Jawun Secondment 2018

Target : Process Design for Successful Research Partnerships Weapons of Choice : A stack of Sticky notes Years of experience working "at the other side of the fence"  A good amount of very helpful stakeholder interviews Main challenge : The sticky notes don't actually stick     Upside : A good incentive to move to digitising that stack of notes quickly.  I feel like I'm making good progress. I have made a solid start on the recommendations document, and have transplanted all sticky note wisdom onto my computer, where it forms the basis of a process map with resource recommendations for NPYWC staff who engage in research projects. I have planned a workshop with several people in a week's time, where we'll test drive the process document. One week should be enough to flesh out the current process, as well as advance my recommendations document.  using sticky notes for good, not evil

The induction week gave us some better understanding of the region we’re in, and the history of the respective organisations that we have joined for the next wee while. In week two, the rubber hit the road. Or rather, pens hit notepads, fingers hit keyboards and post-it notes hit walls and desks. The days have been packed and quite intense. Between that, and trying to fit in some exercise, and some further exploration of Alice’s attractions, there has been limited time to write about the work that has actually taken me here.  My secondment takes place with the NPY Women’s Council . The Women’s Council was established to give a voice to the women of the Ngaanjatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunjatjara lands, and their families. Their mission statement is formulated as follows: Our core purpose is to work with the women and their families of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara region in central Australia to increase their capacity to lead safe and healthy lives with impr

My secondment will be with the NPY Women’s Council, who operate on the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Lands . This Region is defined by and named after the three languages of the people who live on the Lands. Although I will be based in Alice Springs, Alice is not actually on NPY lands. The region covers a vast 350,000 square kilometres, which is about the size of Germany. Twenty-six communities and homelands, of around 6,000 people total, are located in this area, that expands across South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. For us to get an idea of the lands, and to have an opportunity to meet and speak with some of the people who live there, Fran, the Jawun Regional Director, had organised a two day trip to Aputula, or Finke. As the trip to Finke is across several hundred kilometres of unsealed road, on the edge of the Simpson Desert, Jawun requires us to be proficient and safe at driving a 4 wheel drive (4WD) vehicle, changing a tyre

As a crown on our first full day in Alice, we were lucky to have Deanella Mack, who runs the business Cultural Connections , come over to have a cross-cultural fireside chat with us.  She is an Arrernte woman, born and raised in Alice Springs, and an Auntie to my colleague Lea! Dee and I say "hi!" to Lea Dee shared stories about the history and culture of her people. Time was limited which was unfortunate, because she is a great storyteller. It was great to have her bridge traditional customs and thinking to western thinking, and challenge our own understanding of our traditions and cultures. I am sure that the time we got to spend with her will help us connect better with the people we will meet and work with.     Something that really resonated with me, was learning more about Indigenous people’s families. I already knew they are so much more structured and organised than European ones. But hearing more about the very specific purposes that these struc

Reeling a little bit from all the impressions, it’s good to sit down and organise my thoughts and learnings of the past two days. I’ve travelled from Melbourne to Alice Springs, where I’ve embarked on an adventure that I don’t feel I can fully classify yet. So I will not yet append epithets like challenging, rewarding, scary, or intimidating, but I’m sure some of these will turn out to apply. And if I’m entirely honest, I am a little daunted by the tasks ahead, so perhaps we can pencil in ‘intimidating’. The University of Melbourne is a program partner to the Jawun organisation, and I was lucky, and very proud, to be selected as one of six UoM secondees for 2018. Jawun, which means ‘friend’ in the Kuku Yalanji language, works with Indigenous-led organisations in ten regions throughout Australia, placing employees of Australian companies or government agencies to work on projects that suit their specific skill-sets. These secondees are given the opportunity to leave their jobs

Welcome to my blog site. This is where I will be posting regular updates of my Jawun Secondment. I have been given the opportunity to leave my role at the University of Melbourne for six weeks, to go to Alice Springs and work with the NPY Women's Council.  Until my first actual post is ready, please have a look at the Jawun website for some background information about the internship program, and the NPY lands!