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At this Fellowship presentation, Associate Professor Alison Holland will talk about her research into the history of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), its work, its achievements and its legacies.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) – which was formed in 1990 and dissolved in 2005 – was an Indigenous elected national representative body without parallel anywhere in the world. It had both representative and administrative functions which achieved many policy successes including increased Indigenous participation in the public sector.

Associate Professor Hollands's project will explore the published works of the organisation in order to research its structure and mandate, its work across Australia in Indigenous communities, the issues it addressed and policies it initiated, its leadership, its many written reports, its national and international advocacy, its achievements and legacies. This research will be the critical base for the first written history of this innovative exercise in public administration which is part of a larger research project on the creation, operation and demise of the organisation and its relationship to the policy of self-determination.

Entry is free to this event but bookings are essential

For those unable to make it to Canberra for the event, it will be livestreamed online via the Library's Facebook page. No bookings are required to watch the online stream.

Associate Professor Alison Holland is a 2022 National Library of Australia Fellow supported by past and present members of the National Library Council and Patrons.

Type Fellowship presentation