(Photo: ABC)

Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, has announced that lawyer, academic, land rights activist and Indigenous community leader Noel Pearson will deliver the 2022 Boyer Lecture series.

His series of four lectures, broadcast on ABC platforms, will provide key insights into the ideas, observations and experiences of one of the country’s most recognised public intellectuals.

The Boyer Lecture series, named after former ABC Chairman Sir Richard Boyer, is a series of radio lectures from a prominent Australian invited to express their thoughts on major social, cultural, scientific or political issues.

ABC Chair Ita Buttrose said it was a significant moment for an Indigenous leader of Noel Pearson’s standing to accept the invitation given the national discussion about the referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament.

“Noel has been an extraordinary force in representing our First Nations people and leading the conversation on issues that are relevant to all Australians,” she said.

Noel Pearson comes from the Guugu Yimidhirr community of Hope Vale on the Cape York Peninsula. Among his other roles, he is the Founder and Director of Strategy of the Cape York Partnership, a non-profit organisation that works to empower Indigenous families and communities in Cape York and Cairns to break the cycle of disadvantage.