April 2008 in RSSS

2020 Summit - Ann McGrath

L-R Ann McGrath, Lowitja O'Donaghue, Kate George

I went along to the Summit wondering how I could ever convince a group focussed on the year 2020 to think about the past.  Although all about History, Prime Minister Rudd had pitched the Apology to the stolen generations as an 'historic' coming to terms with history, that would now permit his government and the nation to simply move forward and forget using the reverse gear. The Indigenous stream, in which I participated, also had to tackle grave and urgent issues like early mortality, wrecked childhoods, poor employment and education profiles, alcohol and drug problems.

During the Official Opening, it soon became evident that the new government was thinking practical and symbolic simultaneously. Matilda House's Australia was an Indigenous historical trajectory in which the Apology carved a proud moment.  Twenty-something Sana Nakata gave an amazing talk which drew upon her convergent experience of being Australian, springing from the different historical legacies of her Torres Strait Island and European parents.  Then, like some kind of history magician, the Governor General made a young woman appear - her gloved arms holding an ancient ice core from Antarctica. His point was about the ancient human occupation of the continent up to 60,000 years ago. Then Kevin Rudd spoke of an inclusive and confident Australia.

Approximately 100 of the 1000 Summiteers were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, about 80 of whom were in my stream. This largish room divided into 10 tables was something of  a gathering of Australians of the Year, plus Mothers, Fathers and Children of Reconciliation and of 'The Intervention'.  In an apparently smart move by the organisers to avoid Ghettoization, several leading Indigenous academics had also been placed in other streams, However, several defected by the Sunday, joining the Indigenous stream. 'What was your other stream like?' I asked one Indigenous colleague. 'Boring as batshit' she replied succinctly. It was the first time for many years such a broad spectrum of Indigenous leaders had got together to discuss big issues. The lack of a national body to bring the leadership together was therefore not the Elephant, but the main Act in the room.

I was allocated to 'Group 2', which declared itself the anti-silo group and refused to budge. It comprised Fiona Stanley, Lowitja O'Donaghue, Kate George, Simon Balderstone, and many more impressives from different fields of endeavour in remote and urban Australia. It was almost impossible to keep up with the pace of urgently blurted out, but sophisticated ideas from every point of the conceptual compass, converging and warping to be included under something 'BIG'. Unfortunately the whiteboard under the rule of the Facilitator was very small and I could never work out the link between what we were saying and what was being written in point 4 font on the distant board. Our group discussions were exhilarating, but rather like listening to 10 different radio bands going at once. When the orchestra found a common tune, it was all allegro. The next day a small cultural heritage type group got together to try to get one idea up instead of many big ideas. This involved joining up with one of my (several) former students (brag brag) who were there. However this group got labelled the 'national body group' by the Facilitator, attracting 2 celebrities called Pat, and getting even more popular. Now too large, and, without a chair, it turned into something much bigger than cultural heritage. Despite the photographer crawling on the floor around us, it was a privilege to sit listening in the company of great thinkers. However, while the level of insight was intense, the meter was ticking. When the Facilitator hurried for us to finish, Pat Turner, who I wished I'd sat closer to - she was massaging people's shoulders - shooed her away, stating:  'We need more time.'  The business being discussed could not have been more important.

As well as healing centres and business collaboration schemes, an Indigenous cultural authority, indigenous history in education, and recognition of the need to learn from the past all entered the final mix that is still being rewritten. A few little networking groups geared towards better academic collaborations and respect for Indigenous cultural property and knowledge will continue after the summit, as will discussions with all the people who would like to connect up history with health initiatives. I don't recall another weekend where I had so many interesting talks on totally different topics. Or where I met such a large number of admirable people from different walks of life and political leanings. I look forward to reading more Summiteer reminiscences - all the 979 yet unpublished.

Economics & Democracy Second Annual Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Conference Call for panels, workshops and papers (pdf) Hosted by the Research School of Social Sciences, ANU, Canberra 8-10 December 2008

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