Keynote speakers
Dr Dawn Bessarab
Dawn is an Aboriginal woman of Bard (West Kimberley) and Yjindjarbandi (Pilbara) descent. She is a highly regarded and experienced senior social worker and researcher who graduated with her PhD in 2007.
Dawn is particularly interested in the application of Indigenous research methodologies, participatory action research and the translation of research into policy and practice. She is engaged in research looking at interventions and collaborative approaches to addressing health issues affecting Aboriginal people.
Having worked in child protection for the last 20 years, Dawn has extensive experience in the fields of family and domestic violence and drug and alcohol use. Dawn is a Director at Western Australia Family Violence Prevention Legal Service Aboriginal Corporation.
Kutcha Edwards
Songman Kutcha Edwards is a proud Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta, Nari Nari man, is a strong advocate for Aboriginal people, and is dedicated to the continuum of his traditional Songline.
Kutcha has been prolifically combining song writing and activism since 1991, when he joined Koori group Watbalimba and began the remarkable journey that has taken him from the tiny Riverina town of Balranald to tours of Australia and the world. It is his experiences as a survivor of the Stolen Generations and his proud Mutti Mutti heritage that has shaped his diverse creative output in groups like Blackfire and The Black Arm Band. At the same time, he's been able to forge a successful solo career combining his ‘Bidgee’ blues with traditional songs of people and country.
Kutcha is now multi award winning singer/songwriter and his most recent album ‘Circling Time’ has garnered critical acclaim. He tells us that music chose him. He uses music to create connections across cultures, generations, and spaces. He draws on a profound sense of all those who have gone before him on this land, along with his own life experiences, to help his audiences understand themselves, reconnect with their culture and promote cultural understanding. His music touches the soul and through his humour and insights we realise that with recognition of the true Aboriginal history, there can be hope of reconciliation.
Deng Thiak Adut
Deng Thiak Adut is a Sudanese child soldier turned western Sydney lawyer and refugee advocate whose harrowing tale of his personal journey as a refugee has evoked strong emotions among Australians.
Born in South Sudan in 1984, one of eight children, Deng was conscripted as boy soldier at just six years old before going to war when he was only 10. He eventually escaped the army and arrived in Australia as a 14 year old refugee in 1998. After teaching himself to read, write and speak English, he won a scholarship to study law at the University of Western Sydney and graduated with a Bachelor of Law in 2010.He originally told his story in a TV ad for his alma mater in 2015. The aim of the ad was to promote the potential of education to change lives. What it achieved was so much more.
NSW Premier Mike Baird was among those who saw a clip of the ad has drawn more than 2 million views to date and, without having met Deng, nominated him to give the 2016 Australia Day address.
Deng is a partner and co founder of AC Law Group, a criminal lawyer, community award recipient and refugee advocate.