First Nations peoples are Australia's first diplomats. In March this year the Foreign Minister announced the appointment of Australia’s first Ambassador for First Nations People and opened the inaugural annual lecture on Indigenous Diplomacy at the Australian National University. These developments signal the emergence of the Australian Government’s 2021 Indigenous Diplomacy Agenda. The agenda will likely see Indigenous diplomacy pressed into the service of Australian statecraft in a complex and contested Indo-Pacific region. In our 2023 Roundtable, panellists will discuss important questions around how or whether ancient forms of diplomacy practised by First Nations peoples may be compatible with state-based diplomacy. Can agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) adjust their practice to draw upon First Nations diplomacy? If so, what vehicles are needed to meaningfully develop and deliver contemporary Indigenous diplomacy? And can International Relations scholarship adequately grasp the conceptual foundations of First Nations diplomacy?

Join us to discuss these questions with our panellists, followed by networking and refreshments.

This roundtable draws upon a forthcoming forum on Indigenous diplomacy in the Australian Journal of International Affairs.

Speakers: Associate Professor Stephanie Gilbert (UQ), Dr Mary Graham (UQ), Mr Jope Tarai (ANU), Madeleine Pugin (Griffith), Associate Professor Andrew Phillips (UQ), Associate Professor Morgan Brigg (UQ), Dr Melissa Curley (UQ).

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