In Who we were and who we can be Pearson will explore the proposal to amend the Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia through a Voice to Parliament.
Pearson says: “In this lecture I will refer to three periods: the past, the present and the prospective future.
Pearson’s lecture series will look at where we are today and what lies ahead for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and all Australians. It will also reflect on where we have come since W.E.H. Stanner’s 1968 Boyer Lectures After the Dreaming.
The series will be broadcast on ABC RN on Sundays in November and available on demand via ABC listen.
Join the conversation: #BoyerLectures or abc.net.au/boyerlectures.
About Noel Pearson
Noel Pearson comes from the Guugu Yimidhirr community of Hope Vale on the Cape York Peninsula.
He is the Founder and Director of Strategy of the Cape York Partnership, a non-profit organisation that works to empower Indigenous families and communities in Cape York and Cairns to break the cycle of disadvantage.
He is Founder and Co-Chair of Good to Great Schools Australia, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to support Australian education systems and communities to help their schools successfully deliver 21st century programs.
Pearson also co-founded the Cape York Land Council and helped to establish Apunipima Health Council, Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation and Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships.
He has served as a member of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians and the Referendum Council. The panel investigated changing the federal Constitution so that Australia’s Indigenous peoples would be recognised in it. The panel delivered its report, Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution, to then Prime Minister Julia Gillard in January 2012.
About the ABC Boyer Lectures
The ABC Boyer Lecture series, named for former ABC Chairman Sir Richard Boyer, are given each year by a prominent Australian to present critical ideas on major social, cultural, scientific or political issues.
The first of Noel Pearson’s highly anticipated Boyer Lecture series will be shown on Thursday 27 October at 9.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
