Events

Wominjeka, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung for welcome or ‘come, with purpose’, is a key event in the University’s calendar that signifies the start of the academic year. 

Wominjeka acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people as the Traditional Custodians of the land where the Parkville campus is located. A local Wurundjeri elder will perform a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony to welcome new and returning students and staff back to campus. 

Following the smoking ceremony a First Nations artist, Madi Colville-Walker, will perform and all students and staff can enjoy some native Australian flavoured ice-cream. 

We encourage students and staff to attend this event and to take the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on our shared spaces and the ways in which we all contribute to the University community. 

We also ask that you give thought on how you will ‘come, with purpose’ to the University this year, working and studying on the lands of its Traditional Custodians. 

Please arrive at 11.45am for a 12.00pm start.

On the “Right” Side of the ’70s: How conservative activists sought to reshape Australian schooling in the 1970s and 1980s and what it means for today.

At a time of renewed consideration of what it means to be ‘progressive’ or ‘conservative’ in the politics of schooling, this seminar addresses a set of foundational moments in the history of the Australian right. Revisiting key educational battles of the 1970s and 1980s – e.g. over book banning and IQ testing – the seminar will examine the ‘grassroots’ strategies of a loose coalition of conservative groups and individuals. These conservatives, like many today, understood their purpose as rescuing Australian schoolchildren from the influence of what they proposed was a leftist takeover of the nation’s public institutions.

This seminar will include presentations from Professor Helen Proctor, Professor Jessica Gerrard and Professor Susan Goodwin.

Time: 4PM Refreshments | 4.30PM - 6PM Seminar

Please Note:Due to the theatre’s limited capacity and for catering purposes, please only register for aticketif you are sure to be attending in person.This event will not be recorded.