Junto Dinner Club

​ The Junto Dinner Club (named after a club established in 1727 by Benjamin Franklin) is focused on building social capital and knowledge within the Shire of Denmark with a ‘think global act local’ philosophy.  Following the United Nations Calendar, it brings expert speakers to build connections, educate and inspire community leaders across a broad section of occupations within the Shire of Denmark.

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
September 2021

In September, we were privileged to have as our speaker 2021 Aboriginal Western Australian of the Year, Karla Hart.

Karla is a multi award winning actor, dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, writer, Noongar dance teacher and singer, with a host of incredible experiences and achievements - Naidoc Artist of the Year, Best Supporting Actress (WA Performing Arts), Best Emerging Artist (Fringe Festival) - to name a few.

You may have heard Karla without knowing it - if you saw the PIAF performance of the Giants from Royal De Luxe from Paris you would have heard Karla singing a Noongar song she composed to the little girl Giant!

Karla grew up in Gnowangerup and is passionate about her Noongar heritage and in particular language and stories, all which she shared on the evening.

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World Youth Skills Day
​July 2021

Our guest speaker for World Youth Skills Day was renowned educator (and Denmark resident) Glenn Capelli.

Glenn has presented his message of Dynamic Leadership Thinking in 35 countries and spread his work in education (teaching ‘thinking and learning’) throughout Australia, New Zealand, India, Samoa, Canada, and the USA. His award-winning USA cable television series ‘Born to Learn’ aired to over 26 million households weekly. His Australian radio show ‘Thinking Caps’ aired weekly on the ABC, Radio National and on 3AW in Melbourne for over a decade and his Thinking Caps book has sold over 7,500 copies.
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Glenn says “Becoming a ‘success’ is not simply a matter of intelligence and test scores: success is about something deeper. We have learned from the tools of science what common sense may have taught us all along: success is about character and character can be learned and developed.” During our evening together, Glenn shared his insights on what skills are useful for resilience and many opportunities to sing and laugh.

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International Day for Biodiversity
​May 2021

We are so fortunate to be situated in the south western portion of WA which is recognised as a Global Biodiversity Hotspot, and fortunate indeed that our guest speaker was WA Golden Guide and National EcoGuide award winning, local legend, Gary Muir. 

For the past 27 years Gary has run the internationally recognised WOW Wilderness EcoCruises in the heart of the Walpole Nornalup National Park and the Walpole and Nornalup Inlets Marine Park.   He has helped redevelop sites including Fernhook Falls, Coalmine Beach, John Rate Lookout, Mount Frankland, Bibbulmun Track, Hilltop Tingle Tree and Conspicuous Cliff.  Gary has been a finalist in the United Nations World Environmental Awards, and double finalist in the GSDC Medal for Excellence in National Resource Management.
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Gary delve into the natural and cultural history of the Walpole Wilderness from west Walpole to East of Denmark, highlighting its many wonders.

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World Philosophy Day
​November 2020

​Our Guest speaker in November was Kylie Hansen, Founder and Director of Impact Seed – Western Australia’s peak impact investment, impact measurement and social enterprise market builder. Kylie has led some of WA’s key impact management and outcomes planning projects, including the whole-of-sector outcomes measurement framework with the WA Government in partnership with WACOSS aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals.

It proved to be a wonderful way to celebrate World Philosophy Day, discussing and considering how we as community can think about progress in a context of what we know are limited global resources.

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World Maritime Day
​September 2020

Our Guest Speaker for World Maritime Day was Sahira Bell  – a researcher and scientist with a focus on the impacts of climate change and ocean warming on cool-water ecosystems.  As well as her research and scientific work, Sahira is also involved with several Not for Profits in this space.  She was also the Lead Marine Scientist that drove the designation of Australia’s Great Southern Reef as a Mission Blue ‘Hope Spot. 
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It was an evening filled with information about what a Blue Economy could look like for marine ecosystems in Western Australia, how this ecosystem is expected to change over the coming decades, and what this would mean for our local economies and communities. 

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