Join academics from UNSW who have been involved in working in partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) over the past decade as they share lessons and resources useful for others seeking to work in impactful, ethical, community-led ways.

This webinar will have a particular focus on the multidisciplinary Yuwaya Ngarra-li Partnership between UNSW and the Dharriwaa Elders Group in Walgett, NSW, which grew from research collaboration from 2011-2015, after which the Dharriwaa Elders Group invited UNSW to work with them longer-term around the Elders’ vision for change in their community.

Through this long-term partnership, UNSW has contributed to community-led efforts to reduce Aboriginal young people’s contact with the criminal justice system, improve food and water security, reduce fine debt, and build Aboriginal community capabilities and control. Yuwaya Ngarra-li has collected evidence of contribution to more than 400 outcomes at individual, community, place and systems levels over the past four years.

This webinar will cover the protocols, principles and practices that have been developed and refined over many years of working in partnership, and what has been learnt about what it takes for universities to work ethically with ACCOs.

Presenters

Peta Ivy MacGillivray is a Kalkutungu and South Sea Islander lawyer and researcher, and the Yuwaya Ngarra-li Senior Research Fellow focused on legal and justice issues based at UNSW. Peta has worked as a researcher on a range of criminology, legal services and community development projects in NSW and across Australia. Peta was a Field Researcher and Project Manager for the Indigenous Australians with Mental Health Disorders and Cognitive Disability in the Criminal Justice System (IAMHDCD) Project, which first introduced her to the Dharriwaa Elders Group. Peta’s former area of legal practice was the legal needs of children and young people, particularly those experiencing social and economic disadvantage. Peta is passionate about Indigenous children and young people’s participation in community development work.

Dr Ruth McCausland is Associate Professor in the Division of Societal Impact, Equity & Engagement and Director of Yuwaya Ngarra-li at UNSW. Ruth was a researcher on the original project that involved collaboration with the Dharriwaa Elders Group, and has been involved in building the Yuwaya Ngarra-li partnership at the UNSW end since then. Her work focuses on the social determinants of justice, and enabling systemic and community-led solutions to incarceration and disadvantage. Ruth has worked for more than 25 years in the fields of criminology, evaluation, human rights, and community development. Ruth has a PhD in criminology and evaluation, and a Masters in International Social Development. She is on the Board of the Community Restorative Centre, the NSW Committee of the Australian Evaluation Society, is an Associate of the Disability Innovation Institute and Australian Human Rights Institute, and a member of the Academy of Community Engaged Scholarship. 

Topics to be covered during the session:

Community-led university partnerships

Introduction to the Yuwaya Ngarra-li Partnership and its protocols, principles and practices

Working ethically with ACCOs

If you want to learn more, please have a look at the following links:

Research, Learning and Evaluation in the Yuwaya Ngarra-li Partnership: How UNSW is Enabling Elders’ Vision for Change

Yuwaya Ngarra-li 2020-2023 Evaluation and Learning Report

This session is run as part of the Carnegie Community Engagement Network offerings. If you work, study, or partner with a member institution of the network you can access this session for free. Please get in touch with your Carnegie representative at your University or email carnegie@engagementaustralia.org.au for more information.

*Please note that this webinar will be recorded.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the session or the Carnegie Community Engagement Network, please contact carnegie@engagementaustralia.org.au