National symposium on Australian Traditional Medicine

You are invited to the inaugural National Symposium on Australian Traditional Medicine hosted by NICM HRI Western Sydney University in collaboration with Australian National University. The symposium will gather First Peoples of Australia, policy makers, regulators, academics and researchers aiming to showcase the development and achievements in Australian traditional medicine, discuss the current issues and challenges, and foster strong partnerships and collaborations.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the Traditional Owners of Country now known as Australia. Indigenous Peoples of this continent are a diverse people, making up over 250 different language groups, each with their own unique cultures, languages and practices. Accordingly, the medicines used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are unique and recognised as the oldest continuing Indigenous culture in the world, holding significant Indigenous values in biodiversity and landscapes across Country.

Respectfully, no one term has been agreed upon by Indigenous Peoples themselves and their respective language groups. The focus of the National Symposium will defer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional medicines, so we respectfully use the term “Australian Traditional Medicine” to represent these medicines as a whole. We acknowledge that the following terms are also used, along with many others: Indigenous Traditional Medicines, First Nations Traditional Medicines, Bush Medicines, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Medicines, Indigenous Cultural Medicines and Aboriginal Cultural Medicines.

Theme: Preclinical and clinical research; IP, ICIP, Indigenous governance and ethics; regulation and commercialisation pathways.