HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT SUPPORTS EDUCATION TO ENSURE BETTER FUTURES FOR THE TARIBELANG BUNDA COMMUNITY

It is with great pleasure that today we announce the launch of Impact with Indigenous Education, a unique partnership program between the Taribelang Aboriginal Corporation, Gladstone Ports Corporation, the Port Curtis Coral Coast Trust, the Queensland Department of Education and the Stronger Smarter Institute.

This partnership, based on the lands of the Taribelang Bunda of the Wide Bay region in Bundaberg, will see schools on Taribelang country be given the opportunity to participate in a $167,000 program to better engage with students and community through knowledge and processes provided by the Stronger Smarter Institute’s highly regarded Leadership Program.

This funding will enable 50 teachers and 20 local leaders to be trained in the Stronger Smarter Approach. The program will work towards enacting High Expectations-Relationships within schools in the regions. “High Expectation-Relationships are the foundation to the Stronger Smarter Approach,” says Dr John Davis, Acting CEO of the Stronger Smarter Institute. “Through High Expectations-Relationships, schools will be able to co-create a culturally safe learning environment for students and a welcoming learning space for families and communities. This enables the collective community aspirations of harmony, productivity and sharing to accelerate engagement and learning,” Dr Davis said.

Mr Ken Riddiford MAICD, CEO of Taribelang Aboriginal Corporation has been a key community member leading this program. “The program honours our ancestors and present Elders who have resided upon and maintained this land over millennia. The Impact with Indigenous Education program will help ensure that the Taribelang Bunda thrive into the future as we did in the Dreamtime,” he said.

“Education is the key to success in life. Our communities, Elders, our children, babies, aunties, uncles, partners and siblings all contribute to our education, our Taribelang understanding of the world. However, in the Western world, we haven’t always been understood, acknowledged or celebrated.”

“By uniting with the schools where our children study, the teachers who teach them and the leaders that surround them, we will all work together to educate our kids in culturally responsive ways. Ways that allow our children to be strong in their identity and smart enough to excel in any pathway they wish to pursue,” Mr Riddiford said.

Mr Riddiford notes that the program would not occur without the support and vision of many members and organisations within the community. “I want to acknowledge the Elders in our community who have made this program possible, the Port Curtis Coral Coast Trust, the Stronger Smarter Institute, the Queensland Department of Education, and the members of the Taribelang Aboriginal Corporation,” he said.

The Impact with Indigenous Education program was made possible through funding provided by the Gladstone Ports Corporation’s Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA)

Further details of the program are available as well as comments and interviews. Please contact us via our Enquire Form.