Photo (L-R): Adjunct Professor Maree Meredith, Georgina Byron AM, Aunty Vicki Wade, Sally Grimsley-Ballard, Dr Bo Reményi

Snow Foundation’s First Nations Advisor Adjunct Professor Maree Meredith shares her reflections on our recent panel:

“What a way to start the morning, hosting a deadly First Nations session at the Philanthropy Australia Conference in Brisbane. Great to see the packed room and share what over 15 years of working together has taught us about partnership, trust and long-term change, with First Nations community leadership being at the heart of it all.

Using rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as a case study, the conversation traced Snow Foundation’s journey through three phases:
– From the early years of listening, building relationships and understanding the landscape
– Through to momentum of collective action, political advocacy and community action
– To where we are now: broadening our approach across housing and hygiene and clinical innovation, whilst still maintaining community work and advocacy.

We heard how listening was critical, before any strategy. And we were reminded, again, that communities already hold the knowledge the rest of us are still learning to see.

Thank you to Aunty Vicki Wade, Dr Bo Remenyi and Georgina Byron AM for sharing their insights and experience so generously, and to everyone who joined the conversation.

First Nations leadership is the foundation, built on communities that are community-led, culturally grounded and built for the long term. Philanthropy’s role is to listen, learn, contribute and walk alongside.”