Our stories: Indigenous voices from Asia Pacific
Awi Chin | Eva Fernandes | Fred Leone | Ruby Macomber | Mel Ree | Kirli Saunders | Zech Soakai | Moderated by Janak Rogers
Australia sits within a vast neighbourhood of communities, cultures and trade routes in the Asia Pacific region that have existed for thousands of years.
For many Indigenous peoples, the creation of nation states has severed, dispersed and ignored pre-colonial history and identities.
By looking back through the art of the spoken word and story, we can unearth what’s been lost, take back what’s been stolen, and build a future with it.
Join these eight visionary Indigenous voices for an evening of conversation, poetry and performance to reclaim the future of the Asia Pacific. Writers, poets, comedians and singers who trace their ancestral journeys beyond the boundaries of nation-states and push language to its limits in this form-defying event.
This event is presented in partnership with Red Room Poetry.
LIVE EVENT & VENUE INFORMATION
Leighton Hall is located inside the John Niland Scientia Building at UNSW Sydney's Kensington campus (G19). Please note this is a live event only, and will not be available via livestream.
TICKETS
ACCESS
Wheelchair Access
The closest accessible drop off point to Leighton Hall is via Gate 11, Botany Street. More information on getting there can be found via our interactive accessibility map available here.
Assisted Listening
Leighton Hall has hearing assistive technology available. Patrons wishing to utilise this service must collect a Roger™ inductive neck loop receiver from the venue staff, and this system can be used with a hearing aid or cochlear implant with a T-coil, or with headphones.
Auslan & Captioning
Auslan interpreting services and/or live captioning can be provided for selected talks upon request.
Contact
To book and discuss access services, please call the Centre for Ideas on 02 9065 0485 or email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT & PARKING
Leighton Hall (John Niland Scientia Building) is easily accessible via public transport. The closest light rail stop is the UNSW High Street (L2 line) and the closest bus stop is UNSW Gate 14, Barker Street (303). For more information please call the Transport Infoline on 131 500 or visit transportnsw.info.
Free parking is also available in the Botany St Car Park (Gate 11) from 5.30pm. For access to free parking, event patrons must park in the UNSW Permit Holder bays, available on all levels. The Botany St Car Park (Gate 11) parking station is located here.
Paid casual and visitor parking is offered via the CellOPark App and ‘pay by plate meters’ in all other UNSW car parks. The Botany St Car Park (Gate 11) parking station is the closest to the venue, and is located here. For more information head here.
PROGRESS FOR ALL
Social cohesion, the connectedness of people to each other and their trust in the institutions that give society structure, is an important element of societal stability and security. As challenges to social cohesion increase, bridging divides to foster inclusive communities becomes an increasingly urgent and critical issue.
In the next decade, UNSW will continue efforts to strengthen societal resilience, security and cohesion. This will build on our significant education and research into human rights, justice, resilience, cohesion and inequality across Australia and the Asia Pacific region. We will focus on enabling access, ensuring equity and building trust in the digital age, through active participation in policy development, our deep research expertise, and genuine engagement with the people, communities and partners throughout our region.
You can read more about our objectives in our UNSW Strategy: Progress for All.
CONTACT
For all enquiries, please email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au or call the Centre for Ideas on 02 9065 0485.
The Centre for Ideas is happy to receive phone calls via the National Relay Service. TTY users, phone 133 677, then ask for 02 9065 0485. Speak and Listen users, phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 02 9065 0485. For more information on all other relay calls visit here.
Awi Chin
Awi Chin, is a writer and poet, based in Indonesia, whose work explores his Chinese and Dayak Kalimantan roots. His work weaves memory, language, and place into intimate reflections on identity and belonging. His work has been published internationally, and in 2025 he was longlisted for the Jakarta Arts Council Novel Competition and selected for the New Writers Speculative Showcase at the 82nd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow.
Eva Fernandes
Eva Fernandes is a writer, comedian, artist, and spoken word poetbased in Indonesia whose performances explore identity, grief, and bold truth-telling that is rooted in the Indian diaspora. Eva is the author of the book DeColonize Your Eyes and plays Fat Dharma, GOLD and Gifts Of Grief. Previously, she trained and worked as a journalist in the Middle East, where she published for Yahoo, The New York Times T Magazine, Kippreport, and Gulf News among other publications.
Fred Leone
Fred Leone is one of the Butchulla Songmen with Aboriginal, Tongan and South-Sea Islander roots. He comes from the Garrwa and Butchulla tribes. Fred has been touring the world for over two decades and works to safeguard and revitalise cultural knowledge, using music, language, and storytelling to connect communities with enduring First Nations traditions.
Ruby Macomber
Ruby Macomber is a proud daughter of Motusa and Te Pū o te Wheke (Rotuma/Ngāpuhi) with connections to Taveuni and Ngāpuhi. She is a community and criminal defence lawyer and an award-winning poet, essayist and creative non-fiction writer based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). Her work explores Pasifika identity, diaspora, and social justice, often grounded in community and activism.
Mel Ree
Mel Ree is a prominent Papua New Guinea-born poet, actor, and dancer based in Australia. As a descendant of a PNG chief, her work focuses on healing, identity, and the experiences of Pacific and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) women. A graduate of WAAPA, she has built a strong presence across Australia’s poetry and performance communities, becoming a respected voice in Sydney’s spoken word scene through appearances at major poetry events.
Kirli Saunders
Kirli Saunders is a proud Gunai woman and award‑winning multidisciplinary writer, artist, and consultant whose acclaimed works span poetry, children’s literature, installation, and performance. Her practice is grounded in cultural care, creating works that foster connection, healing, and community. In 2022, she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her contribution to the arts.
Zech Soakai
Zech Soakai (Poutasi, Upolu, Samoa / Pangai, Ha’apai, Tonga) is a proud tusitala, kaiako, village builder and warrior raiser with 10 years of experience accumulated in the classrooms of South Auckland as a facilitator, educator and more recently Kaiārahi (Dean). Since leaving the classroom space full-time, Zech is now broadly entrenched in the work of social change through story-telling. Of Samoan, Tongan, German, Scottish and Irish descent, his writing focuses on unpacking Pasifika youth identities within the New Zealand diaspora.
Janak Rogers
Janak Rogers is a broadcast journalist based in Naarm (Melbourne) who has worked in radio, television and online media organisations in Australia and overseas. Janak teaches writing, photography and broadcast subjects in Journalism at RMIT. In 2024, he produced and hosted 'Australia Fair', an 8-part podcast series for SBS on the history of race and immigration in Australia.
Over the years Janak has lived and worked in France, India, USA, Mexico, Israel/Palestine and the United Kingdom and has travelled widely. He holds dual Australian/British citizenship and right of abode in India. He speaks fluent French and Spanish, intermediate Hindi, and native English.
