Menzies staff promote messages of reconciliation through social media

To celebrate National Reconciliation Week 2013 (27 May – 3 June), the staff at Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies) have braved a camera lens to share their thoughts on what reconciliation and recognition means to them. View the videos on Menzies' YouTube channel.

Lead by Director Professor Alan Cass, there was a wide variety of responses to questions which included: ‘What does reconciliation mean to you?’, ‘How can we live this year’s theme, Let’s Talk Recognition?, and ‘What’s the future for reconciliation and Indigenous health at Menzies?’.

The video will be shown at events at Menzies’ offices in NT and QLD and can be viewed here.

Menzies committed to producing a video and a holding a number of events across its offices to mark National Reconciliation Week. The event commemorates two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey—the anniversaries of the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision.

This year’s theme ‘Let’s talk recognition’ focuses on how we can better recognise each other, and recognise the contributions, cultures and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Director, Professor Alan Cass said reconciliation continues to remain a top priority for Menzies.

“We are in the process of developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) which will outline the action that we will we implement over a period of 3 – 5 years,” he said.

“We have established a working group, with representation from each division. The development of a RAP Plan is supported by the Board and the Executive.”

Associate Director of Aboriginal Programs, Heather D’Antoine said over the past month Menzies had hosted several staff workshops conducted by its Indigenous Capacity Building Unit (ICBU) on behalf of the RAP working group to provide your input into developing the plan.

“Our aim is to make this process relevant to how we engage with communities to conduct research and how we work together as colleagues, within teams and across Menzies,” she said.

"In addition to the RAP Plan, Menzies has established an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Development Strategy to focus our efforts to increase Indigenous employment.

"Currently 10 per cent of our staff are Indigenous and we are working on a number of employment strategies to further develop pathways into work at Menzies and to enhance the experience of staff already working here. Such strategies include a Mentoring Program which you will hear more about in the near future.

“We are working on a number of strategies to reach this target including a Mentoring Program which we hope to be able to report on shortly. Our engagement in National Reconciliation Week is part of this process.”