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Each week, a new guest hosts the @IndigenousX twitter account. We're inviting them to tell us about who they are
Each week, a new guest hosts the @IndigenousX twitter account to discuss topics of interest as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. In partnership with IndigenousX, we're inviting its weekly host to tell us about who they are, what issues they're passionate about, and what they have in store for us during their upcoming week.
Tell us about yourself. Who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
I am a Kamilaroi/Dharug woman living and working primarily on Cadigal country in Sydney. I work as a project manager for Winangali, which is a small Indigenous consultancy that specialises in Indigenous community engagement. The word Winangali is from my grandmother's language and it means "to know, to listen and to remember".
What do you plan to talk about on @IndigenousX this week?
A whole mix of things! One of my good friends, Selena, is fundraising to take some Aboriginal kids from remote Northern Territory on an excursion to the snow (#Sand2Snow) and I'm hoping that @IndigenousX's followers will get behind the campaign by asking questions and spreading the word.
I will also be participating in the @IndigenousDX Indigenous Digital Excellence Agenda Summit next week, and I'd like to generate some conversation on what people think Indigenous digital excellence should be about.
What issue affecting Indigenous people do you think is most pressing?
The most pressing issue is the life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It scares me that at 27, I'm considered to be middle aged, and that elders I know are beginning to pass away in their early 50s.
It's incredibly disappointing that in Australia, a first-world country that prides itself on mateship, our people have been left behind when it comes to access to adequate and culturally appropriate healthcare.
Who are your role models, and why?
First and foremost, my role models are the women in my family. I come from a long line of strong, staunch and loving women who have survived so much. I consider every success I experience in my life a tribute to them and the sacrifices that they made for our family.
I'm incredibly lucky to say that many of the people that I look up to have become friends of mine. I admire Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who harness the power of the pen (or the keyboard) to change the way people see Indigenous Australia – Anita Heiss, Chris Graham, Luke Pearson, Meshel Laurie, Celeste Liddle, Urthboy, Kodie Bedford, and Nareen Young to name a few.
I am also in awe of the tireless work that community leaders do on a daily basis. People like Brad Cooke, Shane Phillips and Uncle Mark Spinks are the threads that keep our communities together and humbly ask for nothing in return.
And of course, when you're talking about role models, it's impossible to ignore trailblazers like Vincent Lingiari and Eddie Koiki Mabo who sacrificed so much of their own lives to challenge the status quo and stand up for the rights of our people.
What are your hopes for the future?
I hope that I will see the day when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids will have the same opportunities as their non-Indigenous counterparts. I want us to not only close the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians but to improve all health indicators for Indigenous people.
And finally, I hope that we can become united as a people. I would love to see a world where lateral violence no longer exists, and where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are in a position to demand the rights that are well overdue.