Aboriginal Healing,
Sharing Culture |
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THE SHIFT
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How do we shift away from the 3Ps - Paternalism, Prohibition and Penalty?
'When I first started working with Indigenous communities… I didn’t know anything about Indigenous policy. I didn’t have any answers. And I thought, “How fantastic is that, I don’t know anything.”
So I was able to walk in with a completely blank canvas. And we were able to create and build this programme together. Our wisdom lies in the questions that we ask, not in the answers we pretend to have. And so Whole of Community Change starts with those age-old questions: “Who am I?”, “What am I here for?” and “What’s deeply meaningful to me?” To create this place of belonging, this is all about connection to mother nature. This is connection to our Land. If this is a policy document that belongs to me, I have had a part in its co-creation. If I have had a part of its co-creation then I am going to take ownership of it, I’m going to love it, I’m going to nurture it, and I’ll take accountability… But if this is a policy document that has been imposed on me and it affects my country, it affects my people, it impacts on the values of my family, how am I going to feel? Disempowered, absolutely. Well, try 200 years of disempowerment!' Annalise Jennings |
Focusing on our gifts and assets
'So to have that place of belonging is all about leaving a footprint in the sand. It’s about creating legacy.
Self-belief, imagine shifting self-doubt to self-belief. To be able wake up every morning and say, “Yes!” to life. To move yourself forward. This is the one I love the most, to shift our conversations from problems to possibilities. Our communities are not problems to be solved. Our communities are full of gifts and assets. Our children are not offenders. Our children are not ‘youth at risk’. Our children are young people. They are entrepreneurs who are just waiting to be asked to be discovered. Let’s feed the gifts of community, rather than the deficiencies and needs. Why are communities disengaged? What is the behaviour of sadness? It is disengagement, and why are communities disengaged? It is because they are constantly told they are wrong. Because they are constantly told they have a problem. So this about shifting from the root cause of failure to the root cause of success.' Annalise Jennings >> Changing community |