Five minutes with TedXCanberra speaker Dr Lynore Geia
Dr Lynore Geia has an undeniable passion for Indigenous health, for building family strength and for Indigenous led community development. When she’s not teaching midwifery students on best practice care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their families, she’s busy leading a research study on psychosocial issues that affect them while teaching the methodology to conduct their own research in the future.
Lynore will join the line-up of speakers at TEDxCanberra Momentum on Saturday 16 September at The Canberra Theatre.
Tell us a bit about your work and why you love it.
I work in tropical north Queensland as a university academic and my work involves providing leadership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues, including teaching and learning, research and community engagement. The tropics have a dynamic urban, regional, rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community that brings a rich learning experience to health students and staff.
My home community is a discrete Aboriginal community that has survived the decades of punitive past practices of government control of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people. Now, communities are rebuilding and exerting political and social agency – it is an exciting time and a challenging one.
Our communities have a young demographic population compared to the rest of Australia and this is where my job intersects with the community and university. I love working in this space because I can bring community and university work together which benefits both parties. I love working with youth and young people in my health profession and in the community setting.
My work provides a great opportunity to break down barriers, and build bridges in areas that keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and wider Australian people apart.
My aspiration is to see more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people succeeding at university and working in the health profession.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently teaching undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery students on midwifery care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their families. This is an important subject because it provides students with the knowledge and skills to engage in culturally safe maternal and child care in the hospital and community setting.
I am also leading a research study within my own community, working with youth 14 – 24-year old’s on psychosocial issues that impact on their lives, the aim is to build a locally driven strategy to address some of these issues. This is a first for the community and we have been building research capacity in the young people so that in the future they can conduct their own research in partnerships with others.
What does MOMENTUM, the TEDxCanberra2017 theme, mean to you?
The word 'momentum' brings up many images in my mind, but the most outstanding two is timing and moving forward. I believe that there is always a right time to do things and when you step into the right time it brings with it its own rewards.
With the current national political and social developments in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs, the momentum theme provides a timely space to talk about these issues to a wider audience of people and provide insight, understanding, and it challenges us to move forward to build together.
What can the TEDxCanberra audience expect to hear from you?
Some information about my life, Indigenous leadership and aspirations as First Nations people.
What are you most looking forward to sharing at the event?
I look forward to sharing some of my future hopes and vision for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
What do you like most about Canberra?
Canberra is the seat of representation for all things political and social that impacts all our lives. I like Canberra because every time I come here I think about the giants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders whose shoulders I stand on and step out to follow their footprints towards building the momentum to our future.
What’s one thing that people don’t know about you?
I like to think about myself as an Espresso shot – short, black and can pack a punch – despite the seriousness of our lives I aspire to have a good sense of humor.
Purchase your tickets for September 2017’s TEDxCanberra Momentum today.
Article from: http://tedxcanberra.org/discover/