MEGAN DAVIS IN ON THE TIME100 NEXT 2023 LIST

BY LINDA BURNEY
SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

Professor Megan Davis will hold a very important chapter in the story of Australia. She has played an instrumental role in getting Australia to this historic moment; in a referendum later this year, the country has the opportunity to finally recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution. Constitutional recognition is an opportunity to acknowledge 65,000 years of culture and tradition.

Together with fellow advocates Pat Anderson and Noel Pearson, Professor Davis led some of the most extensive consultations with First Nations people that have ever occurred in Australia—culminating in the National Convention at Uluru in 2017. It was there that she first read the Statement from the Heart—an invitation to the Australian people from First Nations Australians to walk together to build a better future. Since then, Professor Davis has kept the fire for Uluru burning, sitting on expert panels and advising the government. She has done so with great dedication and determination.

Burney is the Minister for Indigenous Australians

https://time.com/collection/time100-next-2023/6308556/megan-davis/

IMAGE: Megan Davis. Brendon Thorne—Getty Images