Reconciliation Action Plans are about taking good intent and turning it into action.
The Black Lives Matter protests which have erupted throughout the globe have caused a lot of Australians to rethink the issues affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the inhabitants are well known, but the protests created new urgency to do something about them.
In July, the Australian government unveiled new Close the Hole targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that feel the urgency act there’s one apparent solution – a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
In 2006, Reconciliation Australia introduced RAPs as a way for organisations to include strategic reconciliation initiatives as a part of their enterprise plans. The goal of a RAP is to create significant opportunities for your organisation to actively support and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that will evolve as you and your organisation begin to take action.
RAPs are broken down into four maturity ranges that mirror the place organisations are of their reconciliation journey. They are: Replicate, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate degree is for organisations that already understand where they can improve on Indigenous issues and have begun taking action to actively address them.
The first step for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP workforce at Reconciliation Australia and find out which degree you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP group will ship you a template that may outline what you must do. There are some basic obligatory actions required by Reconciliation Australia akin to celebrating nationwide Reconciliation Day and rising knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s concerning the modifications you can make.”
Because numerous organisations will start on the Reflect stage, this guide will outline the pillars it’s essential to establish to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is where it all begins.
It could possibly assist to look into why RAPs are so necessary as well as the present points going through Indigenous people. Reports comparable to Close the Hole can provide context to your RAP and would possibly provide help to with the following step.
Secure help
A part of a successful RAP is establishing assist for reconciliation initiatives across your complete organisation. In most cases this must start on the top.
“Most often I find that if people are introduced with the details, they stunning quickly get on board with wanting to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons are three per cent of the population. They will’t do the heavy lifting in terms of change and infrastructure change, societal change, or altering attitudes.
“RAPs are a way of stepping in and making meaningful change.”
Over 1,000 organisations have formalised RAPs, and their implementation has had a real impact on improving worker understanding of Indigenous issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a stream-on effect. It makes staff more engaged with their community and so they typically select to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.
A RAP additionally solidifies your organisation’s commitment to making a culturally safe work environment, which expands your recruiting pool by making your workplace a more attractive employer to Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander employees.
Establish a working group
The following step is to form a working group that may oversee all the RAP process. This group will have to be made up of assorted representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is in charge of planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to consist of members who’ve some actual power to make changes within the organisation, and members who understand it from a policy and culture perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really profitable, you’ll need involvement from members who work with prospects or clients, so that people outside your organisation understand you are trying to make a difference.
In case you have any issues about in which as well as the best way to use aboriginal cultural events, you’ll be able to call us on our site.
