“At AnglicareSA and Believe Housing Australia, our purpose is to change lives together, and reconciliation is a central part of that transformation… Our Innovate RAP is a strategic roadmap that will drive authentic reconciliation through tangible, measured and sustainable benefits for First Nations people we employ, serve, and partner with.” – Grant Reubenicht, CEO
In 2021 and 2022, AnglicareSA took an in-depth look at our reconciliation journey so far and how we, as an organisation, could move towards real change with lasting purpose. With support from Reconciliation SA, we undertook a significant engagement process to ensure our RAP includes meaningful actions to promote inclusivity and improve cultural competency within AnglicareSA and the greater community.
Developing our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
In developing our Innovate RAP, we involved AnglicareSA employees, First Nations community leaders, and customers to inform AnglicareSA’s RAP Working Group and ensure ownership and participation in the creation of approach and commitment to reconciliation. You can read our RAP here.
As part of our Innovate RAP, developed a list of First Nations Dates of Significance. You can view the list below.
First Nations Dates of Significance
26 January ‐ Survival Day, Day of Mourning, Invasion Day
13 February – Anniversary of the National Apology to Stolen Generations
17 March – National Close the Gap Day
22 – 26 March – Harmony Week occurs in March each year and includes 21 March the United Nations International Day of the Elimination of Racial discrimination.
5 April — Anniversary of the Bringing Them Home Report
26 May ‐ National Sorry Day
27 May – 3 June ‐ National Reconciliation Week
27 May – Indigenous recognition in the Australian constitution
3 June ‐ Mabo Day
3-10 July ‐ National NAIDOC Week
4 August – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day
9 August – International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
13 September – Anniversary of the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous people
Developing our Acknowledgement of Country
“You can’t do it (acknowledge Country) without connecting, and that means walking Country with the people, listening to the story of land. If you don’t hear that first-hand, how do you know what you’re acknowledging?” – Burka, Senior man Karl Winda Telfer
AnglicareSA spent 12 months developing a new Acknowledgement of Country in collaboration with First Nations senior leaders and employees.
This collaborative approach resulted in an Acknowledgement of Country steeped in meaning and providing a greater understanding of culture and the continuing connection of First Nations peoples to Country.
The Acknowledgement of Country was developed following a culturally immersive experience on Country, led by Burka, Senior man, Karl Winda Telfer.
We recorded the development process and the resulting acknowledgement in the video below.