ESG webinar 5: Sustainability – the First Nations perspective

Separate RSVP essential

The 2024-25 BCCM ESG Community of Practice (CoP) Program and workshop series is open to ESG CoP Alumni and BCCM members with registration. For further information and how to register, please contact the community of practice leader, Peter Watts.

Workshop Webinar #5 – Sustainability – the First Nations perspective

The groups that make up the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander People have lived sustainably with their surroundings for thousands of years. In this workshop we will hear from Jessica Wegener from Wyla Sustainability who is an Indigenous woman from Ngiyampaa country in western NSW. Jessica is an expert in translating sustainability principles between different cultural contexts and what can we apply from our First Nations people to how we run our organisations in the present day.

Synopsis

Jessica will run an interactive session with the opportunity to ask questions throughout – covering the following:

1. First Nations environmental sustainability goals – including reference to traditional Knowledge, practices, and stewardship of the land and natural resources led by First Nations People. How you can engage in this process of revival of Traditional knowledges and protective process to ensure First Nations People’s feel confident in engaging with you.
2. ESG programmes in organisations and their alignment with First Nations outcomes.
3. Reconciliation in the aftermath of the unfortunate referendum outcome – and the statement from the heart.
4. Preparation for inclusion of First Nations knowledge and practices into RAPs and organisation’s environmental policy and decision-making through collaborative partnerships and co design between Indigenous communities, and local investment to foster sustainable land and resource management.

Speaker

Jessica Wegener, Co-founder, Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation

Jessica Wegener, Ngiyampaa Wangaaypuwan Pilaarrkiyalu King Mayi from Western NSW has completed a diploma in Indigenous land management, Small Business Management, Project Management and has undertaken studies towards achieving an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science. Immersing herself in opportunities to develop and share knowledge.

Jessica is a co-founder of the Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation, where she created resources for mob Across Australia to revive the good fire in Country. She was successful in creating and running the first-of-its-kind four-year mentoring in traditional fire management systems. Jessica is a board member on a number of Aboriginal organisations and committees. Jessica has been working in Land Rights for many years to progress the economic opportunities for Aboriginal communities through balancing the social, cultural, environmental and economic growth capacity to deliver land management opportunities that are supportive of revitalising traditional knowledge to heal country.

Jessica currently develops Curriculum for the Newcastle Waldorf Schools and runs a Mentoring program in traditional knowledges. In her spare time, Jessica attends a number of UNDRIP and Pacific Indigenous Peoples conference to ensure Sustainability, and Indigenous Peoples monitoring and management of EECs and ocean health issues are advocated for and heard across platforms within the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, self-determination and Prior informed consent Protocols and protection of First Nations knowledges. As respectful, reciprocal relationships and protections form for the cultural arts and sciences of connected traditional knowledge practices grow, so too will the knowledge holders rise to carry out these methodologies and the return of healthy people healthy country pathways will be revived.