We now are in the middle of National Reconciliation Week, a time for all Australians to reflect on how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
CCSA has a proud history of working with and alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and businesses and we have taken on board this year’s theme “Be Brave. Make Change” by sharing our Reconciliation Journey with you all. We wanted to reflect on our organisation’s commitment to Reconciliation over the years, and share with you the journey we have travelled so far, with our new dedicated Reconciliation webpage. We acknowledge that reconciliation is an ongoing journey and we will use this space to record and celebrate our activities and milestones, and keep our members and the wider community updated as we move forward in our commitment to working towards Reconciliation.
It has been a fulfilling experience of reflection as we look over the years of building strong relationships with local families and elders, the opportunities we have had to share local cultural experiences, our partnerships with local indigenous organisations and providers, our ability to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities are represented and involved in our events and activities, and our many years of advocating strongly for funding to provide improved early childhood education and care opportunities and access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and communities.
Our journey into the future will be about engaging with our staff and our members to understand what Reconciliation really means to us all. We are in the process of bringing together our Reconciliation Working Group which will form part of a driving force, leading and engaging as we make collaborative decisions about how we can progress our ideas and actions on Reconciliation.
This is an exciting step for CCSA in our Reconciliation Journey and I hope all our members also feel enthused and excited about what their next steps might look like and how we can all #BeBraveMakeChange.
Meg Mendham
CEO