In 2016, AIATSIS and PM&C partnered in producing Core, an online program in Aboriginal and Torres  Strait Islander Cultural Learning for all Commonwealth staff. Fundamental to the course is the idea that before government staff can be helpful, they must understand the social, political, cultural and historical contexts (both local and national) in which they are working. The course consists of 10 modules of high quality, researched learning content, including interactive activities, songs and thought exercises.

This seminar provides a brief introduction to Core and then focusses on Module 8 which is about engagement. It will highlight the complex constellations of interests focussed on places and regions within Australia – Indigenous and otherwise, including national and state /territory government interests. Module 8 includes topics such as free prior and informed consent and sustainability in complex social settings. Effective engagement in these circumstances requires more than reductionist thinking and more than just consultations done to people. Not only does it involve face to face interpersonal interactions repeated over time, but it also takes a range of other forms.  The seminar argues that it is an integrative framework and a systems theory approach to engagement that is likely to lead to sustainability.

Biographies

Toni Bauman is a Director of Dodson Bauman Associates, and was previously the Senior Research Fellow, Governance and Cultural Competence at AIATSIS. She led the development of the foundational on-line Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program: Core Cultural Learning. She is an anthropologist, mediator, facilitator and trainer who has published widely, made presentations to national and international audiences, facilitated many workshops and forums and developed policy for Indigenous organisations and governments. Her research covers areas such as: community engagement; communication skills which achieve sustainable outcomes; Indigenous decision-making and dispute management processes particularly in native title; building partnerships and relationships; alternative consensus building processes such as Deep Democracy; and free prior and informed consent. Toni was the chief investigator on the Indigenous Facilitation and Mediation Project at AIATSIS (2003-2006) and subsequently for the Federal Court of Australia’s Indigenous dispute resolution case study project, ‘Solid Work you Mob are Doing’.

Geoff Richardson is a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man from North Queensland. He has been a federal public servant for over 39 years and has held a range of senior management positions in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.

Geoff is currently the Assistant Secretary of the Indigenous Engagement and Development Branch at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. His responsibilities include cross department advice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community engagement, cultural protocols, cultural appreciation and awareness; and engagement with the Community Development Sector.

Geoff has worked across a broad range of program and policy areas including: broadcasting, land acquisitions, housing and infrastructure, and economic and community development. He has been a board member of a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and has a strong interest in community development policy and practice.