Reflections from the AIATSIS Summit 2026
By Kassi Hayes, Wikimedia Australia Board
Wikimedia Australia funded board member Kassi to attend and represent us at the 2026 AIATSIS Summit, held from 1 to 5 June 2026 on the Gold Coast, QLD. The Summit is the flagship annual gathering of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the nation's leading research and collecting institution for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories. It brings together First Nations communities, researchers, and the galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) sector. These are Kassi's reflections.
The AIATSIS Summit was different from any other conference I have attended. I was there to listen and to learn.
An overarching theme of the Summit was reclaiming power in systems that were not built for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - systems that are still being used to cause harm to First Nations peoples and communities.
One thing that stood out was how items in collections were historically referred to as "objective records of history," even though First Nations voices were absent. Records are not just data. Data has spirit, and records are family. Avoiding difficult history doesn't create unity. Silence doesn't heal wounds.
Our Knowledge, Our Governance
On the morning of the third day, Terri Janke and Shevaun Wright presented their session "Our Knowledge, Our Governance: Embedding Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and Indigenous Data Sovereignty in Wikimedia Platforms."
Terri and Shevaun have been working with Wikimedia Australia to develop our ICIP Protocol and Indigenous Data Sovereignty Guide, the frameworks that will shape how Wikimedia Australia handles First Nations cultural material and data on Wiki platforms. The room was full with people standing at the back, and even though I had heard them speak on this work before, one line stayed with me: "Democratic does not mean inclusive. If people are anonymous, there is a lack of accountability." We all need to keep this front of mind as we continue this work on Wiki platforms. It will be challenging, but it is necessary.
Questions from the room
The audience had plenty to ask, including:
- What is the relationship between the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and Australian law?
- How can First Nations people learn to contribute to Wikipedia?
- Do people contributing First Nations content to Wiki platforms need permission from Aboriginal groups?
Terri let me take the question about how First Nations people can get involved. I encouraged people to reach out to Wikimedia Australia because that's exactly what we are here for: to provide training and support so people can contribute to Wiki platforms. It matters enormously that more First Nations people are contributing, and part of our work is to ensure we are making it culturally safe for them to do so.
Conversations and opportunities
After the session I had a good conversation with someone from IP Australia who seemed really interested in training for their organisation on how to edit Wiki. I gave her my card and encouraged her to get in touch.
Talking with people about why I was there and the work we are doing, one thing became clear: while everyone knows what Wikipedia is, many are still unsure about us being in this space. We still have work to do to show why we should be there. We think the work we are doing with the ICIP Protocol and the Indigenous Data Sovereignty Guide is genuinely exciting, but there is understandable scepticism about how it will work in practice.
Truth telling
The Summit's theme, Our Truth. Our Power. Our Future., captured exactly what I carried home from those days: that telling the truth is how we shift the power, and how we build the future. I'll leave you with the words of Kaleb Mabo:
"For too long the truth of this country was incomplete. It was centred around one perspective. Our truth is that this land was never empty. Our truth is that sovereignty was never ceded."
"Truth telling is not passive. It demands that people are going to be uncomfortable. When we shift the narrative, we shift the power."