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Media Release

April 22 2008

2020 vision – maintaining momentum on Indigenous issues

Peter Buckskin with the PMDean and Head of UniSA’s David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research, Professor Peter Buckskin PSM FACE has emerged from the Australia 2020 Summit welcoming a new dialogue between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia.

Professor Buckskin participated in discussions on Options for the Future of Indigenous Australia but says what was really heartening was that an Indigenous focus permeated many other discussion streams.

“Listening to the final plenary session on Sunday afternoon, I was really inspired by the fact that an Indigenous focus came through right across the stream areas,” Professor Buckskin said.

“I want to congratulate the co-Chairs of all streams for acknowledging the need to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.”

Professor Buckskin came to the 2020 Summit with a vision for Aboriginal education, and with his own ideas for the critical years of 0-8 years, and the incorporation of Indigenous knowledges, expertise and scholarship in all University disciplines across Australia.

“I’m thrilled that one of the top ideas from our stream was the recommendation for education and health authorities to implement individual health and education reform for every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child,” he said.

“What also came through in the recommendations was a strong focus on developing a new education framework to give real choice for Indigenous children to receive high quality education.

“Recognition of the central role of educational opportunity in closing the gap for Indigenous people is very significant. The ongoing impact these initiatives will have on Indigenous children, scholars and graduates is exciting.”

Professor Buckskin said talk around the importance of education was also bolstered by passionate debate about the need for formal recognition of Australia’s First Peoples.

“There were specific calls for a Bill of Rights, a formal commitment to constitutional reform, the ratification of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in the Australian Constitution,” he said.

“These concepts were broadly reported as formal recognition of Australia’s Indigenous peoples, but we have been assured our more specific ideas have been recorded and will be included in the final report from our stream.”

He said it was more than encouraging that the Governance stream also advocated for the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution, stressing the necessity for Indigenous involvement in the process.

“This has been a great start,” he said.

“I see this summit as the first step in continuing the dialogue around education so that the promotion of Indigenous scholarship and engagement continues, Indigenous knowledge and expertise is valued, and there is a growing Indigenous contribution to the nation’s intellectual life.”

Professor Buckskin is now in New York to address the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. In his seminar presentation he’ll be discussing the development and embedding of Indigenous Studies within Australian Universities.
 

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