2022 MANS page2 THE CONFERENCE | indigenousconference

THE CONFERENCE

The 12th National First Nations Men`s Empowerment and Wellbeing Conference will be held at Hilton Hotel Cairns QLD on the 14th -16th of December 2022. It is the only conference that has been continuously running and is the largest gathering of delegates from all sectors outside of Indigenous national associations. The conference is held biannually and over the past ten years has attracted thousands of attendees bringing together representatives from all states and territories’ governments. The conference’s aim is to provide a platform for First Nations men and bringing together men, Elders and professionals to exchange knowledge and information and raise awareness on Indigenous men’s issues, with this year’s focus being on men’s whole of mens and boys Empowerment and wellbeing.. This is the 12th National Conference in the series and is quickly becoming one of Australia’s Premier Men’s Gathering. This conference is a chance to work together and strengthen the advancement of Indigenous men's whole of well-being through effective strategic sharing of information and knowledge.

This men’s gathering is designed to inspire and enable Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander men, services and other partners to take control, step up and take action to the next level, to ensure the rights and self-determination of First Nations men are upheld. To honour our Indigenous men and their families – their strength and resilience – by listening to their stories and strategies, learning from their experiences and committing to systemic change to protect the rights of our children, families and cultures.

To honour also the knowledge of our men Elders and wisdom of our cultural responses, sharing successes and struggles to chart effective, evidence-informed ways forward. The conference provides a forum to discuss solutions by women and to connect and acquire knowledge from each other to heal the spirit, heal the earth, and sustain cultural practices for this generation and for future generations to come.

Today’s society is plagued with stories of all the wrongs in our communities when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. For years as Indigenous men, we have strived to better our families which have given rise to countless numbers of great initiatives highlighting Indigenous monumental achievements. To share this knowledge has always been our cultural way; as such, we feel that it is time to start promoting these ideas so that others may be able to share and spread the knowledge to all Indigenous men.

THEME - FOCUS

The 2022 conference theme includes:
The development of a national First Nations Men's group connective voice national level
The development of a national First Nations Men's group national level
The Australian independent community-based Men’s groups will be designed to support and promote the First Nations Men’s (FNMG) movement.
FNMG will be founded on the principle of sharing information between men and other groups and communities wishing to establish and operate a Men’s group.
FNMG may act as a central hub for information exchange between First Nations Men’s and communities.
FNMG my way up its affiliates in members to improve the health and wellbeing of members and First Nations people to help reduce the number of men who are at risk from preventable health issues that may emanate from isolation,
To support First Nations Men's pertinent issues in everyday life
To support the treaty and the voice to the Parliament process
Primary health and the whole body wellness issues
To promote Successful community partnerships between First Nations peoples, governments, NGO and Innovative projects which promote leadership in the community,
To disseminate information or knowledge for First Nations Men and boys health
To support our Culture and its importance First Nations Men and boys
To support initiatives in creating better mental health for First Nations people
To support First Nations Men's in the areas of Men’s Health, Family Violence, Men & Safe Gambling, Men and Education, Achievements of Men, Men and Careers
To support First Men's Nationally with the Empowering Men and Boys

To promote and recognise the hard work of communities and grassroots-based NGO’s and initiatives that have work in the area of First Nations Men

Empowering Delegates

Indigenous peoples, nationally and internationally, will come together in an environment that can lead to the sharing of information via their cultural and historical values. The conference is designed as an educational tool to develop networking opportunities and information sharing to the wider community on Indigenous men’s issues. The event will focus on Indigenous men’s issues and whole of wellbeing through the encouragement of strong leadership, empowerment and self-determination within our communities. Throughout the two days, we will be facilitating small group discussions with empowering and inspirational guest speakers. The conference emphasizes on the positives of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander resilience and determination to strive for a better tomorrow without the constraints of negative stereotyping which is more prevalent due to social media and bad media coverage. Today as Indigenous men, we are making great strides to improve both ourselves and our communities. This event guarantees the opportunity to enlarge your network and information base, thus empowering all delegates to make greater informed decisions within their professional and extended communities.

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