Partnership between the commission and National Australian Agency begins

Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women's Voices) project is aiming to builds on the legacy of the 1986 Women's Business Report.

The WYUT Aboriginal Woman's Summit had more than 950 Indigenous women from all over Australia attend.

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Proud Wiradujri woman and attendee of the event Cecilia Mckenzie says that the event was a massive success.

"I was exhausted by the end of it from crying so much. We are promoting that we are the change and it really felt that way," Ms Mckenzie said.

Led by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar AO, Wiyi Yani U Thagani (Women's Voices) is a multi-year initiative set out to capture what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls consider to be their strengths, challenges and aspirations for change.

Throughout 2018, the Commissioner and her team travelled to 50 locations in urban, regional and remote areas across every state and territory. They conducted 106 engagements and met with 2,294 women of all ages. Over 100 submissions and 300 survey responses were also received.

Ms Mckenzie was one of the two Goulburn representatives to attend the event, alongside her was fellow Wiradjuri woman and land council member, Delise Freeman.

"The summit was the first of it's kind and we focused on drilling down on the big issues we face within our community, I hope it's the start of more in the future," Ms Freeman said.

Informed by the findings from engagements and submissions, the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women's Voices): Securing our Rights, Securing our Future 2020 report was prepared, and published in December 2020.

The report is an extensive whole-of-life report that captures the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls, the principles they think ought to be enshrined in the design of policy and programs, and the measures they recommend ought to be taken to effectively promote the enjoyment of their human rights in the future.

The summit featured speeches by June Oscar AO who highlighted the importance of the communities coming together to fight the issues being faced every day.

Both Cecilia and Delisa hope that the summit captures more of what is to come for the future of the community.

"We are highly motivated to bring back the knowledge to the community and focussing on closing the gap to bring back the healing and connection with our community."

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