The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) unveiled its Strategic Plan 2018-2023 at an event hosted by the Parliamentary Friends of AIATSIS in Canberra today. The Plan is underpinned by a determination to help Australia forge a more inclusive national identity.
AIATSIS Chairperson Professor Michael McDaniel said: “We are at an inflection point in our national story, and in the history of the Institute.
“That is why in developing this strategic plan, the AIATSIS Council and Executive grappled with the question, ‘What kind of AIATSIS do we need to be today and in the future?’”
AIATSIS CEO Craig Ritchie said: “For more than 50 years, AIATSIS, a national cultural institution has been the nation’s best kept secret.
“Our strategic plan presents an exciting five year horizon where we will fully realise the transformation of AIATSIS to an outwardly focussed, publicly engaged national institution.”
To realise these aspirations the Council have set a series of initiatives as priorities for the life of the Plan, including:
- A new, state-of-the-art home for AIATSIS that is a national forum for transformational cross-cultural engagement and shared learning.
- The Songlines project working with communities to secure song traditions.
- Resources for the teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage in schools.
- A leading-edge, engaging web presence and potential physical presence beyond Canberra.
Parliamentary Friends of AIATSIS co-convenor Trevor Evans MP said he was honoured to be supporting the launch of the Plan. “The scope of this Plan is rightly ambitious, AIATSIS having already achieved so much in the last fifty years. We as the Parliamentary Friends of AIATSIS look forward to championing the Institute’s work into the decades ahead. AIATSIS is a true national treasure.” Parliamentary Friends of AIATSIS co-convenor Cathy McGowan AO, MP visited the group earlier this year. She said AIATSIS has an important role to play in informing the conversation on national identity.
"The wealth of knowledge cared for by AIATSIS, which tells the first stories of this nation, is an important resource for us as Australians. I look forward to seeing the goals of this Strategic Plan realised.”
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