The Mount Isa Community Symposium

“When it rains, it washes away all the footsteps of those who have come before us and cleanses our Country to make our pathway clear... - Roslyn Von Senden

On March 25th, 2024, Let’s Yarn About Sleep held it’s first ever Mount Isa Community Symposium. Despite the wet season’s heavy rains, over 120 people attended the event, including community members from Mount Isa and Cloncurry, students from surrounding schools, our collaborators and research team. On behalf of the Let’s Yarn About Sleep Team, we’d like to thank everyone for joining us and celebrating the achievements of the Mount Isa community.

The day featured special presentations from the community, our sleep program participants, researchers and more. The day began with Aunty Joan Marshall’s reflection, where she shared her story of sleep on Kalkadoon Country.

Professor Fatima shared the story of how the LYAS program began, what we have achieved and where we’re headed, before Mina Kinghorn shared our news and media highlights. Across Australia, LYAS had been mentioned in over 400 media pieces, garnering a potential news reach of >120 million people. Dr Daniel Sullivan shared reflections from the LYAS Pilot and Sleep for Strong Souls programs and we were also grateful to hear from some of our key stakeholders including participants, parents, and partners, who shared their experiences with the program.

A special acknowledgement and awards ceremony was held to thank the Mount Isa Community Steering Group for their ongoing support and work in guiding the LYAS program’s impact. Finally, we ended the day with a Panel Discussion and Q&A Session, where our panellists answered attendees' questions about sleep research in the Australian First Nations context and shared their thoughts on future research priorities for Sleep Health in Australia.

We were proud to host the works of artists Isaiah Milne and Aunty Joan Marshall during the event, and Uncle Hombre’s musical performance was a wonderful highlight from the day.

Some Feedback and Highlights from the day:

• “Inspiring from every perspective. Absolutely amazing.”
• “Enjoyed the afternoon session yarning with the panel and hearing the stories and sharing of knowledge.”
• “We are looking forward to being part of the next chapter which ultimately will be life changing for many generations to come.”
• “The students loved the symposium. Hombre’s music was a favourite.”
• “This is a great initiative for our community. Looking forward to hearing more.

A very special thanks to:

• The Mount Isa Headspace Coffee Van
• Joanna Giemza-Meehan Lifestyle Photographer for capturing the day
• Our partners who supported this event:
  • Life Course Centre
  • Solace Medical Group
  • QH2O
  • Headspace Mount Isa
  • Mithangkaya Nguli
  • UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health
• Renee Caplan, Roslyn Von Senden, Rebecca Storck, Skyla Dolan, Tammi Webber, Tonya Murray, Uncle Wayne Williams, William Doyle, A/Prof Yaqoot Fatima, Adrianne Newport, Alvin Hava, Aunty Joan Marshall, Christine Doyle, Christine Rankine, Clive Doyle, Corine James, Darren Nelson, Dr Daniel Sullivan, Hahli Murray, Hombre ‘Ronald’ Major, Isaiah Milne, Jaylon Mimi, Julie Arthur, Justine Mullins, Markesh Fanti, Michelle Erbecker, Mina Kinghorn, Nikki Cummins, Prof James Ward, Prof Romola Bucks

Posted 2 years ago