May 27 marked the start of National Reconciliation Week, a time dedicated to commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey:
- The successful 1967 referendum on the 27 May, where more than 90 per cent of Australians voted to give the Australian Government power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise them in the Census.
- The Mabo decision delivered by the Australian High Court on the 3 June 1992, leading to the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of lands.
At genU, our reconciliation journey began when we launched our Reflect RAP in 2020 to signify our public commitment to reconciliation. Now, we’re embarking on the next stage of our journey with our Innovate RAP.
“Our Reflect RAP laid the foundations for reconciliation initiatives and established a RAP governance framework which identified opportunities to improve respect and life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” genU CEO, Clare Amies said.
“We are now committed to understanding how we can build on these opportunities to establish the best approach to advance reconciliation through the work of genU.”
genU’s Innovate RAP
genU’s RAP journey is an integral part of our organisation-wide vision ‘To build inclusive communities’.
‘Innovate’ builds on our learnings and focuses on continuing to develop and strengthen relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We’re also committed to engaging stakeholders in reconciliation and discovering new ways to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the communities where we live and deliver services across Australia.
Find out how we plan to make a unique and lasting contribution to achieving Reconciliation in Australia by downloading our Innovate RAP.
About the Artist
Proud Wiradjuri, Nari Nari man and Artist, Chris Delamont has helped genU continue its RAP journey by building on his original artwork with a piece inspired by Bunjil.
The following statement shares the story behind the artwork:
The original RAP artwork was about coming together, and the totems that were placed into the original artwork represent the journey that genU is on, not just into this RAP but over the next 10 to 15 years and beyond. Each totem will be significant on that journey because genU will go through different phases.
As genU was born out of Geelong – Bunjil is such an important totem, and we can see that he has now taken flight. Everybody came together to start genU’s RAP journey, and now Bunjil is helping take everything we have achieved so far out to every part of genU and spreading that message right across the country. Bunjil is watching over, and he’s taking that flight with genU on their journey. There’s also the winding river, and that comes from my personal experiences, living on the Murrumbidgee River and how I used that river as a way to reset my spiritual connection when things weren’t going right. This is about putting your feet into the river and reconnecting with country to settle the mind and body. We understand it’s not all going to be smooth, the journey can be winding and you’re going to have to cross rivers and face challenges.
That’s my gift to all staff at genU, that they can look at this artwork and know there’s a chance to reset and reconnect every single day. You’ve built an amazing core of what this next RAP looks like, and it’s now up to you to make this happen.