Ep 59 Desmond Campbell: Celebrating First Nations identity and cultural legacy

2024-04-08

Desmond Campbell is a proud Gurindji and Alawa-Ngalakan man from the Northern Territory and is the CEO of Welcome to Country with a background in consulting, social policy and Government services. Desmond joined Welcome to Country to continue to build a platform that is First Nations led and operated, contributing to economic independence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and by sharing the world's oldest continuous living cultures and languages by First Nations people on their terms and cultural integrity. Our yarn starts with De...

Our yarn starts with Desmond sharing his own identity and the proud legacy of his family which flows through his blood. It weaves through to his role at Welcome to Country, why this organisation exists and how it serves its stakeholders. And it ends with a powerful and emotional vision for the future.

For those of us who believe we should be proud and fiercely protective of the oldest living civilisation in the world, through this interview, Desmond opens a door which he invites us to walk through.

Highlights:

Desmond shares his family background including his legacies from both his mother’s and father’s side. He highlights on his father's side his relationship to Vincent Lingiari, his Great Grandfather, who Paul Kelly’s song “From Little Things Big Things Grow” is about; and his mother's Uncle who was awarded a Member of the British Empire Medal for, amongst other things, diagnosing leprosy in Aboriginal people throughout the Northern Territory
We talk about the importance of identity and Desmond shares his approach to leadership and his mission to carry forward his cultural legacy through his role at Welcome to Country
He shares his view on leading with emotion despite being told that it might not be appropriate and we discuss the human value of emotion in leadership
Desmond takes us through some of his childhood experiences which made him feel like a second class citizen, but contrasts this with his deepening curiosity and pride as he started learning about the history and legacy of his mob
He talks about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have always led events to connect language and culture and connect to our past so we can move forward together. By acknowledging our traumatic past and walking forward together
Desmond describes himself as a “walking billboard”, sharing a couple of stories about being approached at the pub by two different non-Indigenous people separately to talk about things related to his Aboriginal identity. He explains that while he doesn't mind it, there is an emotional cost to him of engaging, which is why he offers some advice to non-indigenous people who might want to ask questions of or discuss relevant issues with an Aboriginal person
Desmond introduces what Welcome to Country is all about and its purpose – to support greater economic independence for First Nations entrepreneurs, sharing the language and culture with the world on their terms
He shares what Welcome to Country has achieved so far since launching in 2019 during the bushfires and leading into the pandemic
He tells us about Welcome to Country’s new location in Glebe and his vision for what the space will enable as a vibrant cultural hub, including a shop. He highlights the Open Day that is planned (dates tbc will be shared)
Desmond explains the challenge of balancing cultural integrity with the need to educate those organisations that want to be connected with Welcome to Country and more widely with Aboriginal culture
Desmond’s dream: he shares his vision of what he’d love Welcome to Country to look like in 5 years time, but he also shares what he’d love our world to look like in that time.
Desmond closes the episode by sharing what Australians who voted YES in the referendum on the Voice can do to continue to show their support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.