being supported. As leaders we are in the privileged position of having the platform to articulate thoughts and feelings.
But as a collective we’ve been silent far too long and the journey of reconciliation plays a huge aspect in breaking the silence.
This leadership position uses the full force of reconciliation and is one I have stepped into many times. I have shared this journey with many others, a journey of conviction for a more just and safer humanity is on its way because we’re bringing it into existence.
When I think about all of our lives, to one degree or another it’s a reconciling journey. For many reasons this journey has come to define who I am.
What motivated and inspired you to step into the role of leadership and how has that played out in your organisation?
If we start with ourselves and understand and know who we are and can be comfortable with that, then that gives us confidence. That confidence gives us permission to step out and step forward, with the confidence to engage and impact issues and other people in a way that brings the best outcomes to the surface. Sometimes that means helping others to confront their issues and to be strengthened in themselves and find that strength.
For me, this journey has come to define who I am - as a Bunuba person, a woman, an Australian citizen, an Australian Aboriginal person, a person with European heritage - I stand at the cross roads of a complex set of identities and I don’t want to resist any of them, I don’t want to assimilate any of them I want to reconcile them. I want to choose how I embody them in my daily life without fear that any one part of myself will be persecuted or executed against.
This choice of how we live our lives, feeling safe and secure in who we are and in our relationship with others is freedom. The freedom to be free from all harm – harm often born of unnecessary conflicts and systems of political disadvantage and marginalization. Being safe with who we are allows us to pursue freedom.
The clarity for the vision for Marnin came through the clarity of knowing and believing who I am and because of that journey.
As I’ve travelled into other traditional lands of Indigenous people in Australia and around the world, I’ve met with incredible people – world leaders, cultural leaders, decision makers - and I’ve known with my own confidence how that makes me feel.
I can stand in my own confidence in all of those settings and I want that same experience to be felt by our young women and our people.
At an organisational level I believe this is an experience that all women should and can journey into and feel confident about.