The #Mumsmatter online symposium 2020 reached an aduience of 270 participants via a dedicated mail list, 700+ Instagram followers and a dedicated Facebook group of 450+ members over a 3month period. Themed A New Australian Narrative for Mums: Decolonising Motherhood it aimed to create a platform for different world views and experiences to be shared, and to image a new postpartum experience for future generations.

We wanted to ask the questions - What is motherhood in Australia? And how could we redefine the Australian motherhood narrative? How could we create a new story that mirrors the rich tapestry of the Australian story? One where our First Nations Peoples stories are at the center of our collective story and where all women can see themselves.

This symposium is the result of many weeks, months and years of listening and exploring how we could create meaningful change in the worlds we walk in. We had big bold ideas of wanting to change policies and create better conditions for mothers in the immediate years after birth. And we wanted to create that change yesterday.  But then we realised that what really needs to change are the stories we tell ourselves, and that change takes time. So, we set about creating a space to listen, to be heard and to understand each other’s journey. A meeting place.

Three Guiding Principles 

Healthy mothers = Healthy Families = Healthy Communities = Healthy Planet

We understand that mothers are pillars of society. When mothers are supported and healthy, their families are healthy because mothers nourish their families. When our families are healthy, our communities are healthy, because communities are made up of families. And when our communities are built around a mothering energy, we will naturally take care of our physical environment, therefore we will have a healthy planet.

Mothering is a mindset, not a biological or legal status

Our understanding of mothering is not limited by those who have become mothers through giving birth, adopting or active parenting. We acknowledge a mothering energy which involves women, femmes, non-binary people and even men stepping into their feminine power. This is the power to nurture, support, connect and protect.

We would like to see a full expression of feminine nurturing for everyone.
 The idea of mothering and nurturing extends to aunties, other important carers and connections in our communities so that we can fuel our world with the love and care that we need for our children and then our businesses and organisations which will then pass forward the respect we have for life. 

Decolonisation is central to support for mothers

Decolonisation is an ongoing process, not a single act. Colonisation brings with it deep, often unconscious beliefs that one culture and its values are inherently superior to another. By removing the shackles of the patriarchal systems, by privileging First Nations Peoples and feminine/female knowledge and perspectives; we can elevate the voices of those that are usually silenced in broader society to create a culture that fosters nurturing and caring for people, beginning with the first year of a family’s life and radiating beyond that.

Speakers

Lia Pa’apa'a

Lia shares her experience of having a child and how becoming a mother brought her closer to her ancestors and their cultural practices. 

“Living away from my homelands I very soon realised the lack in cultural knowledge and community that I had during the first 1000 days of my sons life. This sent me on a journey through research from around the world about global Indigenous practices and the legacy that the colonial project has and continues to dismantle these sacred knowledge and spaces that are fundamental to maternal and child health and well being. In response I have developed several projects including Plant Based Native which explores how I can incorporate ancestral practices in my everyday life through the foods nourish my family with, weaving my creating culturally relevant toys and resources for my son and medicines through aromatherapy, smudging and infusions that I support  my family with. On a community level, I have co-created a global Indigenous spaces called Karrkay Binalmalmal (Kuku Yalanji for Child Learning) which delivers workshops to mothers and carers to support them in creating culturally relevant resources for their children across visual and performing arts practices including lullabies, weaving and stories. I hope that by sharing my personal story, the context of some of the systems that have taken place and how we as a collective of mothers can relearn and re-imagine sacred practices for ourselves and our families I can inspire listeners on their own journey of ancestral healing.”

Samantha Jansen

“Motherhood – The journey of transitions with imperfections and discovering self-worth.”

Samantha Jansen is a Sri Lankan-born Australian. She was raised and educated in Sri Lanka and came to Australia as an 18-year-old. As she says “This is where I first encountered a challenge, I needed to fit and find myself.” Fast forward and Samantha is now a single mum with two primary school-aged children, an author, radio show host and a business owner on a mission to empower, inspire and help mothers voice their stories and live their life purpose.

Lenine Bourke

Lenine shares her queer parenting experiences.

“I have in the traditional sense experienced what it’s like to play the role of co-parent/dad and also birth parent/mum. I identify as a gender diverse person, who co-parents with a trans man who gave birth to my first child and as a single parent by choice who gave birth to my second child. These experiences are vastly different and yet there are some similar threads. I also have worked in the arts and community engagement space for nearly 20 years and as such I continuously invest in and grow my community as my children grow and change and as I grow through this process. 

“From being in a nuclear-style family to becoming a single parent, from being a co-parent to a birth parent, from being the working full time parent to the parent who is now home-based as my children both have diverse but high needs -  that are managed through daily therapeutic supports. These experiences give me insights, and that I feel I have lived about 6 different lives in the 7 years of parenting. 

“Being an artist, I have had to use my imagination, my creativity, my understanding of building connections (even if it is when I've hit a low point and meet a grandmother of a child with a disability via fb marketplace, where I'm trying to find affordable therapeutic toys for my 21-month-old who connected me to a whole parents group just by chance), of how to stay connected, to manage sleep, income, stress, process the constant questions from everyone about my family and manage how my gender has changed through the act of being pregnant (which was pretty unexpected). This will be a personal reflection about my experiences with links into research (cause I'm a PHD candidate), project examples, community examples and stories from the frontline of parenting.”

Paula Abood 

“Aunties as social mothers in family and community.”

In diverse cultural contexts, the role of  aunties is key to socialising children and young people as both influencers and carers. Paula will be speaking about why aunties are critical to the well-being of both parents and children in family and broader community contexts, using some of the work she has been involved in with refugee and immigrant communities over the last 30 years.

Kirilly Dawn in conversation with Angela Coe

“Talking about decolonising birth in Australia”

Kirilly from Indigenous Doulas Project in conversation with Angela a Midwife from the AMS Redfern and Birthing our Way Instagram page.

Angela Coe , Sovereign Wiradjuri woman from the Upper Bila Galari - Lachlan River area Cowra. Registered Midwife living and working on Gadigal Land , Redfern at Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service. Project Officer CATSINAM - Congress Of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander nurses & midwives. Mother of 5 beautiful Wiradjuri, bundjalung Biripi & Gumbayngirr children. Have recently started instagram page “Birthing Our Way” in the hope it can be used to support the decolonisation of Maternity Care by empowering our women to reclaim their space. To connect & support each other. And for Non Indigenous people’s to learn from us what affects our mob regarding maternity care in this Country.

Kirilly Dawn is a proud Barkindji woman and birth doula, living on Bundjalung land. She has recently started ‘Indigenous Doulas’ a not for profit organisation with the goal to make doula trainings culturally safe and accessible for Indigenous women, to support our women in birth and motherhood and reclaim our space in the birth room. Kirilly is an advocate for decolonising the birth culture in ‘Australia’ and sees Indigenous Doulas and midwives working together for birth sovereignty. Kirilly is also a podcast and radio host with Pregnancy Birth and Beyond media, where she focuses on interviewing Indigenous women about their experiences of maternity care in ‘Australia’ to have our voices and perspectives included in this important conversation.

Lydia Fairhall

A song from her upcoming album ‘True North’

After four years at the helm of the duo Tigerlily, Lydia Fairhall shares her much loved sound and stories and with The She Oaks takes them to higher realms and lands them firmly back in the heart centered vibe she is well known for.

Lydia is renowned not only as a formidable songwriter, but as a performer who can crack you open and put you back together again, better than you were before. With The She Oaks she discovers an even deeper musical bond, directing us to reconnect with the flow, ease and beauty of humanity.

Lydia Fairhall & The She Oaks 'SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER' is the first single from the forthcoming debut album 'True North'.

Formed in the mountain ranges and creeks of the Mary Valley and the vibrant streets of Melbourne, Lydia Fairhall & The She Oaks possess a warm folk, pop & alt country sound which blends seamlessly with the down-to-earth vocals audiences have praised in Fairhall’s music over the years.

Featuring some of Australia’s finest musicians including Chris Pickering (guitar), Sam Pankhurst (bass), Kali Blunt (vox/guitar) and Ben Graham (drums), Lydia Fairhall & The She Oaks are preparing to release their debut album in 2020.

'True North' is an exploration of love and rebellion, revealing nurturing and connecting as powerful but often forgotten acts of resistance. A warm and open folk/pop/alt country soundscape lends itself to the fine art of story-telling that Lydia has refined over the years.

Produced by Jackie Marshall, their debut album is an intimate experience, where listeners are invited to shine a light on all of the flow and ease and beauty of the world and of humanity.