Through mentoring we were able to support the community to build a picture of what they want in terms of their education– including discussions about homelands education, ‘both ways’ education, boarding school education - to feed back to the education system through our partners and funding body. We also supported community members to identify actions to strengthen education pathways.
Mentoring
During the length of our work in Maningrida we mentored over twenty community members to support their educational aspirations (e.g. Child and Family staff enrolled in higher education).
Part of our activities included promoting ‘Uni’ or higher education as an option for community members through the sharing of information, resources and connections with relevant staff – e.g.WCE researchers were requested by Maningrida community to provide higher education pathways resources and information for senior school students in Maningrida (as well as from Gunbalanya, Milingimbi, Ramingining) at a two-day Career’s Expo, funded by the Community Champions Program and WCE (Nov, 2016). WCE coordinated and part-funded the participation of CDU, Menzies, BIITE and NAILSMA staff members. Seven staff attended. We also raised awareness about CDU and other higher education providers can offer (e.g. Stall, Expo, Youth Summit and Indigenous Leaders Conference) .
as a direct result of the youth summit, Kevin and his brother have now been researching courses at Uni for next year
WCE team provided also professional development for staff in key community organisations – through the meetings and workshops.
Workshops organised and led by WCE team with Maningrida school and other key community organisations.
We also gave opportunities for students to celebrate their educational achievements and share their educational visions with others (e.g. discussing school experiences, participating in the Youth Summit)
Students from Maningrida participating to CDU Remote Indigenous Youth Leadership Summit - November 2016
Stanley celebrates his graduation in the Pre-Tertiary Success course at CDU
Jamie Hagan, Mentor and Engagement Officer mentored a lot of yound people through sport, he also participated in the Jabiru Gurrung Sports Carnival at the Mahbilil Festival, 2015. This work involved connecting with youth from a number of communities, and staff from the Australian Sports Commission and the STARS program for young Indigenous females
Explore other activities in the community
Communities we operate in throughout the Northern Territory
Galiwin'ku
Galiwin’ku is a Yolŋu community located on Elcho Island, approximately 550 km North East of Darwin
Gunbalanya
Also known as Oenpelli, Gunbalanya is a large Aboriginal town situated about 60km north east of Jabiru, across the East Alligator River in Arnhem Land
Maningrida
Maningrida is one of the largest Aboriginal towns in the Northern Territory. It is situated approximately 500km east of Darwin in Arnhem Land.
Tennant Creek
Tennant Creek or Jurnkurakurr is the biggest township in the Barkly Region. The main languages are Warumungu and English
Yirrkala
Many senior people from the Yirrkala community have expressed both passion for strengthening education pathways in Yirrkala
Yuendumu
The Yuendumu School is composed of 260 student from Preschool to Senior Years. The team is made of both yapa (Indigenous people) and kardiya (non-Indigenous). 95% of the students speak Warlpiri as their first language.
Team Member Reflection: Terry Moore
I joined the team in April 2016, just in time for the team meeting at Tennant Creek, where it was realised that the team needed someone to analyse the data that was being generated across the different communities.
Team Member Reflection: Keresi Motonicocoka
Being a part of the WCE Initiative has been a wonderful experience and I have learnt so much from being a part of this team with such diverse backgrounds that supported each other throughout the initiative.
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