THE MABO ORATION 2019 Announced At QPAC

The Mabo Oration, returns to Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) Playhouse on 3 June 2019 (Mabo Day) with a focus on Indigenous voices in the digital age.

Presented biennially by the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland (ADCQ) and QPAC this special event celebrates and pays tribute to Eddie Mabo and the landmark High Court decision which legally recognised that Indigenous people had a special relationship to the land that existed prior to colonisation.

This year the Oration will feature Luke Pearson as Orator and ABC Radio Presenter Rhianna Patrick as Q and A host, with musical acts to be announced.

Luke, a Gamilaroi man who founded social media project IndigenousX in 2012, will discuss Indigenous media representation in Australia and the role of current and future generations to tell their own stories in their words.

ADCQ Commissioner Scott McDougall said this year's Oration continued to honour Eddie Mabo and encouraged conversation among the community and academics, as Eddie was committed to, but with a focus on the digital age and social activism.

"Luke Pearson and his team at IndigenousX have created an electronic arena which has attracted a diverse range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander thinkers, authors, story tellers and activists. It is with great pride and anticipation that we await Luke's contribution to the auspicious Mabo Oration Series.

"As a teacher, mentor, counsellor, public speaker, collaborator, mediator, facilitator, events manager, researcher, evaluator, reporter and much more Luke has a depth of life and industry experience which I am sure audience members will benefit from greatly," said Mr McDougall.

QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas said he looked forward to the discussion around the future of First Nations' storytelling.

"The transferring of stories from generation to generation is critical to all cultures, and through IndigenousX Luke has helped pave the way for a new wave of Aboriginal voices in both traditional and new media," Mr Kotzas said.

"We have all had to adapt how we tell our stories and while QPAC's physical home is in Brisbane, we are committed to increasing accessibility to all programming at the Centre in live and digital formats to serve our entire state."

The Oration will be streamed via Facebook Live and audiences will be encouraged to participate in conversations online.

The biennial Mabo Oration was established by the ADCQ and QPAC in 2005 to contribute to a national conversation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

The inaugural Oration was given by Noel Pearson. Following Orations have seen leaders from divergent fields delivering on subjects ranging from legal protection of cultural knowledge to meeting the contemporary challenges of social justice.

The 2017 Mabo Oration on 28 August celebrated 25 years since the Mabo decision with a panel discussion hosted by Stan Grant and featured previous orators and new voices including Dr Jackie Huggins AM FAHA, Dr Bryan Keon-Cohen AM QC, Dr Dawn Casey PSM FAHA, Professor Tom Calma AO, Jayde Geia and Vonda Malone.

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