One of Canada’s foremost experts on First Nations child and family welfare, Cindy Blackstock, will speak at UQ today (August 4).
Dr Blackstock will take part in a dialogue on the topic of indigenous child and family safety and wellbeing with Donna Klein-Kawane, CEO of the Central Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agency (CQAICCA).
The dialogue will be moderated by Dr Jackie Huggins AM, the Deputy Director of the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at The University of Queensland, and Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia.
Part of the Federation Dialogues Series, it will be held on Tuesday, August 4 at 5:30pm for 6:00pm, at The University of Queensland’s Emmanuel College.
Sponsored by the Association for Canadian Studies in Australia and New Zealand (ACSANZ) and the High Commission of Canada, the dialogue is open to the public.
Inaugurated in 2001 to celebrate Australia’s Centenary of Federation, the Federation Dialogue Series brings together eminent Canadians and Australians to discuss issues of mutual interest to the two countries.
Dr Blackstock is the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS), and has more than 20 years experience working on the front-line of child protection and First Nations child welfare agencies.
A member of the Gitksan First Nation (from northwest British Columbia), she is also the Co-Convenor of the Working Group on Indigenous Child Rights for the UN-based NGO Group on the Rights of the Child and a PhD candidate in social work at The University of Toronto.
Dr Blackstock's visit comes at the invitation of a consortium of Queensland-based organisations engaged in Indigenous child welfare research, policy and practice.
The consortium was developed by Emmanuel College and includes The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, James Cook University, PeakCare Qld Ltd and the Queensland Department of Child Safety.
Donna Klein-Kawane, is a Gamilaroiwoman born in Captains Flat in the ACT. She has a Diploma in Business Management and a Certificate IV in Governance/Government, among other qualifications.
CQAICCA, the organisation of which she is currently CEO, provides a recognised entity service under the Child Protection Act 1999. The organisation also provides alternative care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who have entered the child protection system as well as foster carers who provide out of home care.
CQAICCA’s primary area of service provision is in Rockhampton, Mount Morgan, Woorabinda and the Capricorn Coast.
Media: Inge Rumble, Public Affairs (+61 (0) 408 223 943, inge.rumble@international.gc.ca or www.canada.org.au) or Dr Jane Thomson, Emmanuel College (07 3871 9350, 0439 890 727 or j.thomson@emmanuel.uq.edu.au)
