Darwin-based company Indigenous Connection was recognised at the 2025 Resilient Australia Awards National Ceremony in Naarm earlier this week.
The company received Highly Commended in the Resilient Australia National Research for Impact Award.
The announcement came just 48 hours after Cyclone Fina hit the Northern Territory; including the community of Wurrumiyanga on the Tiwi Islands.
The recognition followed a significant year of work in which Indigenous Connection, supported by the National Australia Bank Foundation and the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia, delivered a research initiative on the Tiwi Islands titled Exploring Cultural Capital Development and Local Emergency Management on Country.
The project was co-designed and delivered by Indigenous Connnection Cultural Knowledge Providers Francilla Puruntatameri, Virgil Kerinaiua, Mary Munkara, Agnella Tupungwuti and Ian Gumbula. These knowledge providers, employed by Indigenous Connection, examined how cultural knowledge can strengthen community safety and natural disaster readiness in remote northern communities.
Early in 2025, Indigenous Connection secured funding through the National Australia Bank Foundation Community Grants Program to design and develop a pilot project aimed at improving Remote Community Natural Disaster Readiness, while also creating paid cultural employment opportunities on Country.
As part of this work, IC partnered with the Northern Territory Emergency Services (NTES) to explore Local Emergency Management processes on Country. NTES identified what was working well and where friction points existed across local emergency management. Key concerns highlighted through the collaboration related to community participation, autonomy, preparedness and resilience.
The work led to the overarching research question: Could increasing cultural and social capital in local emergency management — including leadership, operations, policy and communications — improve natural disaster readiness across Northern Australia? And if so: Does willingness and capacity exist within the emergency management system to supply and demand knowledge for Country, Culture, People and Community?
Cultural Knowledge Providers and local Police members across the Tiwi Islands participated in an applied, on-Country research process, sharing their experiences, perspectives and priorities.
Indigenous Connection received 100 per cent cultural knowledge providers willingness to accept paid invitations to participate in Local Emergency Management Committee meetings; demonstrating both strong community capacity and strong interest in participating formally in emergency management structures.
The research identified opportunities to embed cultural capital across four spheres of Local Emergency Management: Situational Analysis; Leadership Design; Communications; and Community Engagement.
At a small scale, the research identified "clear cultural capital gaps" within Local Emergency Management processes, and found these gaps could be addressed through deeper investment in cultural capital development, the integration of Cultural Knowledge Providers, and the creation of expanded community employment pathways within emergency management roles.
The findings confirmed high levels of community willingness and capacity to participate in — and be employed within — Local Emergency Management on the Tiwi Islands absolutely exist.
Indigenous Connection noted the recognition at the 2025 Resilient Australia Awards "highlights the growing importance of culturally informed, community-led approaches to natural disaster readiness across Northern Australia".
