See also
Link
Link
Related pages
Link
Link
International Women's Day 2011
 |
|
| AIATSIS Staff celebrate International Women's Day 2011 as part of a reception and launch of a photographic exhbition at the Institute in March.(Photo: Annie MacMillan-Davies) |
Last year– for the first time in its history - AIATSIS staged an event to celebrate International Women’s Day. Its activities centred on a reception for all female staff members of the Institute, invited guests and 50 delegates from Oxfam Australia’s Straight Talk 2010 Summit. In total some 150 people attended.
This years celebrations at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to mark International Women’s Day was both innovative and very distinctive.
The Institute proudly marked the occasion with the creation of a new staff award to recognise outstanding service by women and launched of a stunning exhibition of strong, community based Aboriginal women by a young Aboriginal photographer.
Speaking at a gala reception on March 8 for some 150 invited guests, AIATSIS Chairperson, Professor Mick Dodson delivered one simple message: “Women have changed the world – for the better,” he said.
In his address, Professor Dodson acknowledged the contributions of all women on International Women’s Day – and in particular Indigenous women.
“They are the cornerstones of our society.”
“We too often take our women for granted. We need to openly recognise and respect – and openly acknowledge – the role women play in the world.
“In Aboriginal society, of course, our women fulfil a multitude of roles. They are mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters and grand-daughters. They are much valued aunties, carers, teachers and community leaders.”
“They are also a shoulder to cry on and the providers of guidance and wisdom.
“So many of our strong leaders – and advocates for change – have been strong Aboriginal women.”
Professor Dodson noted that women have played a significant part in shaping the Institute with nearly 64 percent of its staff being female women.
“Perhaps you could say women keep this place ticking,” he added.
In announcing the creation of the Shirley Ann Williams Award – named after a former much-loved staff member who passed away in October, 2010 – Professor Dodson said that the award will be presented each year to a female staff member in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the work of the Institute.
With many members of the extended Williams family present – Professor Dodson highlighted that Shirley had been a long-time member of AIATSIS’s library digitisation team.
“Shirley was part of our family and enjoyed reading over old magazines as she worked, especially recipes and funny tips from missionaries. Many staff here tonight will readily recall how she would chuckle and share her own stories growing up on the Willow Bend Mission near Condobolin in rural NSW.
“Shirley was a prominent member of the Aboriginal community in Queanbeyan and Canberra and the Williams name is synonymous with the Institute’s Family History Unit.
“In fact it is nicknamed the Williams Unit.”
He then announced that the inaugural winner of the award was Jackie Lambert, who, until her retirement two years was the longest serving employee of the Institute for whom she worked for over 35 years.
“She worked passionately and professionally in the demanding role as an Executive Officer for our Council and the various Institute Chairpersons over the last three decades.”
“She performed this important role while juggling the significant challenges of being a single parent and carer of a disabled daughter who has considerable special needs.” He noted.
In launching the first public exhibition of the work of Kerstin Styche, Professor Dodson said that Kerstin, who began work at AIATSIS as a trainee photographic technician upon leaving school in 2006, was a Wiradjuri woman who recently graduated with a Bachelor degree in Photography and who had won two major awards in the final year of her degree.
The exhibition was a magnificent collection of black and white portraits from her award winning graduation exhibition at the Canberra Institute of Technology.
Kerstin had explained, in a special flyer presented to guests that the concept for the series of 15 portraits had come to her slowly over a period of time.
“I was particularly inspired after seeing an exhibition in Melbourne by Indigenous photographer Ricky Maynard entitled Returning to places that name us.
“My work, Walan Budhang Yinaagirrbang is a serious of images of individual women who represent all black women, rather than a group of individual photographs. I have deliberately not identified each woman because Walan Budhang Yinaagirrbang is not about individual portraits.
“I feel strongly about this, because I want my images to allow these women to tell their unique stories while at the same time reflecting the common history and experiences Aboriginal women have shared.
“My family, my connection to my ancestral country and language and my people are very important to me, so I have given my series a title in my own language that translates as Strong Black Women – the quality I wanted to reveal through this series”.
In her response, an emotional Kerstin thanked her mother and father for helping to make her the person she was, as well as her brothers and her friend Eli and her Aunty Donna.
She also thanked various AIATSIS staff members - Di Hosking and Alana Harris - for all the help and guidance they had given her since she joined AIATSIS family.
“Thank you all for coming”, she concluded - and over 150 voices gave her a responding cheer and sustained round of applause.