Blue Borage Conversation Cafés & Events
What People Are Saying
Even if it is difficult to talk about, it is far worse to live it in silence.
Our stories are different but so relatable. Thank you all.
This is the first time I’ve been in a room with both survivors and concerned parents. It felt like healing began there.
I didn’t know how much I needed this until I heard others speak the same things I’ve never dared say aloud.
Why Conversation Cafés?
Conversation Cafés are not webinars or peer support groups. They are lightly structured dialogues designed for shared inquiry, reflection, and respectful listening. Guided by principles of psychological safety and dignity, each session holds space for multiple truths to coexist.
We open each session with:
- Our Blue Borage conversation agreements
- A shared intention for respectful, consent-based dialogue
- An invitation to speak from lived wisdom, or to simply listen
Some sessions feature presentations or roundtable discussions. Others centre on art, writing, music, or interactive workshops. All are designed to nourish reflection, connection, and learning.
Upcoming Events
We are excited to share news that our inaugural November 12-hour Symposium is now open for registration. Wrapped around that one big event you will also find our regular 90-Minute Conversation Cafe events are open for registration in October and December. Each welcomes survivors, parents, supporters and curious professionals into a safe, trauma-aware space.
Guiding Principles
Every Blue Borage Conversation Café honours:
- Dignity for all who attend, speak, or listen
- Agency in choosing how and whether to participate
- Consent and preparation before engaging in difficult topics
- Confidentiality and psychological safety throughout
- Curiosity and compassion over judgment or debate
At the November Conference the organiser will be recording however we will never share the audience’s participation. Some sessions will include optional Q&A via chat. Each event includes support resources and follow-up reflection tools.
These conversations are progressive, creative, empowered and brave.
Please consider whether these events are right for you, right now.
We all know that healing is not a linear journey – some months it may feel like a good time to attend, other months someone or something may have impacted us emotionally in our family or otherwise. Sometimes we never know when a participant will say a word that doesn’t sit well with us, leaving us to stew on it longer than feels healthy after the event.
Those months, it may be (a) time to hop off the screen to ground yourself, or breathe a few breaths, before returning; (b) okay not to attend a conversation at all. Sometimes our conversations are between concerned parents and survivors, many of whom have done a lot of work to heal. Some themes could feel too much – Intimacy, Justice or Forgiveness.
If you’re concerned, speak with your therapeutic support person before the event and afterward so you have personal self-care strategies in place.
From what we’re aware, many participants appreciate their own debriefs with professionals after the event.
We supply a reflection survey via Zoom for you to complete in 48 hours following each event.
An end of month Recap Newsletter is emailed to attendees setting out a high level overview of what was covered.
All of it is a learning journey for everyone.
None of us have had these kinds of conversations, at least on the regular, so we are trusting the process and trusting the people attending to honour the conversation agreements and guidelines.
🔗 Each event below links directly to its own Eventbrite page to register, view your local time and all the details of the event.
OCTOBER
Farewell to the “Good Girl”: Ending the Silence, Reclaiming Power, and Establishing Healthy Boundaries after SSTA
A conversation about unlearning roles that kept us small — and speaking truth when it may threaten our closest relationships.
📅 Best suited for AUS & UK timezones:
Mon 20 Oct 🕗 8:30–10:00 AM BST (UK)
Mon 20 Oct 🕠 5:30–7:00 PM AEST (Australia)
🧭 Hosted by Blue Borage | Facilitated by Susan Dunlop with Wendy Walker
💌 More info: www.blueborage.com.au
NOVEMBER
Seven Conversations on Sibling Sexual Trauma & Abuse: An Online Global Symposium
Friday 14 November 2025 | 7am–7pm AEDT | Online
This full-day, international event features seven modular sessions:
- What Parents Need to Know – 5WAVES.org global parent survey
- Family Recovery Pathways After Disclosure – Dr Anne Welfare
- Understanding and Transforming Shame – Michael Derby
- Demystifying Dissociation & DID – Dr Jan Ewing & Dr Maggie Bell
- Practice & Prevention – Jacinta Guilhermino
- Speaking Your Truth Safely – Legal guidance with Farrah Motley
- Lived Experience Roundtable – Wendy Walker, Susan Dunlop & guests
Attend any or all sessions. One ticket gives full-day access. Register via Eventbrite.
DECEMBER
The Elephant in the Room Has a Name: Sibling Sexual Trauma and Abuse (SSTA)
Wednesday 3 December (Morning)[🔗 Register here]
Monday 15 December (Evening) [🔗 Register here]
💗 Join us for connection, reflection and self-compassion at Year’s End
The end of the year stirs many emotions: grief, gratitude, loneliness, love. For those affected by trauma, the season can bring heightened tension — family gatherings where we feel disconnected in our hearts, walking on eggshells around those who don’t (or won’t) understand.
This December, we’re not wrapping it up with bows or pretending it’s all tinsel and joy. Yet for some of us this year has been the most connected we’ve ever experienced, being with ‘our people’ in this community from around the world.
So we will take time to celebrate that, and yes we will be naming the elephant in the room that has made a lot of us change our arrangements around Christmas. We will be choosing to sit beside that elephant at the table together.
Join us for reflection, honesty, humour, maybe a little Christmas crafting, supply your choice of beverage and a snack. We will begin and end with gentle grounding as we honour how far we’ve come and close the year in community.
What to Expect
- Curated Panel and Round Table Conversations: drawing together international lived experienced storytellers, survivors, professionals and artists
- Structured Dialogue: Facilitated discussion, presubmitted questions, live Q&A.
- Creative Showcases: When appropriate, panelists share creative work, poetry, music and visual arts or advocacy projects.
- Global Community: Designed to welcome participants across time zones, with two sessions per theme when possible.
Each session is a space for insight, shared learning, and courageous connection. 💡 You don’t need to speak — just come as you are.
Who Are These Conversations For?
- Survivors of SSA and other forms of intrafamilial abuse or trauma. We know that SSA doesn’t stand alone in many of our stories – if you experienced one form or both, we see you. You are not alone.
- Survivors of sibling abuse (emotional, physical, psychological). Likewise, there is an undercurrent of each of these forms of abuse in most SSA stories or in the families of survivors.
- Allies, loved ones, activists and advocates, and those with a commitment to breaking cycles of harm.
- Educators, social workers, therapists, and mental health professionals seeking deeper understanding.
- Parents and carers wanting to create safer, more aware family environments.
- Anyone drawn to activism and advocacy, healing, justice, and compassionate systems change.
Want to Co-Create a Session?
If you have a lived experience or professional topic related to SSTA, DID, trauma-informed leadership, or family recovery and would like to co-create a session with Blue Borage, please reach out. We are open to co-creating with thoughtful individuals and organisations aligned with our values.
Join the Conversations
Follow Blue Borage on eventbrite.com.au to be notified of upcoming panel themes and register for sessions.
Registration Costs:
The November 12-Hour Symposium:
One Ticket Price for drop-in/drop-out all day whether you are there for one presentation, three or all seven: AUD $60
Eventbrite will convert the amount based on your location. $60 AUD = approx. $40 USD | £30 GBP | €34 EUR (subject to exchange rates).
The 90-minute Conversation Cafe Events:
Standard Registration (90-minute events): AUD $40
Eventbrite will convert the amount based on your location. $40 AUD = approx. $26 USD | £21 GBP | €25 EUR (subject to exchange rates).
Community Discount Codes for the 90-minute Conversation Cafe Events are available for subscribers of the 5WAVES.org or INCESTAware.org newsletters and the Bright Futures community of practice in Australia. The discount code is shared in those organisations’ newsletters.
A Bring a Friend, 2-for-1 registration is also always available for our 90-minute Conversation Cafe Events. Register yourself and your buddy to come along. Please provide both email addresses and let us know both of your interest in the subject on registration.
The registration fee for both the Conversation Cafe Event series and the 12-Hour Symposium, are kept low, and they are necessary. Registration covers time costs for panel coordination, event production administrator hours, our marketing team’s hours, business costs, planning and Zoom hosting, post-event summary creation, and pre- and post-event communication with our participants.
Stay Connected
Follow Blue Borage on EventBrite and across social media:
– Instagram and Facebook or search: @blueboragetraining
– LinkedIn: Blue Borage
– Website: www.blueborage.com.au
Archived Series:
Series 1: Spotlight on the Authors (Jan-May 2025)
Monthly large-group conversations featuring four lived experience authors.
Series 2: Small Group Conversations (Feb-June 2025)
Trauma-informed, small group rounds using the Conversation Cafe method.
Completed Events Series 3 and 4:
JULY 2025: Global Messages of Hope
Creative Advocacy, Activism and Legacy
AUGUST 2025: What Justice Might Look Like: A Roundtable on SSTA and Repair
A Guided Roundtable Conversation: Survivor, Parent, Ally & Practitioner Perspectives
SEPTEMBER 2025: Beyond Blame: Survivor and Parent Voices Together
A single, powerful Conversation Cafe event for September, to ask questions, share insights, and honour the courage it takes to show up across roles and generations.