Professor Martin Nakata giving his keynote presentation at the 2014 National Indigenous Studies Conference.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) held its biennial Indigenous Studies Conference between 26 – 28 March 2014, with the theme Breaking Barriers in Indigenous Research and Thinking: 50 years on.
The conference was held at the National Convention Centre in Canberra. It included a welcome reception that coincided with the launch of the 50th Anniversary of AIATSIS, kicking off anniversary celebrations by recognising how far the area of Indigenous studies in Australia has come over the past 50 years and asking what the future might hold.
The conference brought together almost 500 delegates with multi-disciplinary expertise from across the Indigenous studies sector, including researchers, policy makers, community members, academics, representative organisations, consultants, traditional owners and service providers. The conference included 123 presentations by 227 presenters.
Presentations ranged in topic and covered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, health, cultural heritage, arts, policy, tourism, economics, language, anthropology, archives, IT, history, native title, musicology, ethics and more. Other highlights included four keynote speakers, cultural performances, five launches, a trade exhibition, poster session and conference dinner.
The conference was an overall success and showcased the strength of AIATSIS in not only undertaking research in the area of Indigenous studies, but also in bringing together different sectors with an interest in the field.
We would like to thank all speakers and delegates for their enthusiasm and support. We would also like to thank our sponsors for their kind support of the conference. Our Platinum sponsor – the Department of Education, our Silver sponsors – the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Education, our Bronze sponsors – Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education and the Berndt Foundation, and our other sponsors – delegate sponsor – Lowitja and our satchel insert sponsors.
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