Keynote presenters in alphabetical order:
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Lionel Bamblett (Wiradjuri/Yorta
Yorta) became the 1st General Manager of the newly formed VAEAI in
1985 - with a 2 year study break in 1991. He remained in the position and
is now the General Manager of the VAEAI. Lionel has played a significant
role in the negotiations with the different Ministers of Education for the
implementation of policy that impacts on Koorie students in Victoria.
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Professor
Russell Bishop
is foundation Professor and Assistant Dean for Maori Education in the
School
of
Education
at the
University
of
Waikato
in New Zealand. He is a qualified teacher, having taught in secondary schools in Porirua
and the
Cook Islands. Prior to his present appointment he was a senior lecturer in Maori
Education in the Education Department at the
University
of
Otago
and also acted as Interim Director for Otago
University's Teacher Education programme. His research experience is in the area of
collaborative storying in Maori contexts, having written a book
Collaborative Research Stories: Whakawhanaungatanga and published
nationally and internationally on this topic. His other research interests
include strategies for implementing the Treaty of Waitangi in tertiary
institutions, Intercultural Education, and Collaborative Storying as
Pedagogy. The latter area is the subject of a book, co-authored with
Professor Ted Glynn, published in 1999. This book Culture Counts: Changing
Power Relationships in Classrooms, demonstrates how the experiences
developed from within kaupapa Maori settings; schooling, research and
policy development, can be applied to mainstream educational settings. He
is currently the project director for a Ministry of Education funded
research /professional development project that seeks to improve the
educational achievement of Maori students in mainstream classrooms.
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Associate Professor
Brian Gray is currently at the Institute
of Advanced Studies at Charles Darwin University in the Northern
Territory, Australia. He is the Academic Team Leader for the National
Accelerated Literacy Program, a major Indigenous literacy development
project funded by the Australian Government that is based on his work.
The project involves schools for Indigenous students across four
Australian States. Brian has a background in the education of Indigenous
and other marginalized students stretching back over a period of
approximately 30 years. Over that time his efforts have been focused
primarily on the development of programs that provide access and control
over discourses that are fundamental for academic/literate success in
education. His early work in Central Australia during the 1980's
established an approach to discourse acquisition that is commonly
referred to as 'concentrated language encounters'.
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Mr
Sam Jeffries
is Chairperson of Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly in
Western NSW
. He was born and raised in Brewarrina NSW and has been active in
Indigenous Affairs for 25 years. Mr Jeffries has worked in the cotton,
hotel and meat industries, in the public service and six years as a
Community Training Officer at the Community Development Employment Program
in Lightning Ridge. He
recently finished a four-year term on the Walgett Shire Council having
been elected to five consecutive terms as an ATSIC Regional Councillor and
serving three consecutive terms as Chairperson. His
previous roles include Chair of NSW ATSIC State Council, a Board Member of
the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office up until July 2005, Chair of the
National Forum of ATSIC Regional Chairpersons and Chair of Barwon Darling
Alliance, an alliance between Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly and five Local
Councils. Mr
Jeffries is currently a board member of the Western Catchment Management
Authority of NSW and a panel member of the Aboriginal Trust Fund
Repayments Scheme. Mr
Jeffries is also Chairperson of Murdi Paaki Environmental Health Forum and
has been a Justice of the Peace since 1984.
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Dr
Ladwig is
Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Newcastle. Dr
Ladwig has served as a consultant for numerous state department projects
in NSW and QLD and has directed a number of large independent research
projects of school reform in Australia.
With
Professor Jennifer Gore Dr Ladwig has developed the New South Wales model
of pedagogy providing a framework both for teachers’ professional
self-reflection and school improvement practices. He recently presented in
Hobart and participants saw many possibilities for using his work to
assist teachers to reflect on their practice. |
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Professor
John Lester is a Wonnarua man from the Singleton area. He has more than 21 years of operational and managerial leadership in Indigenous education and training covering school, TAFE and university. At the University of Newcastle he was chair of Aboriginal studies. John is now Director, Aboriginal Education and Training in the NSW Department of Education and Training.
“The biggest thing my father ever gave me was a clear sense of who I was as an Aboriginal person, so I have a very solid sense of identity,” he says. “It stood me in line to take the knocks and to pursue education to the maximum.”
“If we can make Aboriginal kids feel part of the environment, feel welcome in the school and classrooms and see that the culture and their beliefs and families are appreciated and understood we can engage those kids – they’re the big changes that need to take place.” |
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Professor
John Maynard is the Chair of Aboriginal Studies, Director of Umulliko
Higher Education Research Centre and Head of Wollotuka, School of
Aboriginal Studies at The University of Newcastle. John's traditional
roots lie with the Worimi people of Port Stephens. He was the recipient of
the Stanner Fellow for 1996, a competitive and prized honour awarded to
only one Indigenous scholar every two years. John's qualifications
include: Phd - University of Newcastle (2003), Bachelor of Arts -
University of South Australia (1999) and Diploma of Aboriginal Studies -
University of Newcastle (1995) |
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Mr
Robert Somerville AM is Director of Aboriginal Education, Training and Services in
Western Australia
and chair of the Senior Officers National Network of Indigenous Education,
WA. Robert
is a Martu man and his people are from Jigalong in
Western Australia. Currently
he holds the position of Director of Aboriginal Education and Training to
which he was promoted in September 2002. Robert
joined the Department of Education, Western Australia in 1978 as a
classroom teacher progressing to Principal Class IV of Cygnet Bay Primary
School in 1982, Education Officer with the Aboriginal Education Branch in
1984, Deputy Principal of Sutherland Primary School in 1986, Principal of
Tardun Remote Community School in 1988, Senior Consultant Curriculum
Policy Branch in 1988, Manager of Aboriginal Education in 1992 and
District Superintendent of the Goldfields in 1993. He relieved as District
Superintendent of the Kimberley in 1990
and 1991. Robert was appointed in 1998 to the position of Director of the
Systemic Aboriginal Schools Program and in November 2000 the Director of
Aboriginal Education (Operations). In September 2001 he was appointed the
District Director of the Joondalup Education District. Robert
was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia
in 2004, the Upper Gascoyne Century Medal in 2006 and the Australian Cadet
Forces Medal in 2005. He holds a Masters Degree in Education focusing upon
management and leadership.
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