Goodstart is proud to have a strong commitment to reconciliation. Over the past year there have been a number of opportunities for us to learn, celebrate and show our support for First Nations people, culture and history.
As part of our 2020-2023 Stretch RAP we have set several aspirations and goals for making Goodstart a culturally safe workplace.
We are excited celebrate these milestones and to continue our reconciliation journey with all Goodstarters. Check out our achievements over the past year:
March 2021
National Reconciliation Week - 27 MAY TO 3 JUNE
During National Reconciliation Week, every Goodstarter was invited to Be a Reconciliation Ally to bring this year’s theme of ‘Be Brave. Make Change’ to life across our national network. Being an ally at Goodstart could be achieved in three simple ways:
Goodstart centres and centre support offices celebrated National Reconciliation Week in a variety of ways.
Centre teams worked with local First Nations community members to bring a local perspective to their events during this important week.
At our Centre Support Office in Brisbane, we were fortunate to be joined by two extraordinary Torres Strait Islanders who joined a panel with our CEO Julia Davison and Goodstart’s Torres Strait Islander Cultural Liaison, Peter Pilot-Wakaisu to yarn about many elements of reconciliation including their own experiences, joys and sorrows.
Charles Passi, a Mer and Erub Islander, is the former Chair of the Healing Foundation along with many other senior government and community roles.
We also got to hear from Uncle Bill Lowah, a Torres Strait Islander social commentator, originally from Thursday Island. He has been prominent in social justice and community organisations and was one of foundation members of the Reconciliation Council over 30 years ago.
Click here to learn more about the event.
Children’s Ground - Wear it Yellow Day
During our celebrations of National Reconciliation Week, Goodstarters all across the country rallied their support behind the First Nations organisation Children’s Ground by hosting a Wear it Yellow day. More than 83 centres got behind this great cause and raised a grand total of $6075.
We are very excited to see how our relationship with this great organisation continues to grow.
Learn more about Children’s Ground here
National Indigenous Employment Index
Goodstart Early Learning is one of just 43 Australian organisations, and the only early learning provider, included in the first comprehensive snapshot of Indigenous employment representation, processes and experiences released earlier this month.
The goal of the Indigenous Employment Index is to provide an evidence base for “what works” in creating Indigenous employment parity in a sustainable and meaningful way.
Last week, Goodstart were honoured to be involved in the Indigenous Employment Index Event in Brisbane. Our CEO Julia Davison joined a panel hosted by the Minderoo Foundation’s Generation One team and Murawin. The teams shared their powerful insights and invited Goodstart to share their learnings as well.
On some of Goodstart’s learnings, Julia was particularly proud of the implementation of our First Nations Voices group and State Yarning circles as well as looking towards the future of how we can continue to be place that supports and empowers First Nations employees.
To learn more, click here.
NAIDOC Week – 3 TO 10 JULY:
Our centres celebrated NAIDOC week in many ways including; cultural learning experiences, creation of bush tucker gardens, language activities, reading First Nations books and creating art.
From our Centre Support Office in Brisbane we broadcast a trivia event with over 100 teams and players competing. The event had a mix of questions about First Nations people, music, politics and about some of our very own First Nations Goodstarters.
Goodstart’s Cultural Liaison Melody Ingra, who hosted the trivia event, said she was excited to share the celebration of NAIDOC Week with Goodstarters around the country.
“NAIDOC week is a time to celebrate and recognise the rich history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and invite all communities across the country to participate and share in this celebration,” she said.
CareerTrackers:
Over the June/July university break, Goodstart were proud to support three interns from the CareerTrackers Program. CareerTrackers is a national not-for-profit organisation with the goal of creating pathways for Indigenous university students to gain industry experience through paid internship opportunities.
Goodstart has been a proud partner of CareerTrackers since 2016 helping more than 37 students on their professional learning journey.
The three interns, who were placed in Corporate Affairs, People and Culture and Marketing and Social Media, had the opportunity to join with their managers, team members and CareerTrackers Advisors to present on their learnings over the last four weeks.
The interns will be returning at the end of the year to complete a 12-week Summer Internship.
Learn more about CareerTrackers here.
At Goodstart we recognise that reconciliation is more than a word, reconciliation takes action. We are excited to continue our year-round commitment to walking this journey together.
As part of our 2020-2023 Stretch RAP we have set several aspirations and goals for making Goodstart a culturally safe workplace.
We are excited celebrate these milestones and to continue our reconciliation journey with all Goodstarters. Check out our achievements over the past year:
March 2021
- Goodstart’s First Nations Employment Strategy co-design commences
- Our cultural immersion programs expands to the Maningrida community, Northern Territory
- Goodstart Torres Strait Islander Cultural Liaison starts and Goodstart Cultural Design Lead commences
- Goodstart’s First Nations Voices Group is established
- Goodstart’s First Nations Leaders Group established
- Deadly partnership with BW Tribal: 19,000+ NAIDOC shirts ordered and proudly worn across every Goodstart community
- 657 Goodstart centres on their reconciliation journey using the Narragunnawali platform
- 289 RAPs published
- Goodstart joins first national Indigenous Employment Index
- Goodstart’s First Nations Employment Strategy receives board sign-off
- 660 Goodstart centres on their reconciliation journey
- 262 RAPs published
- 12,830 Goodstarters have completed Arrilla Cultural Competency Training
- Monthly First Nations Goodstarter State Yarning Circles commence: NSW, Qld (metro), SA, Vic, WA
- Monthly First Nations Goodstarter State Yarning Circles commence: Qld (regional), Tas
- First Nations Community of Practice program expands to include 100 Goodstart centres
- 3 CareerTrackers interns join Goodstart over their university semester break
National Reconciliation Week - 27 MAY TO 3 JUNE
During National Reconciliation Week, every Goodstarter was invited to Be a Reconciliation Ally to bring this year’s theme of ‘Be Brave. Make Change’ to life across our national network. Being an ally at Goodstart could be achieved in three simple ways:
- Educate yourself – learn, unlearn and relearn
- Support positive social change campaigns led by First Nations people
- Connect with your community
Goodstart centres and centre support offices celebrated National Reconciliation Week in a variety of ways.
Centre teams worked with local First Nations community members to bring a local perspective to their events during this important week.
At our Centre Support Office in Brisbane, we were fortunate to be joined by two extraordinary Torres Strait Islanders who joined a panel with our CEO Julia Davison and Goodstart’s Torres Strait Islander Cultural Liaison, Peter Pilot-Wakaisu to yarn about many elements of reconciliation including their own experiences, joys and sorrows.
Charles Passi, a Mer and Erub Islander, is the former Chair of the Healing Foundation along with many other senior government and community roles.
We also got to hear from Uncle Bill Lowah, a Torres Strait Islander social commentator, originally from Thursday Island. He has been prominent in social justice and community organisations and was one of foundation members of the Reconciliation Council over 30 years ago.
Click here to learn more about the event.
Children’s Ground - Wear it Yellow Day
During our celebrations of National Reconciliation Week, Goodstarters all across the country rallied their support behind the First Nations organisation Children’s Ground by hosting a Wear it Yellow day. More than 83 centres got behind this great cause and raised a grand total of $6075.
We are very excited to see how our relationship with this great organisation continues to grow.
Learn more about Children’s Ground here
National Indigenous Employment Index
Goodstart Early Learning is one of just 43 Australian organisations, and the only early learning provider, included in the first comprehensive snapshot of Indigenous employment representation, processes and experiences released earlier this month.
The goal of the Indigenous Employment Index is to provide an evidence base for “what works” in creating Indigenous employment parity in a sustainable and meaningful way.
Last week, Goodstart were honoured to be involved in the Indigenous Employment Index Event in Brisbane. Our CEO Julia Davison joined a panel hosted by the Minderoo Foundation’s Generation One team and Murawin. The teams shared their powerful insights and invited Goodstart to share their learnings as well.
On some of Goodstart’s learnings, Julia was particularly proud of the implementation of our First Nations Voices group and State Yarning circles as well as looking towards the future of how we can continue to be place that supports and empowers First Nations employees.
To learn more, click here.
NAIDOC Week – 3 TO 10 JULY:
Our centres celebrated NAIDOC week in many ways including; cultural learning experiences, creation of bush tucker gardens, language activities, reading First Nations books and creating art.
From our Centre Support Office in Brisbane we broadcast a trivia event with over 100 teams and players competing. The event had a mix of questions about First Nations people, music, politics and about some of our very own First Nations Goodstarters.
Goodstart’s Cultural Liaison Melody Ingra, who hosted the trivia event, said she was excited to share the celebration of NAIDOC Week with Goodstarters around the country.
“NAIDOC week is a time to celebrate and recognise the rich history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and invite all communities across the country to participate and share in this celebration,” she said.
CareerTrackers:
Over the June/July university break, Goodstart were proud to support three interns from the CareerTrackers Program. CareerTrackers is a national not-for-profit organisation with the goal of creating pathways for Indigenous university students to gain industry experience through paid internship opportunities.
Goodstart has been a proud partner of CareerTrackers since 2016 helping more than 37 students on their professional learning journey.
The three interns, who were placed in Corporate Affairs, People and Culture and Marketing and Social Media, had the opportunity to join with their managers, team members and CareerTrackers Advisors to present on their learnings over the last four weeks.
The interns will be returning at the end of the year to complete a 12-week Summer Internship.
Learn more about CareerTrackers here.
At Goodstart we recognise that reconciliation is more than a word, reconciliation takes action. We are excited to continue our year-round commitment to walking this journey together.