The University of Notre Dame Australia's Nulungu Research Institute has launched its 2026 Talking Heads Seminar Series, marking the commencement of collaborative research conversations running regularly from April to October 2026 from the Institute's Broome Campus.
First established in 2014, the Talking Heads Seminar Series has grown into a respected and distinctive platform for local, national and international research engagement. The series highlights research relevant to the Kimberley and Indigenous communities across Australia.
Each year, speakers are drawn from the local community, Aboriginal representative organisations, universities, government agencies and industry partners. The series offers an important opportunity to engage with local knowledge, participate in critical research discussions and build enduring professional and community networks.
The 2026 program brings together researchers, educators, artists and community leaders to strengthen knowledge exchange, foster networks and advance research of significance to Kimberley region and broader community.
The 2026 series launched in partnership with Tura with the seminar Buga Yanu Junba: Strengthening First Languages and wellbeing through collaborative songwriting which explored how music in First Languages supports cultural transmission, intergenerational learning, healing and wellbeing for educators, children and families.
With an opening statement by Marninwarntakura Women's Resource Centre CEO Emily Carter, the presentation was led by Gillian Howell, Annika Moses and educators from Baya Gawiy Buga Yani Jandu yani U. The seminar showcased a powerful, community‑driven research collaboration and featured live performances celebrating Kimberley languages through song. The opening event set the tone for a year of research grounded in place, culture and lived experience.
Nulungu Research Institute Director, Associate Professor Melissa Marshall, said the series continues to play a crucial role in strengthening collaborative research and community engagement.
"The Talking Heads Seminar Series is a significant initiative for the Nulungu Research Institute, providing a platform to showcase and celebrate impactful, collaborative research of importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the broader community" Associate Professor Marshall said.
"It is a space for rigorous discussion, respectful knowledge‑sharing and meaningful connection."
The 2026 Talking Heads Seminar Series will continue with regular seminars from April to October 2026. The second seminar Midnight's Children: University and the theft of the future, our collaborative inquiry, presented by Len Collard, Ria Jago, Vennessa Poelina, Laurie Guimond and Sandra Wooltorton, was a collaborative exploration of First Peoples' governance that reveals how governance is lived daily through relationships to Country, kinship and resistance within universities, and how these relational practices point toward culturally regenerative "living universities."
