Indigenous Desert Alliance

IDA Conference 2024

The IDA Conference took place on 12-14 November 2024 at Yulara, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and Katiti Petermann Indigenous Protected Area – the largest gathering of Indigenous rangers in Australia with 423 delegates from 54 ranger groups making the journey to the red centre.

The conference theme this year was “A decade of connection”, to celebrate 10 years of connecting, learning and working together as an alliance and network. A big focus of the conference was strengthening the alliance, yarning about matters of regional importance, sharing information and most importantly, connecting with each other.

The conference was reported via the ABC and on ICTV!

A desert journey to IDA Conference!

Free to stream now! This multi-award winning documentary film stars desert rangers travelling to the IDA Conference!

In November 2024, two Indigenous ranger teams set out on a 1,900 kilometre journey from the remote community of Bidyadanga in Western Australia to Uluru. Their destination: the largest gathering of Indigenous desert rangers in Australia – the Indigenous Desert Alliance Conference. Along the way, they were joined by 12 other ranger teams from across the Western Deserts. What began as 20 rangers became a powerful convoy of over 90, arriving together in the heart of Australia for the IDA Conference.

IDA Conference 2022

The 2022 IDA Conference was the largest gathering of Indigenous rangers in Australia with 375 delegates from over 40 desert ranger teams making the journey to Yulara, Northern Territory.

It was a special time, full of joy, laughs and passion. Rangers made their mob proud by speaking up for country and discussing Indigenous land management priorities for one-third of the Australian land mass.

Ranger teams and their elders travelled long distances from across the desert to share stories about looking after country and we thank everyone for making the journey.

The Conference was reported in the Canberra Times and Perth Now.

The Conference program facilitated presentations from over 20 ranger teams in dedicated sessions covering key topics including fire, ranger team exchanges, ranger development and threatened species.

Throughout the three-day program, there was a wide variety of field trips to Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park and Katiti Petermann and practical workshops to activate discussion and share knowledge.

The Ranger-to-Ranger sessions facilitated rangers and elders to speak openly about their aspirations, concerns, and goals for the sector. Once again, these Indigenous-facilitated sessions will inform the IDA’s agenda over the next twelve months.

IDA Conference 2021

The 2021 IDA was once again, a well attended zoom event with rangers from across the desert coming online for 2 days.

We had presentations on ranger exchanges and ranger presentations on feral animal control, animal identification, fire knowledge, and even a new species of frog; - the biggest collaborative burning trip ever conducted in the desert with 9 different ranger teams working on board the plane over the journey;- healthy country planning using mapping and traditional and Western methods; - an update on how the IDA has grown into a small and thriving not-for-profit member organisation with a committed team working hard for rangers.

Most importantly, we held our annual ranger-to-ranger session to make sure Traditional Owners and rangers are at the forefront of setting priorities for the IDA! We're really looking forward to getting everyone back together in person as soon as we can. But yesterday's videoconference showed us how strong the connection in the desert is, with over 20 ranger teams and over 100 rangers coming together online to share knowledge and culture.

IDA Conference 2020

Due to travel restrictions, the 2020 IDA Conference was held online this year. Rangers, members and supporters from across the desert participated via Zoom videoconference. The conference coincided with the rescheduled NAIDOC Week and was a great way to celebrate the work rangers have undertaken in 2020 - a most challenging year.

Highlights from the conference included:

30 ranger teams in attendance from across the Australian desert, as well as representatives from the Misipawistik Cree Nations in Canada
over 200 people in attendance in total across the three days
a fantastic opening session hosted by IDA Chair Nyaparu Rose with the Hon Ken Wyatt AM MP Minister for Indigenous Australians providing the opening keynote address to the conference
‘ranger to ranger’ sessions where again, priorities were discussed and recorded to inform and guide the work of the IDA
the active participation of multiple ranger teams from across the desert including presentations and videos from: Birriliburu Rangers, Maralinga Tjarutja Rangers, Paraku, Ngururrpa and Ngurra Kayanta Rangers, Muru Warinyi-Ankkul Rangers, Kiwirrkurra Rangers, Ngurrura Rangers and Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation Wiluna Rangers.
a session with Andrew Dowding from Winyama Digital Solutions, on the Indigenous Mapping Workshop and its online resources
a presentation on the review of the National Threatened Species Strategy from the Threatened Species Commissioner Dr Sally Box and Q and A session
discussions around the impacts of a changing climate on country
a conversation on the Language of Fire and Country with representatives of the Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa Martu Language Program
the premiere of Learning Together - Martu and Scientists on Country and the premiere of the Buffel Free GVD video resources for buffel grass control in the desert, in Pitjantjatjara and in English.

Thanks to all of our conference supporters and all of the presenters and participants that made the IDA Conference such a fantastic event. Even though we couldn’t come together face to face, we still kept the desert connected! We hope to be able to come together again in 2021.

IDA Conference 2019

The 2019 IDA conference was held at Uluru. It was a landmark event and became a celebration of Indigenous desert rangers in the heart of the desert. The video below tells the story of this wonderful event.

IDA Conference 2018

The 2018 IDA Conference brought the desert again to the city. It was held at the University of Western Australia Club, Perth, WA. Over 160 attendees participated in 3 days of workshops, planning and networking

IDA Conference 2017

The first big conference for the IDA as held at the WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle, WA