Gill Hicks is considered to be one of the most thought provoking, powerful and life affirming speakers in Australia and the UK. She is globally known as an advocate for sustainable peace and a valuable resource in countering violent extremism.
Her devotion to making a personal greater contribution and positive difference to the urgency of building peace was realised when she was made permanently injured in the London terrorist bombings on July 7th, 2005.
But Gill is much more than a survivor.
Designing a sustainable peace’ has become the core focus to her body of work. Under the acronym for Making a Difference ( M.A.D. ), Gill has created both an agency, a think’ and do’ tank, M.A.D. Minds and a creative business, Music Art Discussion, where she brings her performance and visual art together to express her wonder and observations of life.
Receiving Doctorates in Philosophy from London Metropolitan University, Kingston University and University South Australia, Gill is also an Adjunct Lecturer with Edith Cowan University. Working within Education, she develops critical thinking modules for primary and secondary school-age children.
She has also been awarded an MBE and an AM in recognition of her work within the Charity sectors.
Gill is an active Board Director for The Women’s Playhouse Trust, UK and Europe and SALA ( South Australian Living Artists ).
After returning to her native Australia after 26 years in London, she continues to grow her Arts practice, becoming a studio member at Central Studios, Adelaide, after being awarded the Ed Tweddell residency.
Her 2021 Adelaide Fringe debut performance, Still Alive and Kicking, played to sold-out audiences, received five-star reviews and won multiple awards, including the coveted Edinburgh Fringe award.
Her presentations focus on topics such as confidence and trust within ourselves, and how having both allows us to make transformative choices. Gill advocates for the growth of a more confident collective/communities, societies and a nation. As a finalist for Australian of the Year, her platform was centred on the importance of growing a confident and cohesive Australia.
She speaks of change, or rather the negative connotation change has and change-makers are often revered figures who are seen as pioneers’ and leaders’. She encourages audiences to take control of change through our Choice of how we React and Respond… and use it as an opportunity.
Her life is built on what she describes as a series of conscious choices, of mindfulness and being aware of the importance of the moment. Sharing what she has learnt about herself, about humanity and the extraordinary and what she believes is an inherent ability to not only face but to rise in the wake of adversity is not only inspiring, but it is valuable insight into what is possible in life.
Each of Gill’s unforgettable presentations are bespoke, written and created with stunning visuals especially for the audience she speaks with.
Previous experience:
Achievements: Gill’s achievements are also certain to inspire. Starting from the ground up, she arrived in London as a 19-year-old and rose to become a recognised figure within the creative and cultural landscape of London, wider UK – and internationally – exhibiting work in Milan and New York. She owned and operated a design consultancy in London and turned an architectural publishing company around from the value of 1 pound to being sold for 1 million pounds! Gill was one of the first wave of women to be exclusively invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, no small chore for a woman in a heavily male-dominated industry.
Her lived experience’, from survival to rehabilitation as a double amputee, created a clear demarcation from all she had known before the bombings, being at the helm of some of the UK’s most prestigious and respected institutions—including Publishing Director of the architecture, design and contemporary culture magazine, Blueprint, Director of the Dangerous Minds design consultancy and Head Curator at the Design Council.