The Uluru Dialogue at the UNSW Indigenous Law Centre has collaborated with SBS Radio to translate the Uluru Statement from the Heart into more than 60 languages.
The translations provide an intimate opportunity for multicultural communities to engage with the Uluru Statement, and First Nations people’s call for Voice, Treaty and Truth.
“The Uluru Statement is an invitation to all Australians, to walk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples towards a better future,” Megan Davis, UNSW Professor of Law and Balnaves Chair of Constitutional Law, says.
“For many Australian people, English is not their first language. These translations offer a powerful way for the whole Australian community to engage, read and understand what First Nations delegates called for in 2017 at Uluru.
“The Uluru Statement was strategically written to the Australian people. This has been a tremendous opportunity to collaborate with SBS to extend this invitation to an audience that will, for the very first time, read this seminal statement in their first language.
“The relationship between Indigenous Australia and multicultural Australia is an important one and we hope this work is received as a demonstration of how important we view this relationship.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples understand the power and importance of language to culture and to witness the statement take shape in over 60 different languages is truly inspiring,” Professor Davis says.
The translations can be viewed at: https://ulurustatement.org/translations
Uluru Statement from the Heart
The Uluru Statement outlines a roadmap for substantive constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Its proposal includes three sequenced reforms: first, a Voice to Parliament enshrined in the constitution, then establishing a Makarrata Commission to supervise agreement-making (Treaty) and truth telling.
The statement, and the three reform proposals, followed thirteen deliberative First Nations Regional Dialogues which culminated at the Uluru National Constitutional Convention in 2017. At Uluru, the statement was signed and adopted by 250 First Nations delegates.
UNSW Indigenous Law Centre
The UNSW Indigenous Law Centre has been a community legal education centre for 39 years. The Uluru Dialogue at the UNSW Indigenous Law Centre (ILC) lead community education initiatives on the Uluru Dialogues and Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Established in 1981, the UNSW Indigenous Law Centre contributes to the recognition, protection and development of the legal rights and freedoms of Indigenous peoples both in Australia and internationally.
Professor Megan Davis has been a member of the UNSW Indigenous Law Centre for 13 years and a former Director of the ILC. She was a member of the Prime Minister’s Expert Panel on the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution (2011) and the Prime Minister’s Referendum Council (2015-2017) as a constitutional lawyer. Professor Davis designed the deliberative dialogue process. Professor Davis oversaw a team of UNSW public lawyers including Professor Gabrielle Appleby, Associate Professor Sean Brennan and Gemma McKinnon during this process who continue to work on constitutional reform and the implementation of the Uluru reforms.
SBS Radio
Listen to SBS Radio broadcasters read the Statement in their language: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/ulurustatement
The music in the podcasts is by Frank Yamma, and photo by Jimmy Widders Hunt.
