Dharug students off to Rome to study
For the first time in its 50-year history, two students from the same Aboriginal community have received the Francis Xavier Conaci Scholarship in the same year.
Hayden Atkins and Tanisha Sonter represent the Dharug community in New South Wales and will now spend time living and studying in Rome.
Dharug country covers an area of approximately 6,000 square kilometres from the Hawkesbury River to the Blue Mountains and south to the Southern Highlands,
Each year, two First Nations students travel to Rome to study on the Francis Xavier Conaci Scholarship in partnership with the Australian Catholic University (ACU) and the Australian Embassy to the Holy See—to represent their cultures.
Representing culture overseas
“NAIDOC Week, in terms of today, is a celebration of Indigenous success and highlighting the growth of Indigenous culture in Australia over the last 50 odd years,” Hayden told Vatican News.
Tradition and history are what Hayden and Tanisha want to share with the world.
“It is a very big deal to represent our culture overseas because it is not a culture that is really widely known or understood,” Tanisha said. “It feels very revolutionary.”
Tanisha told Vatican News how important it was to have the scholarship linked to NAIDOC week.
“We really are showing off how far we have come as Aboriginal people and the opportunities that we have now, and how much we have developed over time, and it’s a clear indication of where we’re heading as well,” she said.
