Joel Wright

A Gunditjmara man from south western Victoria, Joel Wright has worked predominately in Aboriginal Affairs for over 35 years. Joel is currently the co-ordinator of the Laka Gunditj Language program which services Aboriginal language groups in south west Victoria. He has recently launched six bilingual interactive apps of Gunditjmara creation stories, is delivering teacher training in Aboriginal Language studies in two council regions and has established broad community support for reinstating Aboriginal names of significant places in the region. A longstanding member of VACL, he was elected as a director to the VACL Board late last year.

In 2000, he was appointed as the first executive officer for the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL), where he established of the digital infrastructure required for Aboriginal linguistic research and lobbied Victorian state authorities for the development of formally accredited curriculum in Aboriginal Language studies for schools.