Living in Harmony Community Grants 1999

New South Wales

Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Training

$49,500 Awarded

The project, now completed, aimed to:

address community harmony by addressing the lack of community knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal culture, the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, and the Native Title Act
help raise awareness about Aboriginal culture
run an Aboriginal Cultural Awareness training project to:

deliver one-day training programs in Aboriginal Land Council areas, (including a pilot program in each of the three regions of North/Northern Tablelands, South Coast and Central NSW) to Government agencies, business people and other service providers on culturally appropriate service delivery for the Aboriginal community
emphasise creation of better relationships with the police
highlight the need for information on Aboriginal issues with regard to health, employment, housing, education and law in regional communities

involve church and other social justice groups
establish partnerships between Aboriginal Land Councils and other agencies
develop information kits on Land Councils for distribution to schools and community organisations

The project:

developed an Information Kit - a package of training materials for distribution throughout NSW which includes:

Myth and Fact sheets about Aboriginal people and their relationship to the land
an overview of the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (to be updated in terms of 2002 revision)
an overview of Native Title
an overview of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council
a story for children on the meaning of the land to Aboriginal Australians

had the information kit developed by TAFE students in consultation with Indigenous students, Aboriginal Elders and members of the steering committee
used these materials in workshops for service providers to help participants identify misconceptions and stereotypes about Aboriginal culture and provide culturally appropriate services to the Aboriginal community
held workshops in Parramatta, Quirindi and Taree which involved participants such as:

Nirimba TAFE students
employees of K-Mart, Coles, Woolworths, Clint’s Crazy Bargains, Spotlight, BiLo, GoLo
government employees
police officers
Aboriginal liaison officers
service delivery agencies

The project:

trialed the Information Kit as part of the Holroyd Aboriginal Studies project
arranged use of the kit as an educational resource in a number of primary and high schools in Sydney’s west
showed through evaluation with students that their level of understanding of Indigenous issues and culture rose significantly after the project, from an average score of 3 out of 10 before to 7 out of 10 afterwards (modal scores)
promoted better understanding amongst store/supermarket employees about "how cross-cultural aspects can affect business"
made initial links and planned networking meetings between Aboriginal Land Councils and service delivery agencies
will organise widespread distribution of the kits after incorporation of significant changes to the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act and review later in 2002