We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Guy Ritani (Ia/they/them) is a proud Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kahungunu & Macnamara takatāpui Māori artist, activist, designer and teacher currently living on Wangerriburras Country. Their work is within the growing edge of our systemic relationships to whenua/Country, building food systems, economic support systems and housing that aligns to our planetary limits. Guy's interested in the ways we can use functional & cultural design to combat current systems of violence for a just and abundant future. Protecting Country is important to Guy because they know Country is the core of who we are as humans. Colonial violence, white supremacy and capitalism has shifted social norms away from the truth-telling of what our role on Country is. A majority of today's issues stem from this and Guy works to speak this reality.
Rona is a proud Kaytetye woman from Central Australia who works with high impact organisations to create systems that centre First Nations people, knowledge and solutions.
Rona is the founder of Common Ground and brings 7 years
of professional experience working across First Nations organisations and not for profits. Rona was previously the Director of First Nations at YLab, a social enterprise that puts young people with diverse lived experiences at the centre of designing and developing innovative and impactful solutions
to complex social issues. Over her career, Rona has worked in policy at the Central Land Council, the Research Unit for Indigenous Languages at the University of Melbourne, Reconciliation Victoria, and the Foundation for Young Australians.In 2020, Rona was a finalist for the Victorian Young Achiever awards, was awarded a Westpac Social Change Fellowship. In 2019 Rona won a Diana Award and was named a 'Woman of the Future' by Women's Weekly.Through her work with First Nations communities across Australia, Rona aims to create future systems that centre First Nations people, knowledge and cultures.Rona currently resides in Mpartnwe on Arrernte Country.
We are a First Nations not-for-profit that exists to centre First Nations people, Country and truth-telling. We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
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