Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor hosted a meet and greet luncheon in Nhulunbuy on Tuesday 31 October for representatives of business, government and community groups.
The event provided an excellent opportunity for those present to gain a better understanding of CDU’s strategic directions, ‘1st in 5 in 10’, all of which are relevant to the East Arnhem region.
Many took up the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences with CDU. Vice-Chancellor, Professor Helen Garnett responded well to the suggestions and ideas.
The Chancellor, Mr Richard Ryan, and Professor Garnett also met with teachers of Nhulunbuy High School and Alcan representatives.
CDU’s Casuarina Campus-based Associate Professor Ram Vemuri was also in Nhulunbuy for initial investigations into the impacts and economic benefits of Alcan’s mining project on Yolngu society and culture.
Professor Vemuri, Gabrielle Mullen, project coordinator, and Carina Bekkers, Nhulunbuy campus administrator, will meet with different focus groups before the project is completed at the end of November.
Finally, 21 students recently commenced the ‘Introduction to Yolngu Matha’ course at the Yirrkala training centre. This short course is run once a week over six weeks by two Indigenous lecturers who have in-depth knowledge of Yolngu culture and are also skilled teachers in ‘both ways’ learning.
The course exposes participants to Yolngu culture in the community while also providing practice opportunities.
Through regular practice in pronunciation and by acquiring a vocabulary of words used in everyday life, students develop a basic level of conversational ability in the local Yolngu language.
Other aspects of Yolngu culture such as kinship, social protocol and stories are also covered in the course.
Visit the Nhulunbuy Campus website.