Communities and partner organisations

[Axel AetherParticipant]

Hey EWB representatives,

In the brief it says:

“Under no
circumstances are participants to contact the communities or partner
organisations directly”.

As an active member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, I find this a fascinating direction. Elders hold the knowledge about their land and cultural history, which isn’t often documented, as knowledge is usually sacred and requires conversations to be had respectfully. Using EWB as an intermediary where knowledge could pass through without permission, doesn’t seem respectful at all.

Explicitly, what are the communities and partner organisations in question?

Again, as an indigenous person, it seems unwise to impose an idea to improve the island without considering the sociocultural context, so I need to know what the partner organisations and communities are.

Regards,
Axel Aether,
Proud Yanyuwa-Garrawa man living on Kaurna Country.

[Sai Rupa DevKeymaster]

Dear Axel,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns—your perspective is invaluable, and we deeply appreciate it.

This program is undertaken by 11,000 students annually. Each year, we partner with different organizations to shape the Challenge. This year, your university chose the Saibai context, with the Torres Strait Island Regional Council (TSIRC) as the partner organization.

The guidance not to contact communities or partner organizations directly is part of our agreement with these partners. We take this responsibility seriously, ensuring that nothing is shared without explicit permission, and we strictly adhere to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) clauses. Our relationship with the communities is something we cherish, and protecting them from the potential overwhelm of direct contact by thousands of students is a key part of maintaining that relationship.

During the scoping process, we spend many days in conversation with our partners to deeply understand the sociocultural context. Once the brief is written, the community partners have the ultimate say in its content. When questions arise in our discussion forums, I personally reach out to the community partners, confirm details, and filter questions to ensure we’re responding in a way that aligns with their wishes.

They’ve expressed that they are happy with this approach, as it maintains the integrity of their knowledge while supporting the educational experience of our students.

To learn more about how we develop these briefs, I encourage you to check out the “How this brief was developed?” section here. It provides a brief explanation of the respectful and thorough process we follow in partnership with TSIRC.

Thank you for your understanding, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any more questions or concerns.
Best wishes,
Sai

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