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Straight Talk 2009
Straight Talk, hosted by Oxfam Australia, was a gathering in Canberra on the 25-27 February 2009 of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from around the country.
Day 1 of the event was about getting to know each other, identifying what issues are most important and identifying areas for change.
Day 2 focused on understanding how to engage effectively with Australia’s political system to have ideas heard and bring about positive change.
Day 3 was held at Parliament House where participants had the opportunity to meet with women parliamentarians to build relationships, identify common priorities and explore ways to work together.
Download the event summary for more information
Why?
Through our work with communities around the world, Oxfam Australia has observed that women have a particular ability to work with each other across traditional, cultural and political boundaries. We have seen many examples of women coming together to bring about change – from women parliamentarians in Malawi to women from warring tribes in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
Based on this experience, we believe there is much scope for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and non-Indigenous women to work together to advance reconciliation and achieve greater justice and equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Straight Talk 2009 aims to:
- establish ongoing relationships and networks between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women participants and female political representatives
- highlight the shared concerns and objectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and non-Indigenous women
- increase the access of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to their political representatives
- increase understanding in parliament of the issues confronting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women
- strengthen the advocacy skills of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their ability to bring about change through political processes
Who?
Oxfam Australia invited applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women for Straight Talk 2009. We selected women who represent the strength and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This means we want participants of all ages, family types, and education and employment levels, from all parts of Australia..
More information
To find out more about the 2009 STraight Talk event, download the summary below.