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Prof. Mark Minchinton’ s
Visit
"On Tuesday 5th. May, the Community & Education Engagement
Partnerships group at RMIT, Bundoora were pleased to welcome Prof.
Mark Minchinton from RMIT City, our inaugural RMIT Professor of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education for an informal
"meet and greet" morning tea.
Mark spoke about understanding and promoting cultural awareness,
particularly in terms of our Indigenous community.
One concern was the claim that ABS figures tell us there are
about 900 thirteen to nineteen year old indigenous Australians in
the Darebin area.
However, only 3 to 4 hundred are represented in our schools . .
. !
WHY?
The community is widely dispersed throughout the area. In the
entire Northern Metro region there are 1200 Primary and
Secondary Koorie students spread over 160 schools. (ABS
2006)
Mark spoke of the need to meet, to encourage, to coordinate and
to empower the disparate Koorie groups.
He also spoke of the need to coordinate all the bodies who have
dealings with the Indigenous communities in Health, Education,
Welfare, Pre-school, etc.
It was an inspiring and wide -ranging discussion and we all look
forward to celebrating more of such occasions and workshops.
It was also good to be invited to the Koorie Students Local
Schools & Health Support Network meeting held at VAEAI in
Northcote and see the roll-up there.
Project Officer, John Bolton |