Indigenous Excellence, Billabongs not Silos: Benny Wilson Keynote Speaker

La Trobe Rural Health School and the School of Education invite you to the next "Billabongs not Silos" Education and Wellbeing Keynote event

📅 Thursday, 19 June 2025
📍 Circular Lecture Theatre and Gallery Space, La Trobe University Bendigo Campus

Following the success of our inaugural symposium, we are proud to once again host this important event dedicated to showcasing excellence in social and emotional wellbeing for First Nations children and youth.

This unique evening focuses on the intersection of education and health, highlighting holistic and strength-based practices that enhance collaboration and Community. We invite you to attend and contribute by sharing the impactful work you or your organisation are doing to support the health, education, and wellbeing of First Nations youth.

🎤 Keynote Speaker

Professor Benny Wilson – Jagera man, award-winning educator, and leading academic from the University of Canberra. Benny brings deep expertise in Indigenous education, Indigenising curricula, and place-based learning. His keynote will explore themes of narrative, place, and education through a First Nations lens.

Keynote Address: “Country my Teacher: Exploring Holistic Human Wellbeing Through Being With and Within Country”
For thousands and thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have lived lives deeply attuned with Mother Earth. Many continue to live these ways, guided by the understanding that the individual is indivisible from Country. Yet our current education and health systems often treat place as merely a backdrop to the human experience. In this keynote, Professor Benny Wilson will explore both theoretical and practical insights into achieving personal and collective wellbeing through Indigenous ways of being with and within Country.

Event Structure

5.00pm – Guest arrival
5.10pm – Guests enter the Circular Lecture Theatre (CLT)
5.15pm – Official Introductions
5.32pm – Keynote Address: Professor Benny Wilson
6.15pm – Q&A with Keynote
6.30pm – Guests move to the Library Gallery for networking and catered refreshments
7.00pm – Event concludes

Where:
Keynote Address: Circular Lecture Theatre
Networking: Library Gallery
La Trobe University Bendigo Campus

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