L-R Professor Bep Uink, Director of Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet at ECU
Dr Misty Farquhar OAM - CEO, RFWA, Tanesha Bennell, Aboriginal Community Organiser, RFWA, Professor Braden Hill, DVC (Students, Equity and Indigenous), ECU and Nat Latter, Engagement Lead at RFWA.
Rainbow Futures WA, Western Australia's peak LGBTIQA+ advocacy body, in partnership with ECU's Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research, Kurongkurl Katijin, and WAAC (formerly the Western Australia AIDS Council), has appointed Tanesha Bennell, in a groundbreaking new role as Aboriginal Community Organiser.
Tanesha Bennell is a proud Bibbulmun Noongar, well-known for their experience in advocacy, community engagement and cultural leadership for Aboriginal and LGBTIQA+ communities, and as an experienced storyteller. They are noted for their work with Boorloo Justice, a Noongar led grassroots activist collective, and for their community organising for LGBTIQA+ mob.
The role has been created to drive and implement the recommendations of the Walkern Katatdjin Roadmap Report. This report aims to provide a structured framework to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ young people at all levels of community and government.
Among the key goals of the report, Tanesha will focus on increasing visibility and cultural safety within policy development, services and organisations for the Aboriginal LGBTIQA+ community.
Roadmap to progress
The collaboration between these three organisations, and their respective areas of expertise, steered by the recommendations of the Walkern Katatdjin Roadmap Report, is a significant movement towards full inclusivity.
The Roadmap framework is guided by the Aboriginal principles of caring and responsibility for kin. The overall outcome is to create an environment where individuals, families and other stakeholders feel empowered to provide the structure and support for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ people to thrive.
Each chapter of the report deals with actions that groups can take to nurture and guide communities, organisations, and governments in order to create a progressive environment for inclusivity.
Aboriginal Community Organiser for Rainbow Futures WA, Tanesha Bennell
ECU's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students, Equity and Indigenous) Professor Braden Hill, and Professor Bep Uink, are part of the research team, which has created the report to guide community and government policy development.
Professor Hill, is a Nyungar (Wardandi) man and recognised academic leader focusing on Indigenous/LGBTQIA+ matters.
Professor Bep Uink, a Noongar woman, made history by becoming the first woman and Aboriginal to lead the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, which has been a leader, for 28 years, in accessible, evidence-based health information.
Visit Walkern Katatdjin (Rainbow Knowledge) for more information on the Walkern Katatdjin Roadmap Report.
