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Wednesday, 15 April 1998

African leaders are this week meeting with South Australian indigenous groups to discuss common land rights and heritage concerns.

The nine delegates from Kenya and Tanzania include prominent indigenous lawyers, activists and community leaders. They arrived in Adelaide at the weekend to meet with South Australian indigenous groups on urgent issues relating to land rights and heritage protection.

The delegation is meeting with a number of key Aboriginal organisations, including the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, the Aboriginal Lands Trust, the SA Museum and the Indigenous Land Corporation.

While in Adelaide, the delegation will also visit the region that has been at the centre of the dispute over the Hindmarsh Island bridge.

The visit by the African delegation is being hosted by Wilto Yerlo, the University of Adelaide's Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs, and Johnston Withers Barristers and Solicitors.

This visit is a unique opportunity for the indigenous peoples from these two continents to exchange information and support each other in their common concerns, says Dr Jocelyn Davies, lecturer in Aboriginal land management at the University of Adelaide's Roseworthy campus

"In the light of the recent High Court decision on the Hindmarsh Island bridge I'm sure that South Australian Aboriginal leaders will welcome the opportunity to discuss their concerns at an international level," she says.

The visit to Adelaide will culminate in a joint African/Australian Heritage & Indigenous Land Rights Seminar.

• WHERE? Level 6, Schulz Building, University of Adelaide
• WHEN? 1.45pm, Thursday, April 16