Yabun 2009 - Monday January 26. 10 am – 6.30pm

Bev Manton - the first elected female Chairperson of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council - will deliver the inaugural Kevin Cook Lecture.

Named after Kevin Cook - the first Chairperson of NSWALC and the former General Secreatry of Tranby Aboriginal College - the lecture calls for open debate and frank discussions on changing the date of Australia Day from January 26.

Ms Manton will also formally launch the newly formed Aboriginal Coalition of NSW Organisations.

With the historical election of the first black President in the United States of America, hopes soared for other marginalised people of the world. In Australia, Aboriginal people mostly expressed their delight at the win but will it have any influence on our lives?

We ask three prominent Aboriginal people what they think of the President Elect and what it means for Indigenous people not only in Australia but internationally. We also hear their thoughts on whether Australia will have an Aboriginal Prime Minister in the very near future?

When the Prime Minister made the Apology in February, there was an air of anticipation that the government would take a better approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. What do Aborigines think? Have things changed? Where will our people be in a few years time? What are the most pressing issues for Kooris, Murris and Gooris in NSW?

It’s now been 220 years since European settlement began in Sydney (and Australia) and a lot has changed. The biggest city in Australia has undergone major changes in its landscape and demographics but what about its original people and their cultures? What has become of the Aborigine in Sydney? How do we keep our presence and keep our culture?