News

Cultural Awareness Training a door to reconciliation

Wed, 01 Jun 2016 11:14:00

A new Cultural Awareness Training program being offered by the Mallee’s peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been so successful that more are being rolled out.

More than 100 people have already completed the training program, which the organisation says is an encouraging sign for reconciliation efforts in the region.
Mallee District Aboriginal Services Community Engagement Facilitator Indi Clarke said the first Cultural Awareness Program was delivered last year.
“We were so excited by the level of interest it generated, we are now offering an ongoing program,” Mr Clarke said.
“A lot of people heard about it and there are a number of organisations and companies in town getting in touch who want to have something similar for their staff,” he said.
“We decided to investigate delivering the program as part of our Enterprise Development strategy and since then, we’ve been providing training for some organisations such as Mildura Rural City Council and Mallee Family Care.”
May 27 to June 3 is Reconciliation Week, a celebration aimed at building better relationships between the wider community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Mr Clarke said the MDAS one-day Cultural Awareness Training program was run in conjunction with local Elders and offered a practical and effective stepping stone towards community reconciliation at a local level.
“The program is designed to enhance people’s knowledge and understanding of our indigenous culture,” he said.
“The program has the overall vision of building participant’s knowledge of cultural safety and cultural awareness by encouraging people to become aware and embrace the indigenous culture, history and customs.
“The Mallee area is a culturally rich and culturally diverse region and we aim for the program to be a fully-positive experience.
 
“Of course there are some difficult things we will talk about in relation to history of our country, but the program is about opening our hearts and minds to our shared history, what that means, good and bad, and moving on from that.”
Mr. Clarke said the training was currently being offered quarterly, and was available to organisations and individuals.
“The people we have had through the program have absolutely loved it,” he said.
“It’s useful at a practical level, when people deal with colleagues, clients and customers because it provides a knowledge-base for different behaviors and perceptions that may arise,” he said.
“But it also just leaves people feeling better informed in relation to indigenous culture – it’s  60,000 years old and is the oldest continuing culture on earth, and that’s something we should embrace.”