Territorians urged to cause disruption

The people of Northern Australia can take the lead in the development and change in the region and cause the next major disruption in their lives, according to a Charles Darwin University academic.

CDU College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society Dean Professor Ruth Wallace will present the first Professorial Lecture for 2018, titled “Indigenous Advantage: can Northern Australia lead through innovation?”, on Wednesday, 11 July.

Professor Wallace’s research focuses on marginalised learners and educational systems in regional and remote areas of Northern Australia.

“Indigenous leader Eddie Fry has challenged us to think about a 50-year plan and ‘the Indigenous Estate lifted beyond current perceptions of what is possible in Indigenous Australia’,” Professor Wallace said. 

“Northern Australia has many advantages and can lead development and change in the region. Using intergenerational knowledge and innovation, the people of Northern Australia are leaders in innovation and managing change.”

In her presentation Professor Wallace will ask the audience to consider Northern Australia as a leader in understanding and creating partnering approaches to economic prosperity, culturally engaged leadership and social engagement.  

“I will ask the people and institutions of Northern Australia to draw on deep expertise and knowledge of our region and its histories, such as recognition of land and sea rights to turn change into adaptive pathways, rights into intergenerational strength and sustainability, and turn disadvantage to advantage,” she said.

“It’s time to ask what is possible and how will we be a part of the future.”

Professor Wallace leads the Regional, Economic and Workforce Development research theme at the Northern Institute at CDU, which focuses on collaborative approaches to workforce development and engagement with community, governments and industry that are sustainable and scalable.

She is the social science technical advisor for the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, with a focus on building resilience through community engagement and collaborative knowledge and management systems for biosecurity surveillance.

In 2016 Professor Wallace became the first female Australian researcher to be awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Agriculture and Life Sciences and was a visiting scholar at Kansas State University in 2017.

The lecture will be held from 5pm to 7pm on Wednesday 11 July 2018 at the CDU Theatre, Casuarina campus. All welcome, but bookings are essential. RSVP to E: cduevents@cdu.edu.au or T: 08 8946 6554.