Indigo Willing

Viet Name: Thuy

VN Adoptee – Australia

Research, writing, community engagement – PhD, Sociology

AVI Convener (International)

AVI Bio / Publications / Personal Website

Dr Indigo Willing, OAM, is the convener of the Adopted Vietnamese International (AVI) community network, which is dedicated to Vietnamese 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 previous research work also includes being a Rockefeller Fellow in the Humanities at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she explored the construction of identity of adopted Vietnamese. Indigo is also the co-founder of the Asian Australian Film Forum & Network (AAFFN) (www.asianaustralianfilmforum.com), the “Transcultural Adoptee Film Festival in Australia” (www.adopteefilms.info), and “An Asian-Australian Occasion: Short Film Festival and Panel” in Brisbane in 2007.

Indigo, who also has the nickname ‘Indi’ and original Viet name ‘Thuy’, appreciates the value of always learning, and the many insightful, kind and generous friends, colleagues and mentors she’s met through her work, studies and community engagement work.  Having a mixed history including being first raised in an orphanage, she also values the power of collective action and care, valuing people, ideas and knowledge always, and that everyone’s diverse life experiences, identifications and connections brings people together in one way or another. She now lives in Brisbane, which she feels is one of the most awesome places on earth because of the people she’s come to know, but appreciates every town she’s ever visited that has great people she’s met along the way.