Ways to co-design with the cultural values of waters of First Nations people

The context and activity for practitioners to better connect and work alongside First Nations people on the management of land and water is building both momentum and interest.  In Queensland, including the cultural values of water is now a requirement in the assessment process of all regional water plans.  Also, many organisations and their projects are looking at ways to better collaborate with First Nations peoples on how First Nations Land Management Practices can be included in the management of Country.

A key aim of this momentum is to ensure that there are opportunities for the cultural values of water and Indigenous Knowledge to be shared and be meaningfully included in the design and implementation of various land and water initiatives. 

Questions from practitioners that we hear of this engagement and co-design work include:

• what is involved?
• are there principles or approaches that need to be embedded in any co-design activities?
• what can I do to build my awareness and skills before I am involved?

This 90 minute webinar aims to:

• give an overview of this co-design opportunity, 
• share a snapshot of experiences from on ground projects, and
• provide the opportunity for practitioners to share gaps that limit their ability to engage with or undertake co-design activities with First Nations peoples.

Our guests to help set the context for this need and opportunity include:

• Prof Chris Matthews FTSE from the Quandamooka peoples of the Moreton Bay region. Chris is the Associate Dean (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement) and the CEO of the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Mathematics Alliance (ATSIMA).
• Declan Hearne Principal Catchment, Land and Heritage at Seqwater - with experience in building relationships on agreements to underpin water initiatives with First Nations groups and also capacity building needs with local communities in South East Asia.

To expand on co-design options, the webinar will share the findings from a recent  QWMN multi-phase RDI project establishing a framework to incorporate Indigenous Knowledge.  The project is now looking at how to incorporate First Nations Land Management into technical approaches that assist water modelling at St George with the Mandandanji people and Aboriginal rangers. Presenting on the project, is:

• Bec Barnett Director Project Lead at Relative Creative

Following your questions on the project we will seek your experience and ideas on what you need to make your co-design activity, that centres on the cultural values of water from First Nations groups, work well.  In small break out groups we invite you to share your experiences, hear from others on what has enabled them to implement good practice and also what is that you are missing – in terms of skills, training or other - that would help you.  

As an interactive webinar, we aim to offer you this contact and insights from a mix of colleagues who are actively working in this co-design area.  It is an evolving theme and as more projects and initiatives take this approach, then we are sure the insights and experiences will broaden. 

As another  step in exploring this approach – and broadening on a previous event we had on the topic – we invite any interested colleagues, regardless of your role or organisation, to listen, query and participate in this online workshop.