6 | Annual Performance Statement
economic, and ecological change. The Institute
builds on the legacy of the Wiyi Yani U Thangani
(Women’s Voices) Project which has been informed
by thousands of First Nations women, girls, and
gender-diverse mob across seven years.
The Institute provides a dedicated space where
First Nations women, girls, and gender-diverse
mob determine the collaborations and research
approaches to ensure their lived experiences
and knowledge systems are at the forefront of
advancing gender justice and equality.
The Institute was originally conceived as a
recommendation in the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Report:
Securing our Rights, Securing our Future (2020) as
one of 7 key recommendations.
The launch of the Institute ensures the work of the
Wiyi Yani U Thangani project continues beyond
its scope under the 7-year term of June Oscar AO
as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social
Justice Commissioner.
The Change Agenda
Alongside the Institute,
Commissioner Oscar
launched the Wiyi
Yani U Thangani
Change Agenda for
First Nations Gender
Justice (the Change
Agenda). It is the first
living document of its
kind —centering First
Nations women and
gender-diverse mob’s vision for gender justice and
equality, and the outcomes they believe must be
met to achieve this vision. It has been described as a
‘Blakprint’ for transformation that is grounded in the
voices of First Nations women, in all their diversity.
The Change Agenda defines the change women and
gender-diverse mob want to see in the world for
the benefit of their children, families, communities,
culture and Country.
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The Change Agenda is captured in three layers
of action-orientated outcomes and describes the
commitments of the Institute, the systemic areas for
change, and signals showing change. It is a unique
measurement, evaluation and learning framework
within a systems change approach. Measurement
of outcomes is gathered through ‘signals’ that show
whether change is or isn’t occurring. These signals
centre what communities see, hear, sense or feel
is changing around them, rather than utilising a
mainstream Western evaluation methodology. This
framework follows what women and girls have told
the project team throughout the life of the Wiyi Yani
U Thangani project and ensures that the ongoing
work of Wiyi Yani U Thangani remains situated
within the knowledge systems of First Nations
women and girls.
‘We are flipping the narrative on its head and
speaking to the system as the problem that
needs to be fixed rather than our women …
Nothing like this has ever existed in Australia
and it is a direct response to what our women
and girls have called for—a Framework and an
Institute owned by us, for us, that elevates our
strengths, holds our truths, [and] sets out our
actions for nation-wide structural reform to
help develop the systems that will work for us
and support our lives and rights on the ground.’
— June Oscar AO, Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Social Justice Commissioner
Feedback on the Change Agenda has been very
positive, with women expressing hope, gratitude
and excitement for what the Institute and Change
Agenda can achieve. The Change Agenda
contributes to the progression of First Nations
women’s rights under UNDRIP by providing the
actions needed to make First Nations gender justice
a reality.