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For Human Rights 2011, Bangarra Dance Theatre will perform the piece Wirrkul Manda / Creation from their recent production Spirit. The piece is a creation story from North East Arnhem Land of two sisters birthing the land: 'they sang the songs and danced over the land...created all living things'.

Bangarra Dance Theatre is fuelled by the spirit, energy and inspiration derived from the culture, values and traditions of Indigenous Australians.

From these roots, we create theatre that is artistically innovative, technically outstanding and truly exciting to audiences throughout Australia and the world.

Bangarra Dance Theatre was established in 1989 as a dance company that embraces, celebrates and respects Australia's Indigenous people and their culture. Under the artistic direction of Stephen Page since 1991, Bangarra has emerged as Australia's only national premier Indigenous performing arts company.

Stephen Page has developed an extraordinary signature body of work that has received a multitude of awards and secured the company's national and international reputation. Stephen is committed to developing the next generation of Indigenous storytellers by mentoring emerging artists and providing opportunities for Indigenous employment across all areas of dance theatre production and administration. In 2008, Stephen was named NSW Australian of the Year.

At the heart of all of Bangarra's productions is the musical creativity of award-winning David Page, who is one of the most successful Aboriginal contemporary composers in Australia. David's music is the inimitable soundscape of Bangarra that lures audiences year after year.

Bangarra bases its creative spirit on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions and stories producing a powerful new language combining the traditional and the contemporary. This potent, original and distinctive style tells the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples unifying the past and the present.

More information: www.bangarra.com.au

Navanethem (Navi) Pillay
UN High Commissioner For Human Rights

The appointment of Navanethem (Navi) Pillay as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was approved by the General Assembly on 28 July 2008 and assumed her functions on 1st September 2008.

Ms. Pillay, a South African national, was the first woman to start a law practice in her home province of Natal in 1967. Over the next few years, she acted as a defense attorney for anti-apartheid activists, exposing torture, and helping establish key rights for prisoners on Robben Island.

She also worked as a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and later was appointed Vice-President of the Council of the University of Durban Westville. In 1995, after the end of apartheid, Ms. Pillay was appointed as acting judge on the South African High Court, and in the same year was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to be a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she served a total of eight years, the last four (1999-2003) as President. She played a critical role in the ICTR's groundbreaking jurisprudence on rape as genocide, as well as on issues of freedom of speech and hate propaganda. In 2003, she was elected as a judge on the International Criminal Court in the Hague, where she remained until August 2008.

In South Africa, as a member of the Women's National Coalition, she contributed to the inclusion of an equality clause in the country's Constitution that prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation. She co-founded Equality Now, an international women's rights organization, and has been involved with other organizations working on issues relating to children, detainees, victims of torture and of domestic violence, and a range of economic, social and cultural rights.

Ms. Pillay received a BA and a LLB from Natal University South Africa. She also holds a Master of Law and a Doctorate of Juridical Science from Harvard University. She was born in 1941, and has two daughters.

Prof Patrick Dodson
Co-Chair of the Federal Government's Expert Panel on constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians

Patrick Dodson is a Yawuru man from Broome in Western Australia. He has dedicated his life work to advocating a constructive relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people based on mutual respect and understanding.

In May 2008, Patrick was awarded the Sydney International Peace prize for his courageous advocacy of the human rights of Indigenous people and his significant contribution to peace and reconciliation.

Patrick lives in Broome with his family, where he is involved in matters linking communities with a focus on social, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability through his roles as Chair of the Lingiari Foundation, Nyamba Buru Yawuru and founding Chair of Ecotrust Australia.

Professor Dodson is Director of UNSW's Indigenous Policy and Dialogue Research Unit and Adjunct Professor, Notre Dame University.

He is currently Co-Chair of the Federal Government's Expert Panel on constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.

Paris Aristotle AM
Director of the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture

Paris Aristotle AM has extensive experience in the area of refugee resettlement and the provision of services to survivors of torture and has been a regular presenter and contributor to UNHCR meetings and publications over many years. He established the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc.
(also known as Foundation House) in 1987 and has held the position of Director ever since.

Over the past twenty years Paris has held many and varied positions on federal and state government bodies and for international advisory organisations in the settlement and human services fields.

Amongst other positions, Paris is currently Chair of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship's, Council for Immigration Services and Status Resolution; a member of the Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council and a member of the Residence Determination Reference Group.

Paris has also been a member of a number of official delegations to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Executive Committee and was a member of the UNHCR Executive Task Force on Resettlement and Integration. In 2002 Paris was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2003 was awarded an Australian Centenary Medal - both honours recognising his longstanding work with refugees, in particular survivors of torture and trauma.

Indira Naidoo
TV broadcaster

Indira Naidoo is one of Australia's most popular broadcasters.

During her 20-year journalistic career, Ms Naidoo has hosted and reported for some of the country's most distinguished news and current affair programs.

After 6 years as a reporter for ABC TV News and the 730 Report, Indira achieved national prominence in 1995 as the host of the ABC's Late Edition nightly news and then as the anchor of SBS TV's evening news service the World News Tonight.

Ms Naidoo developed a cult following for her less serious appearances on the McFeast show, Roy and HG's Club Buggery, Good News Week, the Glasshouse, The Fat and SBS TV's Ashes cricket show Under The Grandstand.

Most recently she has been a regular commentator on Channel 10's Logie award-winning chat show The Circle.

After studying journalism and international relations at the University of South Australia, Indira began her broadcasting career as a cadet reporter with ABC TV in Adelaide.

As well as her broadcasting duties, for the past five years Indira has worked as a media strategist and spokesperson for consumer advocacy group Choice and as a Geneva-based consultant with the United Nations' trade development arm – The International Trade Centre.

In July 2009 Indira was selected from 2000 applicants to be trained by former US President Al Gore as a climate change presenter.

Her first book about urban food policy and sustainability issues will be published by Penguin books in October 2011.