In summary

  • Dr Stephane Shepherd has been chosen to be part of the ABC Top 5 Media Residency Program for Humanities
  • The program provides an opportunity for participants to receive media and communications training from some of the country’s best journalists and broadcasters 

Associate Professor of Forensic Psychology at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Dr Stephane Shepherd, has been named as one of the five recipients of the ABC Top 5 Media Residency Program for Humanities.

“It is an honour to be afforded this wonderful opportunity to learn from and work with the ABC,” says Dr Shepherd, who is an expert in cross-cultural health and wellbeing, with a specific focus on Indigenous Australians.

He adds, “This is a great opportunity to share evidence-informed perspectives on criminal justice matters with a general audience.”

Relating criminology with cross-cultural mental health and wellbeing

Dr Shepherd is one of the five early career researchers selected for the humanities media residency program for 2020.

His research focuses on the mental health, cultural needs and social circumstances of individuals who have contact with the criminal justice system. 

“My work has identified ways in which service providers can work more effectively with multi-cultural populations who are justice-involved,” Dr Shepherd explains. In fact, his work in this space won him a 2018 Saleem Shah Early Career Award. 

Nurturing media talent

Now in its third year, the ABC Top 5 Media Residency Program offers outstanding early career researchers in humanities, arts and social science a two-week media residency at ABC Radio National.

The program is designed to nurture the communication skills and media awareness of participants to help them share their knowledge and expertise with audiences seeking credible material and informed debate. Successful applicants will work alongside some of the country’s best journalists and broadcasters, training in media communication and developing content for different ABC platforms.

“I hope to learn how to better disseminate evidence-based and thought-provoking information to diverse audiences and to package my cross-sector expertise in criminal justice, mental health and multi-cultural affairs into narratives that people can connect with,” Dr Shepherd concludes. 

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