CHAMPION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACKNOWLEDGED FOR DECADES OF SERVICE TO FIRST NATIONS’ COMMUNITIES AS PART OF HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

We are delighted to announce the winner of the Bill Armstrong AO Human Rights Award for 2021 is Doyen Radcliffe!

Today we recognise Human Rights Day and celebrate a champion of Human Rights, Doyen Radcliffe. Doyen, a Yamatji Naaguja Wajarri man from the Midwest Region of Western Australia, has been recognised for his decades of work supporting First Nations' communities to improve quality of life, health, social and economic wellbeing, and inclusion within Australian society.    

Mr Radcliffe has been instrumental in pushing through adversity and challenges to create positive outcomes in human rights for his mob and communities across the Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA). He is multiplying his efforts and expertise by coaching and training others and generously sharing his knowledge and experience widely to better all First Nations' communities.   

Doyen's reach and influence expands across the nation as he sits as Director on several community-focused Boards and holds the prestigious position of Director of the Australian Evaluation Society following a period as Vice-President.    

Currently, Mr Radcliffe leads community development, research, and evaluation activities with First Nations' communities in WA as part of his role as Regional Manager at Community First Development. In this role and others, Doyen has supported countless communities on their journeys of self-determination. Communities like Littlewell have benefited from Doyen's skill, passion and dogged perseverance to stand with communities as they chase their long-term aspirations. In 2010, 30 Elders and former residents of the Littlewell Reserve came together to form the Littlewell Working Group. The group aimed to restore 10 acres of Country and preserve the stories and cultural knowledge of the area. In 2019, their dream became a reality, with the official opening of the Littlewell heritage trail that commemorates the lives of Aboriginal families who resided there. The Littlewell Reserve is now a protected place of healing, language, belonging, history, heritage and culture, giving back to future generations the stories of their past.  

Doyen has played a fundamental role in establishing Community First Development as a Thought Leader to influence policy and disrupt systems that impede the Human Rights of First Nations peoples and communities. 

"Doyen has played an integral role not only in supporting countless First Nations' communities at the grassroots level but also in leading conversations that influence policy and disrupt systems that impede the Human Rights of First Nations' peoples and communities," said Karen Milward, Chair, Community First Development.     

Congratulations, Doyen, and thank you for your contribution to better the lives of First Nations' people and communities across Australia. 

“To effectively measure change we need to hear the voice of the people and to see and feel the ripples of change,” Doyen Radcliffe 

Terry Grose, Doyen Radcliffe and Mervyn Eades at the Bill Armstrong AO Human Rights Award 2021 presentation.