PRESENTATION
Presentation Title:
The ATSILIRN Protocols at Thirty: Reflections from the Symposium on Significance, Gaps, and Future Directions
Presenter:
Professor Kirsten Thorpe
Presentation Date:
Thursday 14 May 2026 | 2:30pm – 3:00pm
Presentation Description:
First published in 1995 and last updated in 2012, the ATSILIRN Protocols for Libraries, Archives and Information Services have shaped practice across Australian libraries, archives and information services for thirty years. In late 2025, the Indigenous Archives and Data Stewardship Hub at Jumbunna Research, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), convened a symposium to mark this milestone. It brought together practitioners, researchers, and advocates to reflect on the Protocols’ significance, examine the gaps that have emerged, and identify future directions for their development.
This presentation draws on the symposium’s findings and launches the symposium report to offer a picture of where the sector stands at 30 years. It explores what the Protocols have achieved, what they have meant to the people who have used them, and what needs to change to ensure they remain a living and relevant resource for the next generation. Key themes include the need to address Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance, ICIP rights, AI and the digital environment, and the experiences and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff. The presentation also considers what accountability, implementation support, and sector leadership are needed to close the persistent gap between endorsement and action.
Professor Kirsten Thorpe
Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney
Presenter Bio
Professor Kirsten Thorpe is a Worimi woman and Professor at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney, where she leads the Indigenous Archives and Data Stewardship Hub. Her research sits at the intersection of Critical Indigenous Archival Studies, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, Indigenous Librarianship, and archival theory and practice. She is co-chair of the International Council on Archives Expert Group on Indigenous Matters (ICA EGIM), a member of the IFLA Indigenous Matters Section, and serves on the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council. She is the author of Living Indigenous Archives (Routledge, 2025) and co-founder of the Indigenous Archives Collective