Cherie Minniecon

Indigenous Coordinator

Cherie is a Yorta Yorta woman from Victoria and has worked in Indigenous Affairs for over 6 years. Cherie studied a Bachelor of Social Work and started working as an advisor to the Minister of Community Services regarding child protection policy and program development. Her interest in this area was due to the historical removal of Indigenous children from their families, the intergenerational impact it has had on Indigenous communities and the current high rates of Indigenous children in the child protection system. Cherie worked at the Commonwealth Games as a Special Event Coordinator for the athlete village in 2006 before joining Oxfam as the Indigenous Coordinator. In her current role Cherie works in both the OIYP program supporting Indigenous participation with a strong focus on Indigenous Australia and the Oxfam Indigenous Australia Program. Cherie is passionate about providing opportunities for Indigenous youth that are meaningful, relevant and value the role of youth in the survival of Indigenous cultures in the globalised world.

Cherie believes that through the OIYP program Indigenous and non Indigenous youth can come together to broaden their perspectives and create changes in their communities that consider the impact their ideas have on the lands and people around them.

Cherie hopes that the Indigenous youth of today work with each other, their Elders and communities at a local, national and International level to ensure Indigenous peoples knowledge, customs,  wisdom, histories and cultures are not only recognised but are valuable contributions that all cultures, people and lands across the globe can be enriched by.