The inaugural Homeground Talks takes place on the anniversary of Australia’s 1967 Indigenous referendum, and it falls at the beginning of National Reconciliation Week. It’s also the first night that Sydney Opera House will be lit up with artworks by six Aboriginal artists as part of Vivid. So, it’s a big night for Sydney Opera House’s head of Indigenous programming Rhoda Roberts.
Roberts says she hopes Homeground Talks will become a highlight of the Indigenous Program at the House, saying “[It’s] the perfect setting for diverse voices to be heard in a contemporary conversation that matters to all Australians.”
The first two talks are Unfinished Paperwork: Recognition and Sovereignty (5pm) and Open for Business: Diverse Economies in First Nations Communities (7.15pm).
The line-up for Unfinished Paperwork includes Michael Mansell, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM and Maori activist Tame Iti debating economic opportunity and sovereignty for Indigenous people.
The panel Open for Business features Marcia Langton AM, musician David Bridie, advocate and musician John Faunt and Amelia Telford, who’s working on a movement for climate justice to protect country.