Masterclass Series: A Whitefella’s Learning from Ngarda-ngarli: What Good Looks Like in Remote and Regional WA
Join Sean-Paul Stephens, CEO of the NYFL Group, for an honest and practical masterclass on what meaningful reconciliation, partnership and self-determination can look like in remote and regional Western Australia.
Drawing on his experience working alongside Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people in Ieramugadu/Roebourne, Sean-Paul will reflect on the lessons he has learned as a whitefella CEO living and working on Ngarluma Country. The session will explore the contradictions of the Pilbara as one of Australia’s great economic engine rooms, where extraordinary wealth is generated from Aboriginal land and waters, while many Aboriginal communities continue to experience deep social and economic inequity.
The masterclass will also look at Native Title, agreement-making and the grey space between legal compliance and genuine partnership. What does “good” actually look like when governments and private sector talk about UNDRIP, consent, legacy and self-determination?
The session will finish with a strengths-based focus on what is already working in community: cultural governance, Elders, young leaders, community-controlled organisations, ranger programs, art centres, language work, local enterprise and the everyday leadership of Ngarda-ngarli. It will also explore the role non-Aboriginal people can play in backing self-determination without taking control.
The session and key themes have been crafted by NYFL Traditional Owner leadership and Sean-Paul Stephens.
Key themes:
- Wealth, extraction and inequality in the Pilbara
- Native Title, agreements and what genuine partnership looks like
- Community strengths, cultural authority and Aboriginal-led solutions – my learnings
- The role of whitefellas in self-determination, leading with integrity and accountability
Please note this is a Reconciliation WA Members only event.