University
Topic: Outlining the evolution of Australia’s hearing health policy landscape, including current gaps and priorities for future system reform.
Eri Yoshimura
Senior Manager, Health and Global Policy Institute
Topic: Examining Japan’s life-course approach to hearing loss and the policy lessons it offers for accessible and coordinated hearing care.
Claudia Odello
Chief Executive Officer, Meals on Wheels NSW
Topic: Sharing cross-sector examples that demonstrate how community, ageing and dementia initiatives can improve hearing access, participation and wellbeing.
LEARN MORE
Read the original announcement here to learn more about the background, purpose and Australia–Japan partnership behind Empowered Voices, Shared Futures.
ENQUIRIES
For event or registration enquiries, please email [email protected].