Getting Indigenous Kids into Science
Indigenous Australians are vastly underrepresented in Australia’s scientific and research community. This is a significant issue from both an Indigenous perspective, as well as for the development of Australian science. A range of programs around the country is slowly gaining momentum to encourage Indigenous students to consider a career in the sciences. But what are the obstacles, and are we doing enough to stop these kids from falling through the gaps?
Colin Scholes
Science Belongs to us Mob too
Australia has a rich Indigenous scientific and engineering heritage that has been largely ignored and neglected. From understanding the tides to highly involved aquaculture engineering, ancient Indigenous cultures were this country’s first scientists. Why then is science now considered ‘whitefeller’ business, depriving our research landscape of important Indigenous voices?
Rowena Ball
Taking Back Voice – Indigenous Social Media Activism
Social media is quickly becoming a tool of empowerment and protest. So called “Push Button Activism” can create real change and give a voice to seemingly marginalised groups. In Australia a new generation of social media savvy Indigenous people are utilising the internet to challenge the status quo and make their voices heard.
Theresa Petray
Investing in Indigenous Australia
It is perplexing why Australia does not invest more heavily in developing the natural resources that have enabled one of the world’s longest and continuous surviving civilizations to endure for tens of thousands of years. Medical research and drug development can benefit from the millennia of understanding encapsulated by Traditional Knowledge. But in order to build collaborations that reap rewards for all parties – researchers and Traditional Owners – then our concept of Intellectual Property needs to change.
Bradley Simpson