From little things, big things grow: World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 8, 2 November 2022, page no. 14
The World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE) is a triennial international conference, and this year it was held in Adelaide, from 26 to 30 September.
The QTU sent its biggest delegation to date, consisting of six First Nations members: Preston Parter, Freddie Reid, Emily Hudson, Emerson Zerafa-Payne, Belinda Coulihan and Toni Filewood. Accompanying this delegation were Rachel Bos and Merv King, the Queensland representatives on Yalukit Yulenj, the AEU Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander committee.
WIPCE is a major international event that encompasses First Nations educational experts, educators, students, and scholars. The conference provides a platform for discussion and knowledge transfer on contemporary First Nations issues in education. More than 2,000 delegates attended, from places such as Hawai’i, Samiland (Norway/Sweden), Vanuatu, Canada, Solomon Islands, Aotearoa, Cook Islands, the United States, and Africa, to name a few, as well as many more from throughout Australia and virtually.
We spent the week yarning, learning, and making lifelong connections, as well as highlighting some key educational issues throughout the world and working on ways to move forward.
We heard some key speakers and academics in the field of First Nations education, such as Linda Burney, Minister for Indigenous Australians, Associate Professor Simone Tur, Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor Marcia Langton AO, Associate Professor Melitta Hogarth and Professor Mark Rose, who all spoke on the theme of WIPCE 2022: Indigenous Education Sovereignty: Our Voices, Our Futures.
A key takeaway was recognising the similarities that First Nations peoples have experienced around the world, and the positive difference that self-determination and Treaty make to education. Another point of interest was connecting with other union members, and becoming abreast of contemporary Indigenous, social justice and union issues globally.
The delegates thank the Kaurna people for their custodianship of the land on which WIPCE 2022 was held, the Adelaide plains, as well as the QTU for this fantastic opportunity. The next WIPCE will be held in Auckland, Aotearoa, in 2025.