Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act turns 50

The Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef Symposium, now in its fifth year have themed the symposium as "Reeflections, understanding the Great Barrier Reef though time". The symposium returns to Townsville where it debuted in 2021.

Assistant Director Social Science Dr Michelle Dyer of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) explains they are celebrating fifty years of protection of the Great Barrier Reef through legislation. Also honouring and acknowledging other perspectives and relationships with the Reef; from the timeless relations of First Nation’s communities and more recent settler colonial experiences to the contemporary milieu of shared Reef heritage across diverse communities.

GBRMPA's Project Manager Social Science Cindy Huchery says “Reeflections” isn’t just a look back – it’s a call to action, to envision a future where diverse ways of looking, seeing and knowing, create a resilient future for the Great Barrier Reef and its people.

“As someone working on the social dimensions of reef interventions and climate adaptation, I found last year’s symposium to be refreshingly open—both intellectually and relationally,” said Dr Rana Dadpour, Research Fellow at The Cairns Institute. “It created space for difficult questions about legitimacy, equity, and uncertainty, without reducing them to technical problems. That openness really stayed with me, and it’s what motivated me to join the organising committee this year.”

“This year, we’re encouraging contributions that don’t just describe the Reef, but critically engage with how it's imagined, governed, and lived with—across time and from diverse standpoints,” Rana added. “We hope to see presentations and workshops that challenge disciplinary boundaries, centre place-based knowledge, and reflect on the evolving social contracts shaping the future of the Reef. It’s a space where practice, research, and lived experience can meaningfully intersect.”

Call for abstracts to present at the symposium (9 September) and/or Expression of Interests for workshops (10 September) are open. The submissions deadline is Friday 6th June.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/reeflections-understanding-the-great-barrier-reef-through-time-tickets-1285297753179?aff=oddtdtcreator

MAY2025