Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women's Voices) Institute for First Nations Gender Justice was launched in March 2024. It is a vital national asset based at The Australian National University as part of the First Nations Portfolio (FNP).
Wiyi Yani U Thangani is Australia's first Institute dedicated to advancing the rights, knowledges, and leadership of First Nations women, girls and gender-diverse peoples as catalysts for systemic change.
It was founded by June Oscar AO after she led the landmark nine-year Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women's Voices) project as former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission. That project involved June and her team travelling all over Australia listening to thousands of First Nations women.
Throughout all stages of the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women's Voices) project, women have been clear that this work must be more than a report that sits on the shelf – it must result in lasting change.
Women everywhere have emphasised the need for a genuine mechanism for the representation of First Nations women that legitimises their diversity and affirms their multiple and vibrant identities, and does not conflate them with those of First Nations men or non-Indigenous women.
Find out more by visiting the Wiyi Yani U Thangani website .