A conference initiated by Flinders University’s Poche SA+NT will examine the role, opportunities and challenges for new and emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in higher education.
The online conference Are you ready Australia? The future of Indigenous leadership in Australian Higher Education will be held next week (10-11 November), and is being hosted by Poche SA+NT in collaboration with Twig Marketing and Campus Morning Mail.
Noting the important contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff at Australia’s universities are making to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, the conference seeks to expand awareness of opportunities to grow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in the sector and to provide a forum for the voices of emerging leaders.
“The university sector has an incredibly important role to play in advancing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, but our consultations for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan for the College of Medicine and Public Health have shown that there are many challenges which are limiting the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represented in universities, despite some great advances recently,” says Conference Chair Associate Professor Maree Meredith, Director of Poche SA+NT.
“We want this conference to provide an opportunity to bring forward new and emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and to share some of the challenges and opportunities for staff with audiences from across Australia.
“Fresh conversations and widespread information about these issues can pave the way for positive change.”
For more information and tickets please visit https://www.indigenoushe.com.au
A new voice for universities
To coincide with the conference, Associate Professor Maree Meredith has argued in a recently published article that universities need to consider how to attract, retain and develop new and emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in future, so that there is a pipeline of talent and Aboriginal voices for years to come.
As Australia debates the future of an Indigenous voice to Parliament, the article identifies opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a voice in higher education. You can read the article at: https://campusmorningmail.com.au/news/australian-universities-need-to-be-ready-for-indigenous-voices/