Reef Traditional Owner women: ‘Speak your truth, change the world’

The need to elevate Reef Traditional Owner women’s voices is a shared priority for the Foundation and the Reef Trust Partnership Traditional Owner Advisory Group. It is also well-documented through the Queensland Indigenous Women’s Ranger Network Conference Report (2020), which calls for training and development support to build confidence and position women to share their insights, experience and knowledge.

Following an open call to current and aspiring Traditional Owner women leaders of the Reef, the Foundation has been overwhelmed by the interest and commitment of those who joined.

By providing the space, content and immersive experience, these Traditional Owner women were given the support to become clear and deeply aligned on what their core ideas are and what they stand for – and own the value of both.

They learnt techniques to access the deep wisdom held within their bodies and to bring that wisdom forward in their messaging.

To help with confidence, they were shown how their nervous system can be rewired, harnessing their energy so that speaking up becomes an experience of safety, power, joy and freedom.

They were offered a safe and nurturing space to take creative risks in developing their skill to articulate their vision.

We were thrilled and honoured that every woman in the group actively participated. Even our quietest leader found her voice and spoke courageously.

These skills simply cannot be underestimated. We know they have the potential to create inter-generational change and transformation.

For over 25 years, Traditional Owners from across the Reef have been calling for collaborative ways to achieve their rights and aspirations for ownership, access to and involvement in the formal governance and management of Sea Country.

But we know it’s often the same, relatively few Traditional Owners who generously participate in conventional Reef management decision-making and governance arrangements.

It’s critically important that more is done to support additional Traditional Owners along the Reef. And in this, elevate pathways for women as important community changemakers by adding their voices, knowledge and perspectives to the ongoing management of the Reef. This is especially so in providing good pathways that can attract women into leadership positions to help manage the Great Barrier Reef.

Under the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, the Traditional Owner Partnerships team is proud to be building the foundational pillars required to deliver on these aspirations.

Our aim is to create the conditions that will enable stronger Traditional Owner-led processes and achieve ongoing, more inclusive governance and management of the Reef, while recognising and elevating cultural values and diversity.