Conference welcome and opening keynote: The quest for Aboriginal self-determination. How universities contribute to the promulgation of assimilationist policy and practice in 2024
Tracks
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4
Track 5
Track 6
Track 7
Track 8
| Tuesday, July 9, 2024 |
| 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM |
| Hall C |
Overview
Conference welcome and opening ceremony
and
Keynote: The quest for Aboriginal self-determination. How universities contribute to the promulgation of assimilationist policy and practice in 2024
Dr Paul Callaghan, Callaghan Cultural Consultancy
Details
Welcome to Country delivered by Adam-Troy Francis.
Conference welcome by Conference Co-Convenors, Prof Edward Palmer and Prof Raj Shekhawat, HERDSA 2024 Co-Convenors.
HERDSA President's Address by Prof Kogi Naidoo.
Dr Paul Callaghan, Callaghan Cultural Consultancy
Opening keynote: The quest for Aboriginal self-determination. How universities contribute to the promulgation of assimilationist policy and practice in 2024
In 1937, the Commonwealth Government held a national conference on Aboriginal affairs which agreed that Aboriginal people ‘not of full blood’ should be absorbed or ‘assimilated’ into the wider population. The aim of assimilation was to make the ‘Aboriginal problem’ gradually disappear so that Aboriginal people would lose their identity in the wider community.
This policy took no account of the value or resilience of Aboriginal culture, nor did it allow that Aborigines might seek to maintain their own languages and cultural traditions.
The right to self-determination is enshrined in international law which means Aboriginal people have the right to make decisions about matters that affect their lives including meeting their social, political, cultural and economic needs.
This presentation will explore the fundamental differences between university and Aboriginal culture, pedagogy, epistemology, ontology and axiology and demonstrate how universities enforce and reinforce assimilationist policy and practice and undermine self-determination.
The presentation will posit the need for a seismic shift in the way universities provide services and support to Aboriginal students including revisiting the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of their various strategies, programs and activities.
Speaker
Prof Kogi Naidoo
Adjunct at CSU and Academic Dean at Laurus Higher Education
Laurus Higher Education / HERDSA President
HERDSA President's Address
Biography
Dr Kogi Naidoo, FHERDSA and PFHEA, is Professor and Academic Dean at Laurus Higher Education and Adjunct at Charles Sturt University. Kogi is a HERDSA Fellow (2003), Principal Fellow of Advance HE, UK (2016) and current President of HERDSA, 2021-2025. Kogi has over three decades higher education experience leading academic development, research and quality assurance in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Winning a national grant and as principal investigator she led a national team of all New Zealand universities investigating the impact of academic development on first year student learning. She has numerous prestigious academic awards and credentials, including the South African Junior Technikon Fellowship Award, Ernest Oppenheimer Gold Medal and the South African Association for Research and Development in Higher Education (SAARDHE) Young Achiever Award. Kogi has presented and published her research internationally. Kogi is a published author of two books. Kogi is leading the HERDSA MACS program.
Dr Paul Callaghan
Callaghan Cultural Consultancy
Opening keynote: The quest for Aboriginal self-determination. How universities contribute to the promulgation of assimilationist policy and practice in 2024
Final abstract
In 1937, the Commonwealth Government held a national conference on Aboriginal affairs which agreed that Aboriginal people ‘not of full blood’ should be absorbed or ‘assimilated’ into the wider population. The aim of assimilation was to make the ‘Aboriginal problem’ gradually disappear so that Aboriginal people would lose their identity in the wider community.
This policy took no account of the value or resilience of Aboriginal culture, nor did it allow that Aborigines might seek to maintain their own languages and cultural traditions.
The right to self-determination is enshrined in international law which means Aboriginal people have the right to make decisions about matters that affect their lives including meeting their social, political, cultural and economic needs.
This presentation will explore the fundamental differences between university and Aboriginal culture, pedagogy, epistemology, ontology and axiology and demonstrate how universities enforce and reinforce assimilationist policy and practice and undermine self-determination.
The presentation will posit the need for a seismic shift in the way universities provide services and support to Aboriginal students including revisiting the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of their various strategies, programs and activities.
This policy took no account of the value or resilience of Aboriginal culture, nor did it allow that Aborigines might seek to maintain their own languages and cultural traditions.
The right to self-determination is enshrined in international law which means Aboriginal people have the right to make decisions about matters that affect their lives including meeting their social, political, cultural and economic needs.
This presentation will explore the fundamental differences between university and Aboriginal culture, pedagogy, epistemology, ontology and axiology and demonstrate how universities enforce and reinforce assimilationist policy and practice and undermine self-determination.
The presentation will posit the need for a seismic shift in the way universities provide services and support to Aboriginal students including revisiting the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of their various strategies, programs and activities.
Biography
Paul Callaghan is an Aboriginal man belonging to the land of the Worimi, coastal New South Wales, Australia.
Paul has held several senior executive positions in his career including CEO of New England TAFE where he had responsibility for 1,200 staff, 23,000 students and an annual budget of $65million. He has qualifications in surveying, drafting, commerce, training, executive leadership, company boards and executive coaching. He also has a PhD in Creative Practice. His most important learning, however, has been through going bush with Elders.
He uses his lived experience as a consultant to advise organisations on how to implement strategic transformation initiatives that will increase the effectiveness of services targeting Aboriginal peoples.
Paul is also an author. His book, The Dreaming Path became a best seller in Australia in September, 2022 and received the Australian Book Industry Award for ‘Small Publisher’s Adult Book of the Year’ in 2023. It has also been published in France and Germany and the USA. He has recently written a book on leadership that will be released in 2025.
Chair
Edward Palmer
Professor
University of Adelaide / HERDSA 2024 Co-Convenor
Raj Shekhawat
Dean of Research / Professor
Flinders University / HERDSA Executive / HERDSA 2024 Co-Convenor
