2026 International Indigenous Strong Women’s Health, Wellbeing & Leadership Conference

2026 National Indigenous Strong Women’s Health & Wellbeing Conference

The 2026 International Indigenous Strong Women’s Health, Wellbeing & Leadership Conference is scheduled to be held in Brisbane Queensland Australia on September 2-4, 2026. The conference is a powerful gathering honouring the resilience, leadership, and collective power of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, and Indigenous women around the world. Grounded in culture, Country, and sovereignty, this conference recognises Indigenous women as system shakers, leaders who challenge colonial and patriarchal structures and as stewards of ecosystems who protect ancestral knowledge, care for Country and Sea Country, and defend our lands for future generations. This conference is a space for reclaiming power. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, leadership is not new — it is being restored. Long before invasion, our women held central roles in governance, law, kinship, health, and community decision-making. In celebrating International Indigenous Women’s Day, this conference confronts the ongoing impacts of colonisation and gendered violence, while affirming women’s authority to lead healing, governance, and systems change on our own terms. The conference places land and resource rights at its core. Indigenous women are on the frontlines of climate change, environmental degradation, and territorial threats. Caring for Country is inseparable from wellbeing — it is cultural responsibility, resistance, and survival. Protecting land, waters, and sacred places is essential to protecting women’s rights, community health, and the continuation of culture. Similarly, rooted in the understanding that culture is a powerful protective factor, the conference centres healing, safety, and self-determination as foundations for strong women, strong families, and strong communities. Through yarning, storytelling, ceremony, and shared lived experience, delegates will explore culturally safe, trauma-aware, and community-led approaches to health and wellbeing that honour identity, restore balance, and strengthen spirit. Across two and a half days, Elders, community leaders, health practitioners, midwives, researchers, policymakers, and advocates will come together through workshops, community-led sessions, and evidence-informed discussions. Together, we will elevate strengths, share knowledge, and shape clear, actionable strategies that drive political, economic, and social empowerment for Indigenous women — locally, nationally, and globally.