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PIACBulletin16 - Public Interest Advocacy Centre

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Our Strong Women – Indigenous Women, Law<br />

and Leadership Project<br />

At a celebration in Darwin on 12 August<br />

2002 the National Network of Indigenous<br />

Women’s Legal Services (NNIWLS)<br />

launched its national advocacy training<br />

program, Our Strong Women Indigenous<br />

Women, Law and Leadership The program<br />

is a joint project of NNIWLS and PIAC<br />

and is funded by the Commonwealth<br />

Office of the Status of Women under the<br />

National Women’s Development<br />

Program<br />

Carolyn Grenville, Training Co-ordinator<br />

PIAC’s training co-ordinator, Carolyn<br />

Grenville, has been working closely with<br />

the NNIWLS to present a series of twoday<br />

workshops for Indigenous women in<br />

nine locations around Australia During<br />

this year, Carolyn has conducted<br />

workshops with women in Darwin,<br />

Broome, Port Augusta, Kalgoorlie,<br />

Townsville and Brisbane<br />

The training aims to enhance community<br />

leadership skills amongst Indigenous<br />

women and promote their status and<br />

interests at a community, regional, state<br />

and national level It also seeks to change<br />

policies and improve the quality and<br />

delivery of services to Indigenous<br />

communities<br />

Participants learn about systems of<br />

government, challenging government<br />

decisions, effective campaigning and<br />

community representation In addition,<br />

they learn media, negotiation and<br />

lobbying skills<br />

The Darwin workshop saw Indigenous<br />

women travel from Katherine and Alice<br />

Springs as well as Darwin For the<br />

Broome workshop, Indigenous women<br />

came from across the Kimberley and the<br />

Pilbara and many participants travelled<br />

long distances from Kununarra and<br />

Fitzroy Crossing<br />

All workshops, which attracted capacity<br />

attendance, have produced advocacy<br />

action plans initiated and designed by<br />

participants for working towards<br />

achieving specific objectives Participants<br />

Photos show participants at the Broome<br />

and Darwin workshops of the Our<br />

Strong Women, Indigenous Women,<br />

Law and Leadership program, August<br />

2002 — Photos: Carolyn Grenville<br />

have reported that the workshops have<br />

made them feel empowered, have<br />

increased their knowledge across a range<br />

of activities and enabled them to use the<br />

new networks and skills for concrete<br />

purposes For example, women who<br />

attended the workshop in Broome have<br />

committed to establish the first Pilbara-<br />

Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Network<br />

and women in Darwin have undertaken<br />

to work on ensuring that Indigenous<br />

women have a stronger voice in the<br />

Northern Territory and to achieve a<br />

specialist legal service for Indigenous<br />

women in Darwin Port Augusta women<br />

mapped out plans to work for a new<br />

counselling and healing centre in town<br />

* p 11<br />

10 PIAC Bulletin No 16 • December 2002

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