Give Back | Indigenous Strategy, Education & Research

Giving back does not always mean giving back to your own community. There are many ways to give back. UNSW recognises that each of us are members of multiple communities.

Scholars such as Amartya Sen and Kuku Yalanji lawyer Noel Pearson have written about the complexity of layered identities.

Pearson has promoted a concept of “orbiting”, whereby young people leave Country to study, work and “orbit” back to community when one is able to contribute and give back. However we choose to frame this, giving back is an integral part of the strategy.

UNSW's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff should strive to meet their obligation to give back, whether it be to our own local communities, the broader Indigenous community in Australia, or to the Indigenous community here on campus.

We know from consulting the wider UNSW community that non-indigenous people want to “give back” also. One of the most effective ways non-indigenous people can do this is to learn the history of Aboriginal ownership and occupation of the country. This strategy will work towards providing opportunities to give back, in a respectful way aligned with the principles of self-determination.

Driving forward the pillar

Develop a culture of civic responsibility in our students; instil them with a service-minded ambition to give back to their communities.

Encourage staff and senior students (and Alumni) to volunteer to assist with UNSW Indigenous outreach, Pre-Programs, Enabling Programs and other Indigenous university programs.

Matt Taylor, Nura Gili student at Indigenous Student Awards night

Instil the 'Give Back ethos' from Pre-programs all the way to post-graduate levels to ensure that all aspects of life at UNSW are grounded by this principle.

Highlights

Uluru Statement from the Heart

The Uluru Statement from the Heart, issued to the Australian public in 2017, calls for a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice to Parliament, and for Makarrata – a coming together after a struggle – through a process of treaty-making and truth-telling.