Taking action towards Reconciliation

31 January 2022

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Project Development Coordinator Lucy Davis (orange shirt) with Salvation Army participants and elders at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Community Settlement in the South Burnett district north-west of Brisbane.

Looking back on the steps forward in 2021

Words Lucy Davis

The Salvation Army Australia launched its official Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in December 2020, reflecting a commitment to reconciliation and truth-telling in this nation. 

During the consultation and development phase of the national RAP, we embarked on a journey of learning. We gained a better understanding of how we can walk alongside our First Nations peoples and how we can contribute to addressing the challenges they face as a daily reality. 

As a faith movement, the Salvos’ aim is to respect, value, and acknowledge the unique cultures, spiritualities, histories, and languages of the oldest surviving culture in the world and to engage in a unified and positive relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities. 

YEAR IN REVIEW 

One year on, we have made some outstanding progress on our journey of facilitating reconciliation practices. Although we still have a way to go, the improvements made within one year demonstrates the ongoing commitment from our personnel, officers (pastors), volunteers, and faith community towards reconciliation in Australia. 

Out of the 89 deliverables outlined in the RAP, to date, we have embedded or completed 81. This is a great sign of our growth and its impact on the First Nations communities we work in. These communities will continue to be the focus of our work. 

We have established 11 formal and 11 informal partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations in one year. The Salvos National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team members have been pivotal in their engagement with these organisations, ensuring they are collaborative, equally beneficial, and impactful. 

Throughout 2021, senior Salvos leaders or members of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team led external and internal events across the nation. These events enabled our faith community and others to come together in respect, support, and celebration of First Nations’ communities and traditions. From weaving webinars to guest speakers reflecting on the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’, we came together to learn and grow in unity. 

For the promotion of NAIDOC Week 2021, the Salvos had the wonderful opportunity of creating an awareness TV commercial for SBS – Australia’s multicultural and multilingual broadcaster. Three videos were produced, with one highlighting the RAP and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Competency Framework as a road map to reconciliation. You can watch the 30-second video at youtube.com/watch?v=4PFRtRgm_-w

YARNING CIRCLES

Through our consultation and RAP development process, the organisation formed several ‘yarning circles’. These were a major influence in developing our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Competency Framework. Outcomes from this framework included the Cultural Learning Approach and Cultural Learning Standard. 

As of August 2021, we have a 76 per cent completion rate of cultural learning from personnel, officers, and volunteers. Over 7500 employees have completed our e-learning program, and 220 have completed the face-to-face learning program. We are so proud of this achievement. It is one of the greatest reflections of our combined commitment and participation as a faith movement to growing our understanding of First Nations communities and their unique cultures. 

I want to acknowledge the amount of goodwill Salvos and community members across Australia have taken in embracing and participating in this journey of reconciliation.

A deep commitment to reconciliation, justice, and respect is at the heart of all Salvation Army programs and partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. We also acknowledge the future aspirations of all First Nations peoples. Through respectful relationships, we will work for the mutual flourishing of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. We commit ourselves in prayer and practice to this land of Australia and its people, seeking reconciliation, unity, and equity.

For more information on the RAP, go to salvationarmy.org.au/about-us/governance-policy/our-commitment-to-reconciliation