Whakauae Intern Lead, Logan Hamley recently attended the Australasian HIV&AIDS Conference and the 25th IUSTI World Congress, incorporating the Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference, in Gadigal Country (Sydney). These two conferences represented an opportunity for transdisciplinary and action-oriented work looking to virtually eliminate HIV transmission and address high rates of STIs within Oceania. The conferences took place across one week, with an array of health practitioners, policymakers, and researchers gathering to share insights.
The conferences opened with an acknowledgement of country by Aunty Yvonne Weldon (Wiradjuri) the Deputy Chair of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. She discussed the importance of engaging with Indigenous peoples, and the need for allyship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the current political context. Following her inspirational words, a plenary session featured keynote speakers including Professor James Ward (Pitjantjatjara and Narungga) discussing examples of Indigenous leadership and action in HIV and STI prevention. They also introduced us to https://youngdeadlyfree.org.au/ a resource hub for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Throughout the week, we were exposed to an array of prevention, testing, and treatment research from Oceania and beyond.
A key highlight of the conference included a panel session about innovations in the Northern Territory controlled sector, featuring a range of Aboriginal health workers from the region. Panel members described developing culturally grounded resources about STI prevention, testing, and treatment. They also explored examples of best practice in community services. This work resonated with that of Kaupapa Māori services, with the importance of culture, relationships, and community elders highlighted as crucial to supporting the success of services. The panel session was followed by an intersectional panel discussion that included the needs of international students in relation to sexual health support by Budi Sidarto, Pacific youth sexual practices in Aotearoa by Dr Analosa Veukiso-Ulugia, reproductive coercion and abuse among Australian adults by Dr Allie Carter and improving sexual health services for Aboriginal youth by Kristy Gardner (Kamilaroi). On the final day, we were lucky to have Professor Leonie Pihama (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Māhanga, Ngā Māhanga a Tairi) share her expertise in decolonial approaches to research, reminding us of the importance of Indigenous-led research and practice, threading together many of the perspectives shared by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speakers from earlier in the week.
It was during the last session of the conference that I was able to take the stage, speaking as part of a panel about Indigenous-led and intersectional approaches to STI prevention. My contribution focused on a collaboration between myself and Benjamin Doyle, highlighting wānanga as a method for takatāpui engagement. This work is the focus of a chapter in a forthcoming book exploring sexualities and space, to be published by Routledge. In my presentation, I discussed how wānanga can be used with takatāpui to support prevention and co-create knowledge relating to health, sexuality and prevention. This presentation connected to the work of my co-panellists, who emphasised the importances of relationships, times, and culture when working in East Arnhem Land, Cape York, and Cairns with Aboriginal communities as part of various health projects aimed at addressing STIs.
The week provided the opportunity to connect with Indigenous health workers, policymakers, and researchers in the area, and better understand their ongoing struggle for sovereignty in their contexts. It was an immense privilege to connect on Gadigal country, and also learn more about the histories of Eora Nation, and other Aboriginal nations throughout NSW at the Contemporary Art Gallery and Sydney Museum during breaks at the conference. These opportunities were reminders of the ways that Indigenous peoples worldwide have an ongoing struggle for recognition in colonial contexts but continue to express their sovereignty and mana ahakoa te aha. I boarded the plane home with a fuller basket of knowledge, new relationships and an immense gratitude for the opportunities offered to me through my role at Whakauae.
Further information can be found on https://www.iusti2024sydney.org/
Logan Hamley
Whakauae Intern Lead, Logan Hamley recently attended the Australasian HIV&AIDS Conference and the 25th IUSTI World Congress, incorporating the Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference, in Gadigal Country (Sydney). These two conferences represented an opportunity for transdisciplinary and action-oriented work looking to virtually eliminate HIV transmission and address high rates of STIs within Oceania. The conferences took place across one week, with an array of health practitioners, policymakers, and researchers gathering to share insights.
The conferences opened with an acknowledgement of country by Aunty Yvonne Weldon (Wiradjuri) the Deputy Chair of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. She discussed the importance of engaging with Indigenous peoples, and the need for allyship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the current political context. Following her inspirational words, a plenary session featured keynote speakers including Professor James Ward (Pitjantjatjara and Narungga) discussing examples of Indigenous leadership and action in HIV and STI prevention. They also introduced us to https://youngdeadlyfree.org.au/ a resource hub for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Throughout the week, we were exposed to an array of prevention, testing, and treatment research from Oceania and beyond.
A key highlight of the conference included a panel session about innovations in the Northern Territory controlled sector, featuring a range of Aboriginal health workers from the region. Panel members described developing culturally grounded resources about STI prevention, testing, and treatment. They also explored examples of best practice in community services. This work resonated with that of Kaupapa Māori services, with the importance of culture, relationships, and community elders highlighted as crucial to supporting the success of services. The panel session was followed by an intersectional panel discussion that included the needs of international students in relation to sexual health support by Budi Sidarto, Pacific youth sexual practices in Aotearoa by Dr Analosa Veukiso-Ulugia, reproductive coercion and abuse among Australian adults by Dr Allie Carter and improving sexual health services for Aboriginal youth by Kristy Gardner (Kamilaroi). On the final day, we were lucky to have Professor Leonie Pihama (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Māhanga, Ngā Māhanga a Tairi) share her expertise in decolonial approaches to research, reminding us of the importance of Indigenous-led research and practice, threading together many of the perspectives shared by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speakers from earlier in the week.
It was during the last session of the conference that I was able to take the stage, speaking as part of a panel about Indigenous-led and intersectional approaches to STI prevention. My contribution focused on a collaboration between myself and Benjamin Doyle, highlighting wānanga as a method for takatāpui engagement. This work is the focus of a chapter in a forthcoming book exploring sexualities and space, to be published by Routledge. In my presentation, I discussed how wānanga can be used with takatāpui to support prevention and co-create knowledge relating to health, sexuality and prevention. This presentation connected to the work of my co-panellists, who emphasised the importances of relationships, times, and culture when working in East Arnhem Land, Cape York, and Cairns with Aboriginal communities as part of various health projects aimed at addressing STIs.
The week provided the opportunity to connect with Indigenous health workers, policymakers, and researchers in the area, and better understand their ongoing struggle for sovereignty in their contexts. It was an immense privilege to connect on Gadigal country, and also learn more about the histories of Eora Nation, and other Aboriginal nations throughout NSW at the Contemporary Art Gallery and Sydney Museum during breaks at the conference. These opportunities were reminders of the ways that Indigenous peoples worldwide have an ongoing struggle for recognition in colonial contexts but continue to express their sovereignty and mana ahakoa te aha. I boarded the plane home with a fuller basket of knowledge, new relationships and an immense gratitude for the opportunities offered to me through my role at Whakauae.
Further information can be found on https://www.iusti2024sydney.org/
Logan Hamley
