Three Lucky High-School-Aged Aboriginal Young People Got Invited to Present at the Australian Marine Science Association (AMSA) Conference and Need Help with Funding Their Travel Costs
Deakin Seaweed is a research group based out of Deakin’s Warrnambool campus and led by PhD candidate Zoe Brittain. Their focus lies in revitalising cultural knowledge of seaweed in Aboriginal communities in southwestern Victoria. Over the last six years, the team has been working with Wadawurrung/Gunditjmara Elder Aunty Judy Dalton Walsh and the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative to run a series of community-engaging workshops ranging from seaweed art to cooking classes and lab-based skill sharing.
As part of this project, the team trained and supported four high-school-aged Aboriginal young people to become research assistants and help with the planning and organisation of the workshops. The knowledge gained through this experience enabled the young research assistants to step into leadership positions in their schools and communities, with one of them receiving the annual Zonta Women and Girls Award.
Three of the young research assistants were invited to co-present their experiences of the workshops alongside two undergraduate Deakin volunteers at the Australian Marine Science Association (AMSA) conference in Hobart in September. Being able to present at a scientific conference as a high school or undergraduate student is an amazing opportunity and a testament to the team’s commitment and potential.
Being high school and undergraduate students, the young researcher assistants have had limited access to funding to support their attendance. The costs for flights, accommodation and meal allowances for the three young Aboriginal research assistants, two Aboriginal chaperones and two undergraduate volunteers quickly stack up and they remain $4000 short. It is for this reason that they are seeking support in the form of donations ranging from $200 to $1500.
If you would like to support the team with this fantastic opportunity, you can follow the link below to make a donation. If the team doesn’t receive the full funding amount for this conference, the money will be set aside for future opportunities.
https://engage.deakin.edu.au/give-to-deakin?fund=134
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If you would like to learn more about Deakin Seaweed and their projects, follow their Facebook page ‘Would you like seaweed with that?’.
