Recently elected to the AIATSIS Council, Moodjar's Len Collard attended his first public engagement as a Council Member, spending the week in Darwin at the AIATSIS Summit 2025.
This years' Summit was co-hosted with Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation (LNAC) at the Darwin Convention Centre, and centered on the theme of "Voices of Empowerment: Strengthening our future."
On the Awards night there were rounds of applause when Harvey Aboriginal Corporation won the prize for Excellence in Cultural Revitilisation, Preservation, and Resurgence - for their work on Place Names Korijekup, in partnership with Moodjar and Community Arts Network (CAN). According to Len this was a big surprise, and a great recognition of the rich and rewarding work of the three partners during this Place Names project.
Along with attending a Council meeting and the Awards ceremony, Len's key highlight was learning from governance conversations and presentations from a range of communities and groups. In particular, the way the Torres Strait Regional Authority governance model was presented was, according to Len, moorditj! The way they have negotiated this model, and shared the journey, learnings, and stucture on their website, was a testament to the strength and empowerment behind the model.
On his election to the AIATSIS Board, and the opportunties this presents, Len reflected:
It has felt like a great honour to be elected to the AIATSIS Council by the membership - and so lovely to be acknowledged and recognised for my work, and the potential role I can play as a Council Member for the next four years. Being a part of this Summit as my first public engagement as a Council Member was an amazing privilege and opportunity, and I look forward to being a part of more great events like this one.
- Len Collard
Banner image // Len Collard with the Harvey Aboriginal Corporation award winners // Moodjar