Research Project Officer Lisa Kickett felt “honoured” to attend the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices in the Bunuba language) National Summit in Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country (Canberra) last month.
The Wiyi Yani U Thangani summit, held on 9-11 May, was led by Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar in partnership with the National Indigenous Australians Agency.
It builds on the Wiyi Yani U Thangani: Securing our Rights, Securing our Future 2020 report that saw Commissioner Oscar travel to 50 urban, regional and remote areas and meet with over 2,000 women of all ages to learn more about their needs.
The summit was leading from that report, which identified a need for a space for Indigenous women to come together and share our knowledge, and have those robust conversations.
“Women from everywhere attended,” Ms Kickett said. “Community organisations, government, non-government and non-Indigenous women who were invited to attend as collaborators.”
“The message I got out of it was that us women need to be included to have our voices heard and drive our own self-determination in decisions, leadership and policies. We talked about our voices as women being silenced, and we feel that it’s time for our voices to be heard and it’s time for government and others to come on board.”
Themes that were discussed at the summit included leadership, self-determination, the importance of culture and languages, connection to country, healing and economic justice.
Among the over 800 attendees were prominent Australians including Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, Senator Dorinda Cox and Nerelda Jacobs.
“I felt really honoured to be there because as a young Aboriginal woman I felt really safe, I felt really empowered and I felt really hopeful because there was some amazing youth representation there,” Ms Kickett said.
In a statement following the summit, the Australian Human Rights Commission outlined a list of calls to action and recommendations accepted by the attendees.
The recommendations included, “Our voices, experiences and solutions to be centred in decision-making about our futures”, and “The recognition that our cultures are foundational to societal and ecological health and wellbeing”.
You can read more of the statement here.
Ms Kickett, who has Wilyakali Barkindji heritage on her mother’s side and Whadjuk Ballardong Noongar heritage from her father’s line, is part of an Embrace @ The Kids Research Institute Australia research project looking to build more culturally safe mental health systems for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“As an Aboriginal woman and someone studying social work, the summit resonated with me regarding the work I‘m doing. We’re trying to brighten up the future for young people.”
Research Project Officer Lisa Kickett at The Kids Research Institute Australia.