VN Adoptee – Australia
Writer & Researcher – PhD, Sociology
AVI Founder & Convener (International)
Touring Transcultural Adoptee Films (TTAF) Initiative Convener (Australia)
AVI Bio / Publications / Personal Website
Dr Indigo Willing, OAM, is the convener of the Adopted Vietnamese International (AVI) community network, which was launched in 2000 and is dedicated to Vietnam War adoptees. Indigo is also involved with various research, film events and community projects which focus on diaspora, cultural and transnational adoption communities. Her PhD thesis in sociology at The University of Queensland focused on the experiences of Australian parents who have adopted children from overseas countries in Asia and Africa. Her MA at The University of Technology, Sydney, and previous work as a Rockefeller Fellow in the Humanities at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, explored the construction of identity of adopted Vietnamese. With a long term interest in film and performing arts, Indigo is also the co-convener of the Asian Australian Film Forum & Network (AAFFN) with Amadeo Marquez-Perez (www.asianaustralianfilmforum.com). Her other collaborative film event projects include the “Transcultural Adoptee Film Festival” (www.adopteefilms.info), and she was also the Chair of “An Asian-Australian Occasion: Short Film Festival and Panel,” (http://www.darlo.tv/aafilms/AAAO_2007.html) in Brisbane in 2007.
Indigo, who also has the nickname ‘Indi’, appreciates the value of learning, and deeply values the many insightful, kind and generous friends, colleagues and mentors she’s met through these combined fields. Having lost much as a child placed in an orphanage during the Vietnam War, she also feels the most important things in life are the people, ideas and knowledge of not only ‘where you came from’ but also ‘where you’re coming from’ throughout one’s diverse life experiences, identifications and connections.