Celebrating Lesley and her unique contributions to trachoma elimination
The inaugural University of Melbourne, Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences Indigenous Conference 2024 was held in September, and a number of staff awards were announced at the conference dinner, including an award for ‘Excellence in knowledge translation’ presented to Lesley Martin.
Lesley, a dedicated member of the Indigenous Eye Health Unit (IEHU) since joining Minum Barreng in 2019, has played a pivotal role in community engagement for trachoma health promotion. Alongside her former Alice Springs colleague, Walter Bathern, who recently finished with IEHU after four years, Lesley led numerous community visits across Central Australia. Together they promoted the message of ‘Clean Faces, Strong Eyes, with the help of Milpa the trachoma goanna, supporting trachoma elimination through community education and engagement.
This well-deserved recognition highlights Lesley’s important and unique contributions towards the elimination of trachoma. As a Central Australian Arrernte woman, Lesley draws on her cultural knowledge, connections, and lived experience to create safe spaces for conversations and support meaningful knowledge sharing. Her approach exemplifies how culturally informed health promotion can empower families and communities to address their own health and wellbeing.
Congratulations also to our Onemda colleagues, Levi Murray from the Indigenous Studies Unit and Skye Stewart from Indigenous Health Equity Unit, who were also honoured with awards during the evening.
The conference, themed ‘Blak, loud and proud’ featured several insightful presentations.Minum Barreng presented a thought-provoking paper by Makkaillah Ridgeway and Mitchell Anjou titled Enhancing our collective cultural competence. Additionally, Sean Taylor, Onemda’s new director, shared stories of his personal journey in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health over the past 25 years.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Lesley and all award recipients for their outstanding achievements and contributions to Indigenous health and knowledge translation.
