“I lost count how many times everyone stood up and clapped. It was the best thing I’ve been to” said our Acting CEO Cassandra Carolin.
Cassandra and Rachael Hill (Executive Assistant) braved the cold to attend the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Summit in Canberra in early May. Both said it was like nothing they had experienced before with some 900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders women from all over Australia attending.
NT mob well represented
Cassandra said NT was the biggest group of Aboriginal women and particularly pleasing for her was the number of women from remote communities. “They did photos by state and territory, and the NT photo had the most people in it by far! It was good to see the women from remote there.”
The national summit was a gathering of First Nations women to elevate their voices and solutions. Priority was made for the cultural safety of the First Nations women including those who identify as cis, trans and non-binary. Cassandra said diverse representation of Aboriginal women was impressive and covered all groups.
Powerful speeches by impressive women
Rachael said people and organisations spoke about what they’re doing in their communities to help support their people, from urban to remote and very very remote. A highlight for her was listening to June Oscar AO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner who said:
“A framework and an institute owned by us, for us, that elevates our strengths and holds our truth…
“It will set down our actions for nationwide structural reform to help develop the systems that will work for us and support our lives and rights on the ground.”
“This is so much more than an event, it is a historic gathering that will become a part of our individual and common histories.”
Cassandra said the mix of presenters and topics was impressive. “They were talking about grass roots stuff right up to people like June Oscar. The sessions catered well for the range of women who attended”.
Youth had a big focus
Representation of youth was a focus at the summit and youth sessions set out to identify and talk about the challenges and concerns for young First Nations people.
The Wiyi Yani U Thangani Youth Statement was created by participants and outlines how as future leaders, First Nations youth need to have multiple seats at the decision making table and a legitimate voice to give meaningful contribution.
You can read the full Wiyi Yani U Thangani Youth Statement here:
From the statement….
“The future holds more challenges, some old and some new. Challenges that we have never seen before. Some of our pressing concerns are First Nations gender justice, climate justice, our self-determination and our cultural integrity in the digital world. As our nation’s future leaders, academics, policy makers, professionals, partners, carers and mothers. We make this commitment to you all, we will continue to show up. We will continue to be a part of the solution. We will continue to take back our space and have our voices heard.”
Communique recaps summit achievements
A Communique was created at the summit and designed to recap discussions and identify key things called for by the summit participants.
This is a summary but you can download the full communique here:
- Our voices, experiences and solutions to be centred in decision-making about our futures.
- The recognition that our cultures are foundational to societal and ecological health and wellbeing.
- The development of models for financial reinvestment through a First Nations gender lens
- Placing care at the heart of policy design.
- Genuine and authentic collaborations to address and overcome systemic challenges.
- Policies for First Nations women to embrace our voices equally in all their diversity, including sistergirls and transwomen, non-binary people, children and people with disability.
There should be a men’s gathering
Cassandra said the summit was so valuable and powerful that something similar for men should be done.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to was completely blown away; our men also need a voice and it would be great if our men had an opportunity to gather in a similar setting to discuss their vision for the future.”
