Atlantic Fellows For Social Equity Announces 2025 Cohort

Thursday 14 November 2024

The Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity (AFSE) today announced its 2025 cohort of Fellows, 17 Indigenous and Pacific changemakers from 5 countries across the Pacific.

The new cohort will be supported by AFSE to help drive Indigenous-led and community-based solutions to pressing challenges facing communities in the region. Fellows will work on a range of issues from the climate crisis and health disparities to child protection and youth welfare.

Building on AFSE's growth into the Pacific in 2024, which introduced Fellows from Fiji and Vanuatu, the 2025 cohort further broadens regional diversity by welcoming one Fellow each from the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji, alongside four from Aotearoa New Zealand and ten from Australia.

AFSE Executive Director Damien Miller said collaboration and leadership of Indigenous peoples across the Pacific is critical for the region’s future.

“Our shared future depends on embracing Indigenous social innovation and leadership,” Mr Miller said.

“By elevating diverse Indigenous and Pacific perspectives and voices, such as those in this new cohort, we activate solutions grounded in generations of understanding and deep connections to Country, community and culture. This approach not only honours the rich cultural tapestry of the Pacific but also inspires collective action to build societies where we all thrive.”

The AFSE program, hosted by the University of Melbourne, offers Fellows a fee-free Master of Social Change Leadership, providing a year-long opportunity to immerse themselves in deep learning and self-development guided by the research, perspectives and ideas of Indigenous leaders, scholars and thinkers from across the Pacific and beyond.

After completing their studies, Fellows can apply for funding up to AUD$30,000 to implement their own social change projects. They also become lifelong members of the Global Atlantic Fellow community – an international network of over 1,000 changemakers that offers ongoing support and collaboration opportunities with like-minded individuals, all working collectively towards creating fairer, more equitable societies.

Professor Barry Judd, University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous), said that AFSE powerfully exemplifies the University's commitment to elevating Indigenous knowledge and peoples.

“The Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity program profoundly reflects many aspects of the University of Melbourne's Advancing Melbourne Globally strategy and Murrmuk Djerring Indigenous strategy,” Professor Judd said.

“I'm delighted to welcome new AFSE Fellows to the University community. Their work brings to life the University’s vision of a globally connected institution innovatively addressing complex challenges, foregrounding Indigenous knowledges, fostering Pacific and global collaboration, and promoting intercultural understanding.”

For more information visit socialequity.atlanticfellows.org/fellows.

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