The First Nations Women and Girls National Summit was be held from 9-11 May 2023, with an additional one-day Youth Forum on 8 May 2023. The Summit brought together over 900 First Nations women delegates and non-Indigenous collaborations, for decision-making, innovation and celebration.
The National Summit is an outcome of the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) project, led by Commissioner June Oscar AO, in partnership with the National Indigenous Australians Agency. It is the first ever national gathering of its kind.
Over three days, delegates engaged with inspiring keynotes, panels and workshops, showcasing the innovative approaches and initiatives of First Nations women across key thematic areas: Leadership and Decision-Making; Language, Land, Water & Cultural Rights; Societal Healing and Intergenerational Wellbeing; and Economic Justice & Empowerment. Taken together, the Summit put forward First Nations women-led solutions to some of the most significant challenges faced by First Nations women, communities and all of society. You can read more about the presentations and initiatives showcased in the Summit Program and Showcase Booklet.
Delegates at the Summit also informed the development of the National Framework for Action, and endorsed the establishment of a First Nations Gender Justice Institute—both major outcomes of the Summit.
First Nations women have put their calls to action in the Summit Communique and Youth Statement, and are calling on governments to recognise and invest in the mechanisms that will enable their voices to pave the way for a future that all Australians deserve and have a right to. Make sure to read the Communique and Youth Statement.
Day one was about being connected, grounding and uniting Summit participants in all our diversity. Together, through connection, commonality can be found of belonging to country, kin, spirit and the ecosystems that interconnect across the continent. Everyone and everything is connected, and together in our connection we can create healthy systems and flourishing societies.
On day two, all Summit participants are asked to look to the future and think about the way forward for Wiyi Yani U Thangani and what a movement for First Nations gender justice and equality really looks like.
The last day of the Summit is all about innovation and transformative change. Innovation is inherent to First Nations cultures and knowledges. The day will consider how First Nations people are the first innovators, adapting and responding to changing conditions over tens of thousands of centuries.
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