Deer road sign. Image Credit: Ludovic Rivallain (Wikimedia Commons)
Yarning in the Arctic
RegNet PhD Scholar Tony Kiessler will soon embark on a journey to the arctic region in far northern Finland. Tony has been awarded a Vice Chancellor’s HDR Travel Grant to visit the Global Health and Development Programme at the University of Tampere in Finland. Tony is a Central Arrernte man and recipient of the ANU Indigenous Australian Graduate Scholarship. His PhD is investigating how narratives influence the design and implementation of health policy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
This exchange offers Tony the opportunity to engage with a diverse range of experts on his PhD research and more broadly on the current and emerging challenges in global health and the translation of knowledge into international health policy and practice. Tony will present on the current and emerging development challenges for the health sector in the Asia-Pacific region and Australian Indigenous health to students and staff at the University of Tampere.
As part of the exchange, Tony will join a field visit to the remote region of Lapland in northern Finland. Besides hoping to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, Tony will learn about issues influencing health for the Sami people, indigenous to the arctic regions of Scandinavia and Russia. He will engage with fellow researchers and present on the historical, social and cultural context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in Australia at a week-long forum to exchange ideas and explore the health of indigenous peoples globally.
Tony will be based in Finland for the whole month of September and we look forward to hearing more about his visit later this year.
