Traditional Indigenous Knowledge systems and how they are being used to create and develop business enterprises and employment opportunities will be the focus of the 2013 Charles Darwin Symposium in Darwin in April
This free event will be held on 21 and 22 April at Charles Darwin University’s Casuarina campus in Darwin.
Through panel discussions, displays, presentations and demonstrations the Symposium will provide opportunities to discuss and raise questions about what is understood by traditional knowledge, its role in contemporary society and what is unique about its contributions to our livelihoods and governance.
Chair of the 2013 Symposium organising committee, Professor Steven Larkin, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Leadership at CDU said these questions would be addressed in ways that reflected the local and specific nature of Indigenous knowledges in the NT, and the informal and collaborative ways Indigenous peoples continued to contribute to the NT.
“The Symposium will bring together Indigenous elders and community leaders from around the Territory as well as leading Indigenous academics from across Australia and overseas who will contribute to the discussions and the public are encouraged to attend,” Professor Larkin said.
“Central themes will include how do we understand Indigenous knowledge? – is it something one has or as something one does? Should we understand it in terms of its practice or its content? On what conditions can the knowledge be shared?
“The 2013 Symposium will also provide an opportunity for the community to tour the new Australian Centre of Indigenous Knowledges and Education building at the Casuarina campus. The Centre is a joint partnership between CDU and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, which will become a place of national significance for Australian Indigenous Knowledges,” Professor Larkin said.
The Charles Darwin Symposia are an initiative of the Charles Darwin University/Northern Territory Government Partnership Agreement and are designed to encourage lively and constructive, informed debate on issues of importance to all Territorians.
Through the symposia the University and the Northern Territory Government seek to engage with the wider community, by inviting members of the public to participate in the discussions and exchange of diverse points of view to reach understandings on the issues under scrutiny.
To view the 2013 Symposium program, visit www.cdu.edu.au/cdss2013/
Contacts for further information on the Symposium and to register to attend:
E. cdss@cdu.edu.au
T. +61 8 8946 6082
www.cdu.edu.au/cdss2013/