Ian Cohen
activist | speaker | author
ABOUT IAN
Ian is a professional climate change & environmental keynote speaker in Australia and a famous for surfing the bow of a US nuclear-armed warship entering Australian ports to spearhead an international campaign which successfully halted French testing at Muroroa 'without a word of French' Ian jokes. This provides a snapshot of Ian's charismatic and energetic commitment to the cause.
The award-winning photo of Ian riding the bow of USS destroyer Oldendorf entering Sydney Harbour in 1986 was beamed across the world making headlines and made the front page of all western media including the New York Times and The Guardian. The photo was awarded first prize at the National Press Club Awards, and runner up at the International Press Club Awards in Amsterdam the following year, giving Ian an international profile as an environmental activist.
Elected as the first Green member to the NSW Legislative Council in 1995, his highly skilled Theatre of the Environment (a term coined by Ian) has earned him a public profile both at home and internationally.
Ian is the author of Green Fire, a personal account of the Australian environmental protest movement now in its second edition. Ian has contributed to a significant number of newspapers, journals, and magazines over the years and collaborated in many publications including High Surf, Tracks Magazine, White Horses and the children’s film Threat Species with voiceovers by David Attenborough, Olive Newtown John and Jack Thompson. Ian regularly writes for mainstream media on issues of the environment and social justice.
On a personal level, Ian narrowly escaped the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami in Sri Lanka, when the Tsunami hit Hikkaduwa while waxing up for a surf. His good fortune ran out five years later when he was successfully sued for defamation as a result of defending a local school teacher for publicly opposing a development.
Ian resides near Byron Bay with his partner Alison Drover, a sustainability lifestyle consultant. In his spare time, you can spot Ian at one of his 'board meetings' riding his balsa surfboard.
