The Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Michael Spence and Mrs Eileen Perkins and family are delighted to invite you to attend the 2019 Dr Charles Perkins AO Memorial Oration and Memorial Prize.

Aminila bit tjan kin-ning wurrkama gu?

Are we all working together with a united voice for treaty & truth?

Oration keynote by Associate Professor Linda Payi Ford

The Tyikma (Indigenous) and non-Indigenous cultures are akin to joint arrangements and ought to be reciprocal. Oral and non-verbal traditional cultural ways of nurturing and caring for the nourishment of our spiritual beings in the landscape must sustain our Tyikma (Indigenous) ways of knowing, being and doing. These are not unencumbered by non-productive elements or barriers to voice, treaty and truth.

The ultimate aim is to work together for a shared future – a vision laid down by our ancestral beings and those that followed in the past, such as Dr Charles Perkins AO, for a vision of hope. Charles’ hope was to provide a better future for his children and countrymen across this nation and elsewhere. He was an inspiration. He led the famous Freedom Rides in the 60’s and travelled abroad to influence people and to change the way people thought about First Australians.

The way to communicate our hope is on a platform that continues to build what iconic figures have started. The actions of Charles Perkins weaved onto existing threads that continue the representation of our united voices, treaty and truth. These are depicted in our Australian and global societies today through people, policies and places.

Today, we are the ones to continue making the choices about which threads to add to the social fabric of Indigenous Affairs. It’s about the words, the languages and non-verbal communication methods we use to design and develop our future people, policy and place.

About the keynote speaker

Associate Professor Linda Payi Ford identifies as Rak Mak Marranunggu from Kurrindju Country, on the Finniss River in the Northern Territory. Linda is currently a Principal Research Fellow at the Northern Institute, in the Transdisciplinary Research and Indigenous Knowledge Systems team at Charles Darwin University.

Linda understands and is familiar with Indigenous epistemological practices and its application to her research projects. Her knowledge and experience has informed her research practises to include ways of being, knowing and the ability to lead and contribute to local, national and international research projects. The Indigenist research methodologies are applied to her research projects including Australian Research Council Projects, FRDC Aquaculture project and Plant Biosecurity research project.

Current projects include 2 ARC's PBCRC 4041, LEBA Grants (Ageing, Telehealth and Language revitalisation), NTG Oral History grant.

Linda’s mainstream education has involved a number of schools and universities in various Australian locations. This educational background has given Linda a substantial depth to her understanding of education across both Indigenous and non-Indigenous traditions.

As a mother, an academic, a researcher, an educator and a practitioner of Indigenous traditions, Linda possesses a unique and rare experience that she is willing to share with people wishing to enhance their understanding of the Indigenous cross-cultural environment.

About the Dr Charles Perkins AO Memorial Oration and Memorial Prize

In 2001, the University of Sydney established an annual oration to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for their community, country and society.

Named in honour of Australia's first Aboriginal graduate, the Dr Charles Perkins AO Memorial Oration and Memorial Prize was established with the full support of the Perkins family and in acknowledgement of his tireless dedication to human rights and social justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Each year, we invite members from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to share their stories about their experiences, research, projects and ideas.

With the support of the University faculties and The Charlie Perkins Trust for Children & Students, there are now three prizes awarded annually to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have achieved outstanding results for Bachelor or Honours degree.

To listen to previous Oration keynote speakers, visit our Dr Charles Perkins AO Annual Memorial Oration and Prize collection on the Sydney eScholarship Repository website.