To foster reconciliation and healing, we need to acknowledge the past. Learning about great wrongs in Australian history, and the intergenerational trauma and effects that stem from them, are required to ensure history never repeats and that true and meaningful healing can happen.
Reconciliation Australia manages the Australian Reconciliation Barometer 2020 which measure attitudes and the progress of reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians. The 2020 results showed that over 90% of Australians place high importance on the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians. Karen Mundine, CEO of Reconciliation stated: “Reconciliation is built on relationships, and we are encouraged to see that support for this key relationship remains high even in these testing times. Overall, the Barometer tells us that even in a changing world, engagement with reconciliation is still a priority.”
Reconciliation is a movement that encourages all Australians to consider our national identity, from colonisation to now and in the future. By coming together we can work to overcome divisions and heal. A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a strategic framework for organisations to support the national reconciliation movement. Reconciliation Australia provide templates and registration support for RAPs throughout Australia. A RAP forms part of an organisation’s business plan for workplaces and schools. It outlines how the organisation supports reconciliation through practical actions internally and with the local community such as developing respectful relationships and creating meaningful opportunities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.