Acknowledgement of Country for Virtual Seminars and Meetings

Deakin is committed to acknowledging, building and sustaining respect and understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Our vision is for a university that values and celebrates diversity – where all students have respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, culture and values. At Deakin, we see this as a University-wide responsibility.

An Acknowledgement of Country recognises the traditional ownership of the lands upon which an event is held. Usually the location of the event will determine the acknowledgement used, as it will address the particular traditional owners of those lands.  Our Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous Strategy and Innovation, Professor Mark Rose has shared an acknowledgement of country we can use for virtual meetings.

As we gather for this meeting physically dispersed and virtually constructed let us take a moment to reflect the meaning of place and doing so recognise the various traditional lands on which we do our business today.

We acknowledge the Elders – past, present and emerging of all the land we work and live on and their Ancestral Spirits with gratitude and respect.

As an additional segment you might like to get participants to name the Nation that they are on at the moment.  This map allows you to find out who the formally recognised Traditional owners are for an area.

You can find the acknowledgements to be used for each of Deakin’s campus locations here.

More information about Deakin’s commitment to enabling all our students and staff to respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, culture and values is available here.

For more information and updates on teaching online please refer to the Transitioning Teaching Online homepage here.