Inspiring South Australian Aboriginal Women Impacting the World

Posted on May 13 2019

The Australia Day Council of South Australia is present a showcase event: ‘Inspiring South Australian Aboriginal Women Impacting The World’. This powerful forum will present Inspiring Aboriginal Women who are committed to making a difference in the world through their service and work.

The speakers will discuss their personal backgrounds and influences in their formation as a leader, the driving forces behind their work and how they believe they are making an impact in the world.

Join us as we inspire emerging and existing leaders and reveal how these incredible Aboriginal women are influencing on a global scale.

This event is open to all, we would love to see you there!

Book now

Date: Tuesday 30 July
Time: 4:45pm arrival for a 5:00pm start
Venue: National Wine Centre
Tickets: $25.00 per person

Meet the Speakers:

	Kirstie Parker - Director of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation – SA Government Kirstie Parker is a Yuwallarai woman from northern NSW and has had a long and distinguished career in Indigenous affairs. Since August 2017, she has been the Director of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, within the Department of State Development (and now the Department of the Premier and Cabinet). For the preceding two years, Kirstie was CEO of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, Sydney.
	Vicky Welgraven - Advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing Adnyamathanha woman Vicky Welgraven is a passionate champion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) women, ensuring their interests are represented – and their voices are heard. A White Ribbon Advocate and Director of Our Watch she promotes gender equality and respectful relationships and advocates for an end to family violence.
	Yaritji Young – Award winning artist Yaritji Young comes from Amata (APY Lands of South Australia) and is the eldest daughter of artists Mick Wiilyiri and Paniny Mick. She is the kangkaru pulka (big sister) for the five Ken sisters: Tjungkara Ken, Maringka Tunkin, Freda Brady and Sandra Ken, who work collaboratively with Yaritji on family canvases to great acclaim, recently winning the prestigious 2016 Wynne prize for landscape painting at the Art Gallery of New South Wales with their large scale collaborative painting Seven Sisters. In 2016 Yaritji Young was a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, the shortlisted work Tjala Tjukurpa (Honey Ant Story) was acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
	April Lawrie - Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, South Australia Commencing December 2018, April Lawrie became South Australia’s inaugural Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People. Her role as Commissioner is preceded with 15 years of executive leadership roles across government, with the most recent two and half years as Director of Aboriginal Education, prior to that, ten years as SA Health Aboriginal Health Branch Director and before that, four years as the Aboriginal Justice Director in the Attorney’s General’s Department.
	Rosemary Wanganeen – Griefologist and Founder of the Australian Institute for Loss and Grief Rosemary is a proud South Australian Aboriginal woman. Founding CEO and sole operator of the Sacred Site Within Healing Centre in 1993 and in its strength, she set up the Australian Institute for Loss and Grief in 2005. She applied her personal ‘lived experiences’ to research and developed the Seven Phases to Integrating Loss and Grief and today she a non-academic but published author of the Seven Phases. As a Griefologist she’s an Educator, Presenter, Facilitator, Assessor, Loss and Grief Counsellor. Recently she’s have been accepted into Adelaide University for her Master in Philosophy where she aspires to do her PHD on Aboriginal loss and grief from an Aboriginal perspective.
	Kerrynne Liddle (BA, MBA, GAICD) – Business Leader and Journalist for Public Affairs Kerrynne joined Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia in May 2018 with extensive professional experience and qualifications in public affairs, business and management and governance. An Arrernte woman, born and raised in Central Australia, she has held senior leadership roles in large global and Australian private and publicly listed companies in the media, professional consulting, tertiary and oil and gas sectors. In corporate, not for profit and voluntary roles she has focused on human resources, regulatory compliance, public affairs, ethics and Indigenous employment and procurement. She has a Centenary Medal for Service to the Australian Community as a journalist and completed a Vincent Fairfax Fellowship leadership program that builds moral courage and leadership excellence and encourages ethical leadership in daily life, at work, in communities and family. Kerrynne is a member of the Council of the University of Adelaide.
	Karina Lester - Advocate in revival and maintenance of Aboriginal languages of South Australia and reclamation programs Karina currently works for the Mobile Language Team (MLT) as Aboriginal Co-Manager and Senior Aboriginal Language Worker at The University of Adelaide, supporting the Aboriginal languages of South Australia in revival, maintenance and reclamation programs. She hosts a weekly community radio show at Radio Adelaide called Nganampa Wangka ‘Our Languages’, talking up SA Aboriginal Languages and the great work happening across the State.