The Danjoo Koorliny Social Impact Festival is hosted by the Danjoo Koorliny leaders and team from the Centre for Social Impact at The University of Western Australia
Danjoo Koorliny
Danjoo Koorliny Walking Together is a large-scale, long-term, systems-change project designed and led by Aboriginal leaders to help us all walk together towards 2029 (200 years of colonisation in Perth), and beyond. The Danjoo Koorliny Social Impact Festival is an annual event that brings us together to see what has shifted in the last year and ensure it sets our focus for the year(s) ahead.
The leaders of Danjoo Koorliny Walking Together are Dr Noel Nannup OAM, Dr Richard Walley OAM, Professor Emeritus Colleen Hayward AM and Carol Innes. They are also working together with various Elder groups in Noongar country and throughout Western Australia. There are 10+ others who stepped up to support with the Danjoo Koorliny Walking Together project – they include Farley Garlett, Josey Hansen, Daniel Morrison, Elisha Jacobs-Smith, Ezra Jacobs-Smith, Louise O’Reilly, Nicole Crnko, Shaye Hayden, Sharon Wood-Kenney, Jason Barrow, Narelle Thorne and others. There are also project leads including Oral McGuire, Barry McGuire, Gordon Cole, Glenda Kickett and Robyn Smith-Walley. They are supported not only by the Centre for Social Impact UWA team but many other individuals and organisations who align towards a vision for 2029 and beyond.
Vision/Djinda
Danjoo Koorliny is a vision. It’s our djinda – our collective star to guide us towards 2029. It is the values that we will embody. It’s the way we will get there, and the principles we will work with. It’s the sum of our collective actions that will take us to where we need to be in order to create a 2029 we can all be proud of. It belongs to no organisation but hovers above all of us, and aligns us so that we can care for everything.
Danjoo Koorliny Walking Together is a social impact framework celebrating First Nations’ knowledge and Western knowledge coming together to create cultural, social, environmental and economic benefits. It will achieve this through arts expression, social investment, economic opportunities, connecting with the environment, and promoting sustainable practices. Danjoo Koorliny could also be seen as a large, living, participatory, action-research project, as well as a societal art piece. It is everyone contributing to the journey towards 2029, and beyond.
“We have our vision set for the next 10 years, and that is to care for everything” (Dr Noel Nannup OAM).
1829 was the year of the establishment of the ‘Swan River Colony’ (standing for the whole of Western Australia). Since that time, policy and practice has systematically impacted the Aboriginal community in negative ways. What started as colonisation has resulted in entrenched racism that is so ingrained in our structures and systems that, for most of us, it remains invisible. The year 2029 will mark 200 years of colonisation in Perth (and throughout most of Western Australia). We all need to come together and work hard to reverse the impact of colonisation and to address entrenched racism. By doing this – and by consistently working with open minds, kind hearts and strong spirits – we will all feel healthier and stronger in our places, and our purpose will become clearer. And to achieve this, we need to look at every facet of humanity; we need to drive environmental, social, cultural and economic impact.
“Nothing like this has ever happened before. This is the thing that can hold Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people together” (Carol Innes).
The Centre for Social Impact UWA
The Centre for Social Impact UWA (CSI UWA) is a catalyst for positive social change, addressing society’s deep social problems and ensuring well-being for all.
As part of the UWA Business School, the Centre creates and delivers education that transforms, research that informs best practice, and public engagement that inspires and mobilises change makers.
CSI UWA is part of a national collaboration with UNSW Australia and Swinburne University of Technology. Together, the three universities form the Centre for Social Impact, which takes a systems approach to developing innovative solutions to the biggest social challenges today, with a vision for a better Australia tomorrow. Read more about CSI UWA.