2020-2022
Program Director: Constance Wiebrands (Edith Cowan University)
The Strategic themes for 2020 articulated a need to develop a cohesive strategic approach to Indigenous knowledges in university libraries. In response, the Respecting Indigenous Knowledge Program aimed to embed a culture of respect, responsibility and reciprocity in how libraries work with Indigenous communities.
Key priorities of the Program included:
- building strategic partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
- enhancing understanding of Indigenous knowledges
- improving the acknowledgement and promotion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, language, knowledge, artefacts, documents and records in library collections.
The Respecting Indigenous Knowledges Program took a consultative, collaborative, and collegial approach. The main Program outcomes were
- delivery of the highly successful first Indigenous Knowledges Symposium in July 2021
- establishing the Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Group to advise the Program Director and the CAUL Board for the duration of the Program.
Through this Program, particularly the Indigenous Knowledges Symposium, CAUL highlighted the critical role university libraries can play in the preservation, management, and discovery of Indigenous knowledges for research, learning and teaching, as well as the significant work to be done to decolonise our libraries. The Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Group’s recommendations highlighted a need to focus on Indigenous people’s experiences working in university libraries.
The Respecting Indigenous Knowledge Program is succeeded by the From Decolonisation to Indigenisation (2023-2025).
Past events
Indigenous Knowledges Symposium
The Indigenous Knowledges Symposium brought together practitioners from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to share good practice, discuss challenges, and prompt reflection on how university libraries can work to embed a culture of respect for and recognition of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Māori and Pasifika knowledge.