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Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the sacred lands on which we work. We pay our respects to the people of the Kulin Nations and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, past present and future.

We recognise all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first storytellers; and that knowledge transfer through storytelling is imbedded in the very DNA of this Country.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material.

John Paul Janke

Born in Cairns, John (he/him) is Wuthathi from Cape York Peninsula and Meriam from Murray (Mer) Island in the Torres Strait. For almost three decades, he worked in the Public Sector in media roles within national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agencies – developing, and implementing a diverse range of communication and media strategies as well as coordinating and managing significant national Indigenous events. He was also the Director of Media and Marketing for the NSW Aboriginal Land Council. John is currently Co-Chair of the National NAIDOC Committee, and Deputy Chair of Indigenous Reference Group at the National Museum of Australia. He’s previously served as the Deputy Chair of the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre and been a member of the ACT Indigenous Elected Body. He is currently the co-host of NITV’s flagship Indigenous news and current affairs show The Point, and host of NITV’s annual Sunrise Ceremony on Jan 26 and is a guest host of SBS’ INSIGHT program. He is also a presenter of ABC Radio Canberra. John is Co-owner of Rork Projects – a national Indigenous construction company.

Events

FREE

Keynote: State of the Nations

John Paul Janke will present an overview of how First Nations’ communities are faring, with startling insights into progress made and where more improvement is needed.

March 17, 2022
6.30pm—7.30pm