The theme for Reconciliation Week (27 May - 3 June 2023) this year is “Be a Voice for Generations”. To begin our exploration into this theme, you are invited to journey past the notions of time and space.
We begin by acknowledging the earth, the water, the air, the space and the time that the University of Technology Sydney occupies; the Gadigal Land of the Eora Nation. We celebrate the wisdom, knowledge and resilience which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have gathered and will continue to gather despite the ongoing injustices of colonial forces. We would also like to honour the lands in which you are reading from today. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present, and extend that acknowledgment to any Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders reading.
Firstly, close your eyes. Take a deep breath, into your belly, and feel the expansion of your chest. Keep a mental note of any smells you may have noticed in that breath. Now continue breathing deeply as you listen to the world in motion around you.
Reconciliation is a word filled with pain, celebration, and hope. It is a process of conflict resolution, intercultural dialogue, and learning, that should be integrated into personal and national conversations. A commitment to reconciliation is a commitment to equity, the recognition and accommodation of differences, and ensuring spaces are safe and accessible. It is an awareness of privilege and how we can use our voices to promote unity and amplify the voices of others.
Now, if you can, place your palm against the floor and feel the ground blanketed below you. Imagine yourself moving downwards, through the soil, the sand, the stone, the molten rock, and into the iron core. Continue to take note of your breaths. Stay there for a moment and feel the warmth of our home planet encompassing you in its embrace.
Self-reflection and collective mindfulness in the context of reconciliation can allow us to learn important lessons from Country and strengthen our practice through diverse perspectives. As STEM students, professionals, and enthusiasts, it is vital we centre ethical and human-led practice to create meaningful solutions to real-world problems. When designing products, researching the Earth and all that lives on and in it, and contributing to policy, engaging with a range of communities and integrating sustainability should be a key consideration at every stage of problem solving.
Now imagine yourself floating upwards into the air. Feel the moisture of the atmosphere on your skin and look down to see the lines of the Earth. Try and notice the lands in which you have travelled across. Continue to move up, moving your hands up as well, until you are above the Earth floating through space. Imagine the immense coldness, the darkness of your surroundings, the lightness of your body, and the magnificence of scale. Stay here for a while.
This Reconciliation Week and beyond, consider actionable goals you would like to achieve to embody reconciliation. Whether it is committing to learning about the name and history of the Country you reside in (AIATSIS, n.d.), maintaining sustainable and ethical practice in your STEM work (Engineers Australia, 2021), or simply initiating a conversation with someone younger or older than you on the importance of community (NAIDOC, n.d.). If we wish to make a holistic impact in gender equity spaces within engineering and IT, we should also aim to learn more about and recognise the intersectional identities of our community.
Join our next
Coffee hour: National Reconciliation Week
Thank you for being on this journey with us and feel free to continue examining the strength of generations past, engaging with intergenerational dialogue now, and leaving a safer and brighter world for future generations.
Zeynep Nevzat, Gender Equity Ambassador