The Patyegarang Oration is an annual event held at Macquarie to celebrate the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander community and promotes reconciliation through the sharing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, teaching, and knowledge. This year the oration will be held on 6 September, and also aligns with Indigenous Literacy Day which is a national day of celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, stories, language and literacy.

The Patyegarang Oration is a key component of Macquarie University’s Indigenous Strategy 2016-2025 aligning its aspiration to achieve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander success.

This year Professor R.V. (Bob) Morgan (Ed. D.) will deliver the keynote address. Professor Morgan is a Gumilaroi man from Walgett in Western NSW and is a highly respected and acknowledged Aboriginal educator and researcher who has worked extensively throughout Australia and internationally in the field of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and learning for over thirty years.

We will also be joined by our student speaker Jesse Slok who is studying a Bachelor of Commerce in International Business and Entrepreneurship. Jesse is the Chairman and Co-founder of The Bawurra Foundation which is a not-for-profit organisation helping to improve the literacy ability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children by working with schools in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities providing access to high-tech educational resources.