Minjerribah Moorgumpin Elders-in-Council (MMEIC) are proud to announce the signing of a landmark agreement, the first of its kind for the Quandamooka community.
On August 15 MMEIC signed a collaborative partnership agreement with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures, the University of Queensland (IFC).
This agreement is grounded in the ethics, values and priorities of the Quandamooka community. It marks a significant shift in how partnerships and agreements are made with our community, demonstrating that long-term, genuine commitment from institutions such as universities, is possible.
The MMEIC-IFC partnership commits to ensuring that the IFC participates in and supports research and collaborative projects that align with MMEIC’s research priorities and which are community-led. It also commits the IFC to work with MMEIC to build capacity for its teams and the community and to provide access to university resources and opportunities, amplifying best practice and system change models, and to share and celebrate collaborative achievements together and with community.
Signing of this historic agreement was a key part of MMEIC’s Collaborative Partners Day, a powerful day of panel discussions where representatives from organisations shared their journey towards building and achieving collaborative partnership with MMEIC.
For the past year, MMEIC’s Justice Reinvestment Team has been building collaborative partnerships under the guidance of MMEIC Elders, alongside engaging with the Quandamooka community to understand our community’s justice and healing needs and priorities. This work is resourced by the Federal Attorney-General’s Department Justice Reinvestment Grant, and part of MMEIC’s objective to develop the Quandamooka Justice and Healing Strategy. The development of this strategy is grounded in community engagement, collaborative partnerships, and community-led research.
The event marks one year since MMEIC formally commenced work on its Justice & Healing strategy and Justice Reinvestment work.
Chairperson of MMEIC, Aunty Mary Burgess said: “Today celebrates the first year of the work MMEIC Elders are leading under the federal Attorney General Department’s National Justice Reinvestment program to achieve meaningful collaborative partnerships designed to benefit our community and which align with our community’s priorities.”
“We are particularly excited that today we will be signing our first complete agreement, the agreement with Uncle Cheg Egert, ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures to create an important partnership that will support community-led research, support our research capacity and over time, enable us to build our own independent Centre of Quandamooka Research Excellence.”
“All of this is about our young people and so they have the strength to achieve and gain their Education in whatever studies they would like to succeed in. And so that one day down the track they can find themselves back on Country giving back to Community helping the next generation of our young people to follow in their footsteps as they once did.”
Quotes attributable to the IFC:
“The Indigenous Futures Centre (IFC) is very lucky to be able to partner with MMEIC because of our common goals. Together we want to create community led research that is holistic and transdisciplinary where justice, for example, is reframed as community wellbeing.” Professor Brendan Hokowhitu, Centre Director.
