Pre-Conference Workshops

We are delighted to invite you to Country, knowledge, and care: A celebration of Professor Paul S.C. Taçon — a one-day colloquium honouring one of the world’s leading rock art researchers. Professor Taçon’s scholarship has profoundly shaped global understandings of rock art and the deep histories of human creativity, with a particular focus on Australia and Southeast Asia. Central to his work has been a long-standing commitment to respectful, collaborative research with First Nation communities, grounded in relationships to Country and the co-production of knowledge.

Bringing together colleagues and community partners, this gathering reflects the breadth of Paul’s career and the enduring impact of his work across disciplines and regions. Speakers will highlight his role in advancing community-led and community-engaged approaches to research, including partnerships with Traditional Owners that have reshaped how rock art is documented, interpreted, and cared for. Themes will include rock art as cultural practice, cross-cultural research, heritage management, and the ethics and practice of long-term collaboration with First Nations communities.

The program will include short presentations, reflections, open discussions, and a celebratory lunch, concluding with a response from Professor Taçon.

Archaeological skills and knowledge are increasingly being included in the Australian Curriculum (2022, Version 9) and in new state and territory curricula and syllabi. To support teachers to include Australian archaeology in their classrooms, the Australian National Committee for Archaeology Teaching and Learning (ANCATL), in collaboration with South Australian educators, will host a professional development professional development seminar and workshop suitable for primary and secondary teachers, and archaeologists interested in refining their understanding of archaeological teaching and learning. The session will comprise three elements: First, an interactive presentation on Indigenist standpoint pedagogy and critical self-reflection will allow everyone to better understand the need to decolonise and Indigenise teaching and learning spaces. Second, a lecture-style presentation on foundational archaeological and palaeoecological knowledge will support teachers’ implementation of these topics in the classroom via specific curricula and syllabi links. Finally, the session will close with a roundtable discussion and the co-creation of teaching resources by educators and archaeologists, providing an opportunity to apply the new knowledge of Australian archaeology, and pedagogical approaches that have been introduced throughout the session.

“I think when we do this work, sometimes when we’re thinking about research, we’re too busy thinking about the Western systems, on what their needs are. We’re forgetting about our cultural needs and what we want to look at measuring” (Cissy Gore-Birch – Day 2 recap).

As part of the 2026 Australian Archaeology Association Conference, the Gariwerd Rock Art Management Initiative (GRAMI) is once again coming together to host a pre-conference workshop where we are inviting Indigenous presenters to present their projects and participate in a panel, sharing experiences in caring for cultural places and Country.

As a collective, the GRAMI continue to amplify the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australian archaeology with the protection and management of rock art and biocultural heritage of all forms. Reflecting on our shared responsibilities, encapsulated in stories imbued in Country, we will use this workshop to celebrate and elevate Indigenous-led, owned, and driven initiatives, inherently integrating diverse ways of knowing, being and doing from a multitude of worldviews in the care of living heritage and biocultural landscapes. Obligated and responsible for culture, Country and kin, whether showcasing culturally-responsive technological innovations or traditional processes carried on the footsteps of those who came before, the stories built on these journeys will be honoured, bringing visions of the past into the present with continuation of culture.

For those interested in presenting (as you would as part of any other conference session), we encourage submission of abstracts through AAA’s portal. For all travelling to the conference, we encourage you to arrive in time to attend this workshop.

In this interactive masterclass we think through key considerations and strategies for getting your work published in the most appropriate outlets. We talk about the process, politics and ethics of publishing and how to navigate collaboration and authorship issues. We also investigate what happens after publication and explore ways to maximise, track and evaluate the impact of your research.

The masterclass content and examples will be relevant to participants across HASS and STEM disciplines and is targeted at Honours, Masters and PhD candidates, and Early Career Researchers.

On completion of Session 1, participants will be able to:

• Explain the workflow of the publishing system.
• Discuss the centrality of publishing to personal reputation and integrity.
• Evaluate the quality of different journals and publishers.
• Apply criteria to identify predatory journals and publishers.
• Respond constructively to referee comments.
• Navigate issues surrounding collaboration and authorship.
• Enact strategies for disseminating and tracking research use and impact.

In the afternoon we are offering a smaller session for a maximum of 20 students and Early Career Researchers who have attended the morning session and who have a manuscript in the final stages of drafting for submission to a journal. Manuscripts will be assigned to one of ten experienced editors and researchers. Each mentor will have up to 1 hour one-on-one with each participant to workshop specific aspects of the manuscript to improve its readiness for publication. To be eligible, manuscripts must be pre-submitted by 10 November so that manuscripts can be assigned and reviewed by mentors.

The mentoring session is targeted at Honours, Masters and PhD candidates, and Early Career Researchers.

On completion of Session 2, participants will be able to:

• Understand the strengths and weaknesses in their manuscript.
• Identify strategies for improving the quality of their manuscript and writing in general.
• Network with an experienced editor/researcher in the field.