Celebrating First Nations Women
A Special NAIDOC Week Event
NAIDOC Week represents a long history of First Nations people telling their stories, honouring their Elders, and imagining a truly reconciled Australia.
Together with gender equality-focused organisation, FW, Witchery held a breakfast event on 10 July that brought together 350 people in Naarm.
10% of every ticket and table sold was donated to the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
In Partnership with
Artwork by proud Samsep woman, Alysha Menzel (@alyshamenzel)
Photography by Tiffany Garvie (@tjgarvie)
The Inspiring Speakers
Here are the women whose voices had the stage, and whose illuminating knowledge and continuous work paves the way for much needed change in Australia.
Gabrielle Ebsworth
Project Lead, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine
Gabrielle Ebsworth is a proud Wangkumara and Barkindji woman who grew up on Wiradjuri Country in New South Wales. An Australian Indigenous Education Foundation alumnus, Ebsworth grew up in a community with poor health and education outcomes for Aboriginal people, and is driven by a desire to give back to her community and empower Indigenous people.
Associate Professor
Shawana Andrews
Director, Poche Centre
Dr Shawana Andrews, a Trawlwoolway woman of Tebrakunna Country in north-east Tasmania, is the Director and Associate Professor at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Melbourne. Her work at the Poche centre focuses on Aboriginal doctoral advancement and health leadership.
Apryl Day
Founding Executive Officer, Dhadjowa Foundation
Apryl Day is a proud Yorta Yorta, Wemba Wemba and Barapa Barapa woman. She is the founding Executive Officer of the Dhadjowa Foundation, a national grassroots organisation providing strategic support for families seeking justice for First Nations people who have died in police custody.
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts
Commissioner, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts is a highly accomplished Human Rights advocate, lawyer and the Inaugural Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People. She is committed to amplifying the voices of Black Lives through her advocacy, particularly those of Indigenous children.
Courtney Ugle
Founder, Waangkiny
Courtney Ugle is a highly-acclaimed Aboriginal athlete and spokesperson, known for her commitment to empowering Indigenous women in sports and beyond. A proud Noongar woman from Bunbury, Western Australia, she was the first Indigenous woman to captain the Essendon Bombers in the VFLW and was instrumental in the club’s development of their First Nations’ Women’s Pathway Program.
Witchery acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which this event took place, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Boon Wurrung Peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
In Partnership with
Artwork by proud Samsep woman, Alysha Menzel (@alyshamenzel)