To support, provide strategic advice and direction for the WIN and the inaugural Conference two advisory groups have been established.
The first is the National Advisory Group whose membership comprises of representatives from key Indigenous organisations around Australia. The second is the International Reference Group consisting of key country member representatives from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Brazil, Norway and New Zealand.
These two groups are working closely with each other and the WIN Secretariat to ensure the views and ideas of Indigenous and Local Community land and sea management groups across the world are considered.
National Advisory Group Members
Melissa George, Co-Chair of the National Advisory Group
Melissa is a Wulgurukaba woman whose traditional area includes Magnetic Island and the greater Townsville region, Far North Queensland.
Melissa is active in natural resource management through her involvement in community projects, cultural heritage surveys, property planning and on ground activities like weed management and revegetation. She uses her experience and knowledge to advise the Queensland and Australian Governments and is a member of a number of natural resource management committees including the Great Barrier Management Park Authority Board and the Wet Tropics Indigenous Working Group.
Melissa has been a member of the Australian Government Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC) since 2002 and has been Chair since 2006.
Chrissy Grant, Deputy Chair of the National Advisory Group
Chrissy is a Kuku Yalanji and Torres Strait Islander woman who lives in Tumut, New South Wales.
With a background in cultural and natural heritage management Chrissy was for ten years the Director of Indigenous Heritage in the Australian Heritage Commission and the Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage.
A member of the Australian Government Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC) since 2007 and Deputy Chair since 2008, Chrissy is Chair of the IAC-IPA Sub-Committee which is part of the Indigenous Protected Areas Advisory Group for Parks Australia. She is currently Australia’s representative on the Steering Committee of the Indigenous and Communities Conserved Areas Consortium and is the Chair of the Research Ethics Committee for Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).
Chrissy is a member of UNESCO’s Australian National Commission reporting to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and a member of the Australian National Landscapes Reference Committee. She is also a Board member of the Australian Conservation Foundation.
IIana Elderidge – member of the National Advisory Group
Ilana is an activist and great believer in human rights.
Working with various NGOs and support groups in East Timor, Thailand and Africa,
Ilana’s been on the ground doing what she can. Living in the Territory since she was 21,
Currently the CEO of Larrakia Nation, she was also founder of the Greens Party in the Northern Territory.
More information about Larrakia Nation: www.larrakia.com
Ariadne Gorring – member of the National Advisory Group
Ariadne is currently the Land and Sea Unit Manager at the Kimberley Land Council, a not-for-profit organisation that represents and assists Traditional Owners get back country, look after country and get control of the future. Mrs Gorring has worked at the KLC for more than 10 years in a variety of positions and recently coordinated the National Heritage Project which resulted in the successful listing of the Kimberley for its Indigenous cultural values. She completed a Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship degree at Murdoch University and has a focus on implementation of Traditional Owner aspirations in a post native title setting..
More information about the Kimberley Land Council: http://klc.org.au
Brian Wyatt – member of the National Advisory Group
Brian has more than 30 years experience in community and government administration of Aboriginal affairs. He has worked as a senior adviser to government ministers, regional manager with the Western Australia Aboriginal Affairs Department, assistant general manager of Aboriginal Hostels Ltd, and director of the Eastern Goldfields Aboriginal Council.
Brian moved from Kalgoorlie where he had been the chief executive of the Goldfields Land and Sea Council for 11 years. The National Native Title Council’s former chair person Brian Wyatt has moved into the council’s new full-time chief executive position and is now based in Melbourne.
More information on the National Native Title Council: http://nntc.com.au
Michael O’Ryan – member of the National Advisory Group
Michael O’Ryan is the Director of Policy and Program Development for the Indigenous Land Corporation.
More Information on the Indigenous Land Corporation: www.ilc.gov.au
Andrew Bridges – member of the National Advisory Group
Andrew is the acting head of the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission.
More Information on the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission: www.parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au.
International Reference Group Members
To ensure that building the WIN is a global project, an International Reference Group with representatives from organisations and governments across the globe was established to provide advice on the consulting and development of the network itself.
The International Reference Group has taken an active role in creating a scoping paper which presents some initial ideas of what the WIN could look like. Members of the International Reference Group will also be at the WIN Conference in Darwin to listen to your ideas and help facilitate discussion.
Below are the biographies of members of the WIN International Reference Group.
John Scott, IRG Member
“The focus of all my work is on a rights-based approach to Social Justice for Indigenous peoples and my education has given me the tools for this ongoing human rights struggle.”
Mr. John Scott
Through his Father (Jack Scott) and his Grandmother (Catherine Maud Evans), Mr. Scott is a descendant of the Iningai people (Indigenous Australian) of central Queensland (Barcaldine area). They are Freshwater Murris.
Mr. Scott has a significant background in education, social policy, law, indigenous rights and traditional knowledge. He has moved through various incarnations to get where he is today including as a leading senior high school teacher, Aboriginal Education Advisor, Chief Educational Officer for Aboriginal Programs, Deputy Director for the School of Indigenous Australian Studies at James Cook University, Manager of the Cultural Rights Unit of the National Policy Branch with National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), Indigenous Human Rights Officer with the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR), and second in charge of the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Currently Mr. Scott is the Programme Officer for Traditional Knowledge for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity since 2004.
Mr. Scott has led Indigenous Australian delegations to many different conferences in many different parts of the world. Through these conferences he has worked in and on many different Indigenous issues including education, culture, traditional knowledge, and human rights. Through his work with the Convention on Biological Diversity, Mr. Scott has successfully created a mutually beneficial dialogue between indigenous peoples and governments for protecting and promoting Traditional Knowledge and customary use of biodiversity.
Mr. Scott’s education: Diploma of Secondary Teaching (Arts/Humanities), Graduate Diploma in Aboriginal Education (with Distinction), Master of (Indigenous) Legal Studies.
Nathalie Gagnon, IRG Member
Nathalie is from the Anishinaabeg First Nation and was raised in Wabanaki Territory (New Brunswick, Canada). She now lives in Ottawa, Ontario.
Nathalie is Senior Analyst, Lead Specialist in Aboriginal Engagement, in the Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat at the Parks Canada Agency (www.pc.gc.ca/eng/agen/aa/saa-aas.aspx). In her work, she supports Field Units in the development of engagement practices and structures with Aboriginal communities, provides advice and analysis to senior management on Aboriginal engagement and policy development and also advises federal departments on Parks Canada’s position regarding engagement practices with Aboriginal partners. Her main goal is to ensure that the voices of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) are included in all aspects of planning and management of heritage places Parks Canada administers.
For more than 20 years, she held a variety of positions where she dedicated her work to engage the voices of underrepresented people (Aboriginal, women and youth) in the civil society and in the public service. Her experiences span the national and international levels. Nathalie is on the board of director of the George Wright Society (www.georgewright.org/) and co-chair of the Native Involvement Working Group.
Nigel Crawhall, IRG Member
Nigel Crawhall, Chairperson IUCN Theme on Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, Equity and Protected Areas (TILCEPA)
Nigel is is in his second term as the Chair of TILCEPA, an inter-Commission body of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature dealing with the rights of indigenous peoples and local peoples in Protected Areas and World Heritage Sites. http://www.iucn.org/about/union/commissions/ceesp/what_we_do/wg/tilcepa.cfm
He is Director of Secretariat for the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (www.ipacc.org.za ), the African regional network of indigenous peoples’ organisations. IPACC has 133 member organisations in 23 African countries and runs programmes on human rights, environmental and conservation social policy and climate justice advocacy.
Nigel is based in Cape Town, South Africa and holds a PhD in language endangerment related to his work with the N|uu-speaking people of the southern Kalahari desert.
Sam Johnston, IRG Member
Sam Johnston is Head of the Traditional Knowledge Initiative (TKI). An Australian national, he has degrees in chemistry and law and is a qualified lawyer in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia. At the UNU Institute for Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), Sam works as Senior Research Fellow and his principal responsibilities are to provide strategic guidance to the Director regarding the research priorities of the Institute, develop new research activities for the Institute, and assist with fundraising efforts. Before joining UNU-IAS, he worked at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, where he has held a variety of positions, including secretary of the second meeting of the SBSTTA, acting Principal Officer for Implementation and Communication, and acting Legal Advisor and Programme Officer for Financial Resources and Instruments. He also represented the Executive Secretary of the Convention at a wide range of diplomatic and academic conferences, including the United Nations General Assembly, Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization and the Global Environment Facility’s Participants Assembly. Prior to the Secretariat, Sam was the Jacques & Lewis Research Associate in the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge (U.K.), the legal manager at Société Générale Australia Ltd and a solicitor at a major Australian commercial firm of attorneys.
Eileen de Ravin, IRG Member
Eileen de Ravin is Program Manager of the Equator Initiative, a UNDP partnership that brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizations to recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities. The biennial Equator Prize shines a spotlight on outstanding community-based initiatives across the world that improve local wellbeing through sustainable natural resource management and environmental conservation. The partnership sponsors Community Dialogues where community-based practitioners share lessons learned and best practices peer-to-peer, as well as with regional and national policymakers. Ms. de Ravin brings experience with health care and environmental issues, program management, and partnership building to the Equator Initiative. Eileen holds a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University. Before coming to UNDP she spent eight years leading a Community Based Development Programme in India with a strong focus on health care and environment. Earlier Eileen was a women’s health care practitioner in inner city New York.
Tata Lawton, IRG Member
Tata Lawton is of Ngati Kauwhata, Ngati Paoa, Ngai Tai and Ngati Mahanga descent.
Tata has a significant background in research, history (Maori, New Zealand and Pacific), indigenous rights and traditional knowledge. He has worked in the Treaty Settlements arena as a researcher for the Waitangi Tribunal.
He is also a lead researcher for the Oral History Project of C Company, 28 Maori Battalion. This project is a personal, social and military history of the Maori people who reside on the East Coast region of the North Island from the Hawkes Bay area to the Bay of Plenty. This project has been going since 1994 and continues to set research standards for similar projects.
Tata has been the Department of Conservation’s lead in New Zealand’s World Heritage engagement supporting Sir Tumu te Heuheu (New Zealand’s representative) during his time on the World Heritage Committee, culminating with him chairing the meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand. Tata has a wealth of experience working with the Pacific representatives on educational and capability focused initiatives during this period.
Tata is currently the Deputy Director-General Kaupapa Atawhai for the Department of Conservation leading the strategic Maori engagement while building Maori capability within the organisation.
Tata was educated at Hato Paora Maori Boys College and Massey University where he attained a BA – Maori Studies & History and MA (hons) Maori Studies & History
Johan Vasara, IRG Member
My name is Johan Vasara. Currently I work as political advisor for Mr. Egil Olli, president of the Sámediggi/Saami Parliament in Norway.
I am a 25 year old sápmelaš/saami from the Northern Saami municipality of Guovdageaidnu in Finnmark, Norway. Guovdageaidnu is known as the largest area of reindeer husbandry in Norway as well as home to near 3000 inhabitants where some 90 % of the inhabitants speak saami. Due to my work as political advisor to Mr. Olli, I now live in the neighbor municipality of Kárášjohka – where the main seat of the Saami Parliament of Norway is situated.
I hope the Sami Parliament’s contribution comes in handy in the important work of indigenous land and water management issues, as well as making the World Indigenous Network a forceful forum for indigenous voice.
Chrissy Grant, IRG Member
Chrissy is a Kuku Yalanji and Torres Strait Islander woman who lives in Tumut, New South Wales.
With a background in cultural and natural heritage management Chrissy was for ten years the Director of Indigenous Heritage in the Australian Heritage Commission and the Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage.
A member of the Australian Government Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC) since 2007 and Deputy Chair since 2008, Chrissy is Chair of the IAC-IPA Sub-Committee which is part of the Indigenous Protected Areas Advisory Group for Parks Australia. She is currently Australia’s representative on the Steering Committee of the Indigenous and Communities Conserved Areas Consortium and is the Chair of the Research Ethics Committee for Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).
Chrissy is a member of UNESCO’s Australian National Commission reporting to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and a member of the Australian National Landscapes Reference Committee. She is also a Board member of the Australian Conservation Foundation.
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