CDU Faculty of Arts and Society

04/06/2026

🔥 Australia’s second‑largest fire year in a decade — new national report released

Australia has just experienced its second largest fire year in the past decade, according to the inaugural NAFI Fire Year Summary Report 2025 — the most comprehensive national fire mapping analysis ever produced.

The report, led by the North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI) service based at CDU, reveals the scale of 2025’s fire activity, the impact of severe late‑season conditions, and how First Nations rangers and land managers are using world‑leading data to reduce the severity of fires across the country.

Key insights include:
• 29.6 million hectares burnt in the Northern Territory
• Multiple “Terra” scale fires over 1 million hectares
• A 3.5‑million‑hectare fire in the Tanami Desert lasting 28 days
• Unprecedented rainfall increasing fuel loads across northern Australia

This new annual report offers a detailed look at how fire shapes our landscapes — and how proactive, Indigenous‑led fire management is making a measurable difference.

👉 Read the full story and explore the data

An inaugural report from Australia's most comprehensive and detailed fire mapping database has found 2025 to be the second largest fire year in the past decade, driven by severe weather and storm-related ignitions.

02/06/2026

✨ Bringing campus spaces to life! ✨

For the first time ever, Charles Darwin University is part of the Darwin Street Art Festival — and our Casuarina campus is about to transform in the most colourful way.

Three incredible artists, including our very own Larissa Pickalla, are creating new public murals across campus. Larissa’s piece on the Orange 1 building marks her first public mural, celebrating movement, connection, and First Nations perspectives through vibrant abstract design.

This collaboration brings art, culture, education, and community together — making our campus feel even more alive and connected to Darwin.

🎨 Want to see how CDU is joining one of the Territory’s most loved creative events?
👉 Read the full story here:

Charles Darwin University’s Casuarina campus will become part of the Darwin Street Art Festival for the first time, with three artists transforming campus spaces through new public murals.

01/06/2026

Artists say Darwin has surpassed Melbourne as Australia's street art capital, with work underway on a fresh round of murals across the Top End city.

31/05/2026

A CDU business unit is getting a fresh redesign to better prepare students for today’s fast-moving workplace, where adaptability, communication and real-world experience matter just as much as academic knowledge. The core first-year unit MAN105 – Introduction to Management has been redeveloped as part of a broader initiative to boost graduate employability and strengthen the transition from study to career.

This update comes in response to findings from the Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 Report, which highlights common challenges graduates face when stepping into the workforce — including gaps in teamwork, professional communication, problem-solving, and access to practical experience. To help address this, CDU academics Dr Jianhua (Jane) Zhang and Dr Roopali Misra led a collaborative industry consultation with 15 professionals from across different sectors, alongside CDU Careers and Work-Integrated Learning teams.

Their insights are now shaping a more applied, future-focused learning experience, with students engaging in real-world scenarios across sustainability, AI, globalisation, diversity, leadership and organisational change. As Dr Zhang noted, strong industry partnerships are key to ensuring students are learning what employers actually need — and this is just the beginning of deeper collaboration beyond the classroom.

Read more about how CDU is building job-ready graduates here:

The redevelopment of a unit in Charles Darwin University’s business program will give graduates the skills, confidence and industry awareness to thrive in today’s rapidly changing workplace.

29/05/2026

Celebrating the incredible achievements of our students at the CDU Faculty of Arts and Society Awards. ✨

We are incredibly proud to acknowledge:

🏆 Leela Kruger
Recipient of the Outstanding Academic Achievement in the Remote Aboriginal Teacher Education (RATE) Program Award

🏆 Erini Tsavaris
Recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Aboriginal Education by a Northern Territory Student Award

These awards recognise the dedication, resilience, leadership, and commitment our students continue to demonstrate throughout their educational journeys. Their achievements are a powerful reflection of the strength and future of First Nations education and community leadership across the Northern Territory.

Congratulations Leela and Erini on this well-deserved recognition. We celebrate your hard work and look forward to seeing the positive impact you will continue to make in education and community. 👏✨

28/05/2026

🌏🎨 When art meets science, climate change becomes something you can feel — not just measure.

A Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University research project is rethinking how we understand climate impacts by using “art as evidence” alongside traditional data. Led by researchers from CDU’s Northern Institute Northern Institute, including Research Fellow Sharna Motlap and Professor Linda Ford, the Climate Impacts on Country exhibition brings together seven First Nations artists from Darwin and Mackay to share lived experiences of a changing climate — through Country, culture, and creativity.

From disappearing footprints on familiar beaches to coral bleaching and shifting ecosystems, each artwork tells a powerful story of what climate change means for First Nations communities on the ground. As the artists show, this is about more than environmental data — it’s about loss, connection, resilience, and protecting what we love for future generations.

👉 Read more about the exhibition, the artists, and the research behind it on our website:

A Charles Darwin University (CDU) research project exploring the impacts of climate change used “art as evidence”, alongside traditional data, to convey the lived experience of First Nations communities in relation to this global crisis.

28/05/2026

Last night we proudly celebrated the Fifth International Conference on the Hellenic Diaspora, hosted by Hellenic & Greek Studies at CDU and supported by our valued partners.

This special event brings together academics, researchers, community leaders, and guests from across Australia and around the world to honour Greek language, culture, history, and global connections.

The conference reflects a vision first set in motion in 2007, when the University of the Aegean (Greece) and Charles Darwin University signed the first MOU for a collaborative educational program dedicated to teaching Greek language and culture. Nearly two decades later, this partnership continues to thrive — with the University of Macedonia joining in 2013, and followed by other universities across the globe — showcasing the strength and reach of our shared academic community.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr Angelica Poulos OAM, co‑founder of CDU’s Guardians of Greek Language and Culture Program (est. 2012), for her ongoing support.
A special thank you to our wonderful MC Angela Tomazos, and to our keynote speaker Dr Peter Forrest, whose insights into the history of northern and inland Australia enriched the evening.

To all staff who made this event possible — thank you. And an extra special acknowledgment to A/Professor George Frazis for bringing everything together so seamlessly.

28/05/2026

A sneak peek into the Opening Ceremony of the 5th International Conference on the Hellenic Diaspora 🇬🇷🇦🇺✨

Held at CDU Danala Campus on 27th May 2026, the event brought together voices celebrating Greek studies, heritage, and the global Hellenic community. Stay tuned for more highlights! ☺️

26/05/2026

🌍 What shapes the world’s financial markets in today’s shifting global economy? A new study involving Charles Darwin University (CDU) researchers explores how regulation and global influence are playing a bigger role than ever in how stock markets connect—and sometimes disconnect—across countries.

The research, conducted with Griffith University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance, shows that a country’s regulatory quality (how effectively governments design and enforce policies supporting business) and its global power (economic, political and military influence) both strongly shape international market integration. But in a rapidly changing era of financial nationalism and rising geopolitical tension, these same forces can also contribute to global market fragmentation—reshaping how “connected” economies really are.

As Associate Professor Rakesh Gupta explains, even major economies like the US and China show that strong institutions and global influence don’t always translate into full alignment with global markets. The study highlights an important takeaway for policymakers and investors alike: global markets are no longer moving in sync, and international cooperation is becoming essential for financial stability.

🔎 Read more about the study and its findings on our website:

The global financial order has entered a new, shifting and disruptive era of nationalism and these changes lay bare the difference between the haves and have nots, according to a new study with Charles Darwin University (CDU). The study by Griffith University, CDU and Ho Chi Minh City University of....