Professor Elaine Lawurrpa Maypilama, a senior research fellow at the Molly Wardaguga Research Centre at Charles Darwin University has been nominated for the prestigious Northern Territory 2024 Senior Australian of the Year award.
Professor Maypilama, a Warramiri women from Galiwin'ku, Yolŋu Country, Northeast Arnhem Land, has dedicated more than 20 years of her career to working with CDU.
Her efforts and leadership in the field of maternity services for remote communities have been instrumental in improving the lives of women and babies in her community.
Throughout her work, Professor Maypilama has been able to prioritise First Nation people, specifically Yolŋu Nation knowledge, priorities and practices. By focusing on the evidence-base approach, she has strengthen the foundation for enhancing education, health and overall well-being.
Professor Yvette Roe, Co-Director of the Molly Wardaguga Research Centre reflected on the significance and impact of Professor Maypilama's work.
"Ḻäwurrpa is a gifted educator and has been a pioneer in advocating and ensuring that Yolŋu and Western epistemology is philosophically valued as a combined approach to understanding, exploring, and improving the world," Professor Roe said.
"She has been instrumental in this bicultural approach being used in diverse disciplines such as education, health and wellbeing, First Nations research and ecological knowledge translation."
In 2013, Professor Maypilama was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from CDU for her expertise in culturally responsive research. She has been a guiding force, supporting PhD students and fostering cross-cultural understanding between First Nations and non indigenous cultures.
Professor Reuben Bolt, CDU Deputy Vice-Chancellor First Nations Leadership, said Yolŋu community leaders such as Professor Maypilama were critical to CDU engagement in East Arnhem.
"We work with many First Nations communities across the Northern Territory and have been privileged to work with the Yolŋu community over many, many years in a range of contexts including research, education and training," Professor Bolt said.
"Ḻäwurrpa's leadership at CDU provides an opportunity to engage the convergence between traditional knowledge/wisdom and contemporary challenges."
In recognition of her lifelong dedication, Professor Maypilama's ambitious and innovative work reflects her decade long passion for traditional Yolnu knowledge, education, and research methodology.
Beyond her work at CDU, Professor Maypilama co-founded a community-based charity research organisation in Galiwin'ku, called Yalu' Marŋgithinyaraw in 2002. This organisation driving visions is to preserve and nurture Yolnu culture and languages ensuring that first nation tradition are passed down to future generation.
The NT Senior of the Year award is part of the 2024 NT Australian of the Year awards. The award recipients will be announced on November 6, 2023, in a ceremony at the Darwin Convention Centre.
Four Territory recipients will go on to join finalists from other states and territories in the national Australian of the Year Awards to be presented in Canberra on January 25, 2024.
Alongside, Professor Maypilama, other nominees from CDU include world-leading ant community ecologist Professor Alan Anderson (2024 NT Australian of the Year) and medical student Peter Susanto (2024 Young Australian of the Year).
