Acknowledgement of Country: Deakin-wide and online
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of our lands and waterways.
We pay respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
Deakin campuses are built on the traditional lands of the Wadawurrung people of the Geelong region, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the greater Melbourne region, and the Gunditjmara people of Western Victoria.
Deakin is committed to acknowledging, building and sustaining respect and understanding between First Nations 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 knowledges, cultures and values. At Deakin, we see this as a University-wide responsibility.
We support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ calls for self-determination, and a ‘Voice, Treaty and Truth Telling’ through the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
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The artwork featured on the video banner is painted by proud Wagiman man Nathan Patterson. The artwork is titled ‘Learning Together, Growing Together’ and represents Deakin’s mission to engage meaningfully with reconciliation and treaty-making processes, whilst providing exceptional learning, knowledge-sharing and research opportunities for First Nations peoples.
The artwork depicts Deakin as the central meeting place, anchored in the ‘present day’, with staff and students gathered around it. The other circles represent the past and future, building on Deakin’s rich legacy of engaging First Nations students through the NIKERI Institute (formerly the Institute of Koorie Education) and securing a high-quality educational experience that will continue to service our communities into the future. The coolamons up the top represent the gathering of knowledge, and the boomerangs represent students taking this knowledge back to their communities. The gum leaves represent connection to Country.