The 2011 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference (NATSIEC): Strong Start, Bright Future

Photos from the 2011 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference (NATSIEC) , Strong Start, Bright Future held in Darwin, 17-20 October 2011 are now up on their website, providing a good opportunity to reflect on the conference, its themes and the way forward in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education.
The conference was attended by teachers, researchers, policy-makers, elders, students, parents-everyone involved in education. Overall, it stressed the importance of addressing educational opportunities and outcomes “from birth to employment” and developing strategies at all levels of action, from policy, to communities, schools and families.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010-2014 was a central focus of the conference with 6 areas identified as having the most impact on ‘closing the gap’:
• Readiness for school
• Engagement and connections
• Attendance
• Literacy and Numeracy
• Leadership, quality teaching and workforce development
• Pathways to real post-school options

It was a wonderful opportunity to hear about the exciting initiatives in Indigenous education and meet individuals like Dr Chris Sarra Prof Colleen Hayward, Prof Sven Silburn, Yalmay Yunupingu among many others committed to raising expectations and seeing real progress towards a ‘bright future’ for our kids.
As you can see in the photo above, the Honey Ant Readers had a big, colourful stall –which became a place of vibrant discussion and sharing of ideas between sessions!
More photos of the event are on their website: http://www.natsiec2011.org/image-gallery
We’ re looking forward to NATSIEC 2012!