An Aboriginal-led education organisation that helped lift school attendance in regional Queensland is set to take its model to a national stage next month.
The Stronger Smarter Institute will host its Stronger Smarter Together Summit in Brisbane next month bringing together educators, policy makers and community leaders to examine how relationships and expectations shape outcomes across the country.
The institute's approach was first developed more than two decades ago at Cherbourg State School, where attendance rose from 62 per cent to 94 per cent under its founding principal. Since then, the model has grown into a wider national movement focused on leadership, opportunity and what founder Chris Sarra describes as "relational sovereignty".
"Relational sovereignty is about how we choose to stand with one another as Australians," Dr Sarra said.
"For more than two decades, we've seen the impact of this approach and high expectations in the classroom. The question now is: what could change if those same principles guided leadership across the country?"
The summit, titled Reimagining Australia's Sovereignty, comes in the midst of ongoing national debate about identity, belonging, and the country's future direction. Organisers say the lens will move beyond symbolism to how people engage within systems such as schools, institutions and leadership structures.
The program extends outside education into sectors including science, sport and culture. A panel led by the Young Indigenous Women's STEM Academy will explore the role of First Nations women in forming Australia's scientific and technological future.
"STEM is where the future is being built," Young Indigenous Women's STEM Academy member Kim Dyball said.
"When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women lead in these fields, it expands what's possible—not just for our young people, but for Australia's future."
Other sessions will examine sport as a space in which identity, discipline and joint responsibility play out on a national stage.
Keynote speakers include Dr Sarra, Peter Yu and Terri Janke, a leading authority on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and head of Terri Janke and Company.
