A new generation of Reef Traditional Owner storytellers is emerging with the skills to document knowledge, share stories on their own terms and ensure the voices of Sea Country communities are heard in conversations about the future of the Great Barrier Reef. 

Reef Traditional Owners from across the Great Barrier Reef came together in Port Douglas from 10–14 August 2026 for the inaugural Voices of the Reef Ambassador Program, a five-day digital storytelling program delivered by ReefTO in partnership with Mob Made Media & Communications Agency. 

The program was developed from years of engagement with Reef Traditional Owners about their priorities for Sea Country and responds directly to the Reef 2050 Traditional Owner Implementation Plan, including a recommendation prioritised by Elders and community to strengthen the capacity of Traditional Owners to record and manage traditional knowledge. 

Across five days, Ambassadors developed practical skills in interviewing, filming, editing, vertical video and digital content creation, alongside truth-telling, cultural safety, Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), consent and story sovereignty. 

ReefTO Director of Communications & Creative, Mishalia Bird, said the program was about putting the tools of storytelling into Traditional Owner hands. 

“Reef Traditional Owners carry extraordinary knowledge and stories about Sea Country. But too often, other people have held the cameras, shaped the narrative and decided which parts of those stories the world gets to hear. 

“Voices of the Reef is about changing that. We’re putting the tools directly into the hands of Reef Traditional Owners so they can record knowledge, tell stories in their own way and decide how, when and with whom those stories are shared.” 

Central to the program was Mob Made Media & Communications Agency’s Moving the Message Stick framework, an intergenerational approach that places culture, Country, community and consent at the centre of storytelling. 

Mob Made Media & Communications Agency founder Talicia Minniecon said the framework recognised the responsibility of carrying stories from one generation to the next. 

“We look back and honour our Elders and those who have blazed trails for us to be where we are today. They’ve passed that baton on to us. We carry it with respect, we honour their stories and we make sure the work they have done is central to what we do as we move forward. 

“We know where we’re going because of where we come from.” 

Learning also moved beyond the classroom and onto Country, with Ambassadors taking part in experiences with Yirrganydji Aboriginal Corporation, Kuku Yalanji Cultural Tours and Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel, where they put their new skills into practice capturing interviews, footage and stories. 

For Ambassador Kyesha Whitehead-Mooney, the experience strengthened both her connection to Sea Country and her determination to record the stories of her Elders. 

“Through the talks and yarns we’ve had, and all the experiences we’ve had, I feel more connected. 

“After the program, I’m going to make more videos, interview my Elders and get their stories. 

“I feel like I’ll go back changed. I feel like it’s healed something in me that I didn’t know needed healing.” 

For Ambassador Kishaun Fejo, the program was about putting greater control into the hands of Traditional Owners and taking those skills back to community. 

“I think it’s putting us in the driver’s seat now. It’s putting more control in our hands, and being united gives more power to us. 

“I wanted to build my knowledge and understanding so I could take it back to my community and inspire the younger generation to walk forward in the same steps our ancestors did.” 

The program culminated in a screening of the Ambassadors’ own vertical video projects, with each participant taking an idea from story planning through filming and editing to a finished piece. 

Ambassador Meghan Cummins said the experience reinforced why keeping stories alive for future generations matters. 

“The importance behind storytelling is storykeeping. It’s for our babies that need to know. 

“It’s remembering the removal, reflecting in the resilience and rejoicing in the return. 

“It’s about keeping our story because it’s not history. It’s the story. It’s always continuing.” 

The inaugural program marks the start of a growing network of Reef Traditional Owner storytellers equipped to document their communities, strengthen the transfer of knowledge between generations and bring Traditional Owner perspectives into conversations about the future of the Great Barrier Reef. 

The Ambassadors will continue to put their skills into practice beyond the program, including through a new ReefTO storytelling platform launching later in 2026, designed to create more opportunities for Traditional Owners to tell and share stories of people, culture and Sea Country on their own term.