Abstract: The Torres Strait is an asset for the world’s life support system. But the region’s people are facing a number of serious challenges including rising sea levels, extreme weather and poor health outcomes. To foster the mobilisation of research knowledge, a group of Torres Strait Islander researchers commenced the “Meriba buay – ngalpan wakaythoemamay (We come together to share our thinking): Evaluating a Community of Practice for Torres Strait Islander Health and Well-being Project” funded by the Lowitja Institute.  A/Prof Watkin Lui will discuss how both research and experiential knowledge need to be mobilised and made more accessible to support the empowerment of Torres Strait Islanders to develop solutions to complex environmental and social problems.  Through the use of multimodal performative methods, the Torres Strait Researchers’ Community of Practice aimed to enhance social capital through the translation of knowledge about adaptability and resilience to address complex environmental and social concerns.

Biography: Dr Felecia Watkin Lui is a Torres Strait Islander woman with giz from Erub and Mabuiag. She is an Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies in the Indigenous Education and Research Centre and Thematic Convenor of Indigenous Futures for the Cairns Institute, James Cook University. Her doctoral research on the Torres Strait diaspora led to an interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues in environmental science and economics and ground breaking work on the sharing of traditional fisheries in Indigenous communities. Her focus on collaborative community projects piqued her interest in exploring issues of impact and benefit, and the role of Indigenous leadership in research uptake.  She has a diverse research portfolio, working across health and environmental sustainability with communities in the Torres Strait. Her current ARC funded project, “Knowledge Integration for Torres Strait Sustainability” aims to investigate how Torres Strait Islanders use context-specific local knowledge and research evidence to address the significant environmental sustainability challenges they are currently facing.