The Meriba buay ngalpan wakathoemamay (We come together to share our thinking) CoP is the first known Torres Strait Islander Researchers Network. It is also unique in that it brings together, for the first time, Torres Strait Islander researchers with a very broad range of expertise in the areas of health, education, science, environment, engineering, technology, economics, social sciences, community development, knowledge translation, performing arts, visual and creative arts, management and administration, and traditional knowledge systems and practice.

Based on our combined expertise, our network has delivered a short arts-based knowledge translation (KT) event at the Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair (“Woer Wayepa” – The Water is Rising) and are currently planning a games-based problem solving workshop on Thursday Island in the

Torres Strait. Our events aim to enhance social capital through the translation of knowledge about adaptability and resilience initiatives and strategies to address natural environment concerns relating to Torres Strait Islander people. We draw on our framework: Know the Risk,

Own the Risk and Flip the Risk to address complex social and environmental problems.

 

Dr Felecia Watkin Lui is a Torres Strait Islander woman with giz from Erub and Mabuiag. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Indigenous Education and Research Centre, James Cook University and Theme Leader, Indigenous Futures for the Cairns Institute, JCU. Dr Watkin Lui’s doctoral research on the Torres Strait Diaspora led to an interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues from environmental science and economics and groundbreaking work on the sharing of traditional fisheries. She was Principal Investigator on an ARC Indigenous Discovery Project (2014-17) which focused on the development of a framework for Indigenous research impact and benefit.

 

Dr Watkin Lui is currently the project leader of Meriba buay - ngalpan wakaythoemamay (We come together to share our thinking): Evaluating a Community of Practice for Torres Strait Islander Health and Well-being funded by the Lowitja Institute. Dr Sanchia Shibasaki was born and raised on Thursday Island and is of Torres Strait Islander descent. She has lived and worked in communities in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. Dr Shibasaki has experience in areas of physiotherapy, executive management, workforce training and development, project leadership and management, continuous quality improvement, systems development and redesign, research and knowledge translation, and consultancy. She has worked with state and commonwealth government departments, community-controlled health affiliates and services, research institutes and not for profit community organisations. Dr Shibasaki is currently the Director of Research and Knowledge Translation Program at the Lowitja Institute (0.4FTE) and the co-owner of SenseMakers for Smarter Care (S4SC).

 

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