The 1999 academic forum was hosted by the Northern Territory
University's Centre
for Indigenous Natural and Cultural Resource Management. Yolngu and other speakers gave presentations on a range
of topics over three days, from Thursday 15 to Saturday
17 July. These
presentations included:
- CD library of Yolngu literature - Dr Michael Christie,
FATSIS NTU
- Bilingual Education - Mr Leon White, Ms Merrikiwuy Ganambarr-Stubbs,
Dr Marika-Munungirritj, Ms Ngalawarri Ngurruwuthun,
Yirrkala CEC
- Cultural Heritage Assessment - Mr Kelvin Leitch, Dhimurru
Aboriginal Land Management Corporation
- Ethnobotany - Dr Eugene Hunn
- Trepang - Mr Andrish Saint-Claire, CINCRM NTU
- Yidaki forum - Mr Djalu Gurruwiwi, Dr Mandawuy Yunupingu,
Ms Raymattja Marika-Munungirritj, Dr Helen Verran, Professor
Nancy Williams, Professor Marcia Langton
One of the most significant events at the 1999 forum
was the Maak ceremony and presentation
The Maak was given to The Hon.
Kim Beazley MP by Galarrwuy Yunupingu, and was then
presented to Professor Marcia
Langton, as a representative of the Australian university
community. The Maak was an invitation to Professor
John
Niland and the Vice-Chancellors of Australia’s
leading research and educational institutions to attend
a Garma Ceremony at Gulkula in November 1999.
The purpose of this gathering was to provide an opportunity
for the Vice Chancellors to learn first-hand about
the
objectives of the GCSI, and to identify ways in which
their respective institutions may contribute to collaborative
research and teaching projects. One of the major outcomes
of this gathering was the establishment of an Australian
Vice-Chancellors’ Committee (AV-CC) Working Party
for the GCSI.
