Country as Teacher in the Reimagining of Australian Education
Presented by Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson, Dr Anthony McKnight and
Barbara Lepani
April 23, 2025
12-1.30pm (AEST)
Event will be held On Campus or online via Zoom.
If you wish to attend on zoom, a link will be emailed to you the day prior to the event. If you are attending on campus, you will need to register and choose the "On Campus" option when booking.
Our special guests for this
conversation are Wadi Wadi Elder, Dr. Aunty Barbara Nicholson,
Awabakal/Gumaroi/Yuin Cultural Man, Dr. Anthony McKnight, and Blue
Mountains author and senior Buddhist practitioner, Barbara Lepani. Each
of these speakers, in their own unique way, is deeply familiar with cultural
wisdom found in both ancient and modern systems of knowledge. Together they
will lead us to explore how the deep ecological consciousness of Indigenous and
Buddhist knowledge systems can inform a new story of education—one that is
holistic, ethical and responsive to our shared future.
About the Presenters
Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson is
a Wadi Wadi Elder and the 2024 Wollongong Citizen of the Year. She who
holds a degree in English Literature (Newcastle), an Honorary Doctor of Laws
(UOW), and started the Ngana Barangarai (Black Wallaby) project which collects
and publishes creative writing from First Australian inmates in Junee Jail.
Aunty Barb received the First Nations Australia Writing Network’s lifetime
achievement award in 2023.
Dr Anthony McKnight is an
Awabakal, Gumaroi and Yuin Cultural Man who is an Associate Professor and the
Curriculum Transformation lead within the Indigenous Strategy Unit at the
University of Wollongong. His work centres Country in Aboriginal approaches to
curriculum, teaching, learning and research. His publications include a 2023
3rd edition of his book ‘Research for Educators’ (Cengage).
Barbara Lepani is the
Co-convenor of the New Economy Network Australia's Arts & Culture Hub
(NACH) and National Coordinator of The Enlivenment Network, which works for a
new/ancient way of human community acknowledging Australian First Nations’
Caring for County. She has authored numerous works based on her life of
cross-cultural relationship and deep cultivation as a Tibetan Buddhist
practitioner.
This event is free, however
registration is essential. You can register here