Narrm Oration 2016

Narrm Oration 2016

The 2016 Narrm Oration will be delivered by Stan Grant, renowned journalist and author.

'Between the Dreaming and the Market:
Indigenous Economic Migrants and the world they made.'

2016 has been an 'annus horribilus' for indigenous people. A ten year old girl took her own life in a tragic reminder that Aboriginal kids are nearly ten times more likely to commit suicide. The treatment of boys of Don Dale detention centre outraged the nation, sparked a royal commission and shone a light into the plight of the most incarcerated population in the country. Deaths in custody, protest, violence, and a crisis in indigenous policy all paint a dire picture. Yet amid the gloom there is a spark of hope: more indigenous kids are finishing school and graduating university, indigenous performers are topping our charts and winning awards, indigenous sportsmen dominate their fields and the indigenous middle class is growing faster than any other sector of the population. These are the descendants of the great Aboriginal economic migration of the 20th century. These pioneers caught the tailwinds of economic boom and social change, they transformed their lives and altered forever our country. Stan Grant looks at how far we have come and the pathway to success.

About the Narrm Oration
The Narrm Oration is presented by the University of Melbourne. The vision for the Narrm Oration is to profile leading Indigenous thinkers from across the globe in order to enrich our ideas about possible futures for Indigenous Australia.

Stan Grant
Stan Grant is an Australian man of Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi heritage. He spent his young years on the road in an itinerant family searching the backblocks of New South Wales trying to survive. His journey has taken him around the world as a journalist covering the biggest stories of our times, from war and conflict to revolution, disaster and political and economic upheaval. He has won some of the most prestigious awards in journalism both in Australia and overseas. He has published two critically praised and best selling books 'the Tears of Strangers' and 'Talking to my country' and he is the author of the soon to be released Quarterly Essay looking at indigenous futures. He has worked for the ABC, Seven Network, SBS, National Indigenous Television, Sky News, The Guardian newspaper and for more than a decade as senior foreign correspondent with CNN based in Asia and the Middle East.

The image shown here is from the art of William Barak, Woiwurrung/Werundjeri, Untitled (Ceremony) from the Koorie Heritage Trust Collection

Indigenous Tertiary Education Conference
You may also be interested in the Indigenous Tertiary Education Conference hosted by Trinity College 18-19 November 2016. Last year's Narrm Orator, Professor Marcia Langton AM, will be the Conference Ambassador and Stan Grant will also be involved in this Conference.