Empowered Communities Newsletter_August 2016

EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES

2016

NEWSLETTER AUGUST EDITION

EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES CAPE YORK A

NEWS SNAPSHOT The Plan for 2016... P04 Next steps for Empowered Communities.

lot has been happening with Empowered Communities in Cape York.

After the May 2015 Cape York Regional Summit, Local Community Summits were held in communities – Aurukun, Wujal Wujal, Coen, Lockhart River, Mossman Gorge, Mapoon, Napranum Kowanyama, Hope Vale, Bamaga, Cooktown, Laura, and Pormpuraaw.

Where we are at now... P06 Updates on Engaged Communities.

Bamaga

See, Share, Reflect - look and learn trip P09

MAPOON

Weipa Napranum

Leaders from across the Cape visit community.

LOCKHART RIVER

Aurukun

Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge Communities act... P12

COEN

The ‘Do it – Act’ stage.

Pormpuraaw

HOPE VALE

KOWANYAMA

Laura Lakeland Downs

Cooktown

Whats next? P15

Wujal Wujal

First priorities.

Daintree

MOSSMAN GORGE CAIRNS

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COMMUNITY SUMMITS

ENGAGING LOCAL PEOPLE

People joined these Community Summits to understand more about Empowered Communities and how it could work in their place. These summits meant people could listen to information about EC, ask questions about EC, and to start talking about how they could work together better through Empowered Communities. People who

came talked about the things that were important to them, what they wanted for their kids and grandkids, and what their hopes were for the future.

About 150 turned up across all the events most people said EC sounded good in theory, but in different ways they all wondered how it will work in practice.

Mapoon Community Summit

CAPE YORK

Hope Vale Community Summit

HEALTH COUNCIL

Coen Community Summit

Kowanyama Community Summit

Pormpuraaw Community Summit

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THE PLAN FOR 2016

NEXT STEPS FOR EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES

I

n early 2016 groups of leaders from six communities invited us back to keep exploring Empowered Communities - what it might look like locally. They invited us back also to understand more about what it was like working with the CYEC Back Bone organisation.

MAPOON

This process had five steps through which those participating:

LOCKHART RIVER

• started to build their development agenda, • started to establish their local alliance,

COEN

HOPE VALE

KOWANYAMA

MOSSMAN GORGE

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4 Talk and Draft

Support local leadership in each community, work better together and develop a plan focused on a priority outcome they want to achieve.

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• started to connect with the groups and explore what it would be like to work together regionally (the first steps towards a regional alliance), • started to implement actions from the first part of their development agendas.

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4 See, Share, Reflect Connect local leadership from across communities to share, see, learn from each other.

4 Refine

Support local l thoughts from conn communities and r plan to achieve

WE ALL HAD SPECIFIC ROLES THROUGH THIS PROCESS REFLECTING THE ROLES EACH PARTY WOULD PLAY IF THOSE PARTICIPATING OPTED-IN TO EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES. LOCAL LEADERS AND PEOPLE • Doing • Leading • Driving • Building • Deciding

LOCAL CHAMPIONS

EC BACKBONE •W e enable local leaders & people from beside and behind

• K eeps everyone together and moving forward

• We facilitate

• Support the leaders of social change

• We coordinate

• Coordinates

• We inform

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and Finalise

leadership to share necting with the other refine and finalise their a priority outcome.

• Participates in the process

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4 Do it – Act.

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4 Negotiate

4 Decide

Support local people to start implementing Get government to the table with local the actions from their plan that local leadership to seek agreement about the people can do themselves. actions local people want government to take.

Once the EC Team have done this process together with local leadership between now and end of June, we will then ask them to decide to opt in.

No

We will respect this decision, noting door will always be open and we will start working with others waiting in line to try this new way.

Yes

Repeat steps 1-4 till the full agenda is ready - and support development of negotiation team and formal alliance.

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WHERE WE ARE AT

TALK AND DRAFT WORKSHOPS – STEP ONE

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4 Talk and Draft

Support local leadership in each community, work better together and develop a plan focused on a priority outcome they want to achieve.

F

ive workshops were held from February 2016–April 2016. This was step-one in getting things started and these workshops were called ‘ Talk and Draft’ workshops.

At those workshops, local leaders and their people talked about “How to help our people get income to support themselves”. They talked about their current situation, the reasons for this, and based on this, what they could do to help their families get more income.

LOCAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DID THE TALKING. LOCAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HAD THE IDEAS. LOCAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE STARTED MAKING PLANS

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OUR STORY SO FAR...

The draft plan and workshop report from these workshops was then provided back to participants, as the ideas are theirs, they own it.

These are local plans made by local people

Not Cape York Regional Org plans

Not Governments plans

Not National Empowered Communities plans

LOCAL PEOPLE MAKING PLANS FOR LOCAL PEOPLE The plans that emerge through this EC process are the community’s plans, not Cape York Regional Orgs, not Governments. Cape York Empowered Communities Back Bone (CYECBB) respects this and does not provide these plans to anyone unless those locally who were a part of making these plans have asked or agree. Whether or not these plans are implemented is ultimately the responsibility of local leaders and people who made them. CYECBB’s job is to support and enable from behind and where needed beside.

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LOCAL PEOPLE

MAKING THEIR PLANS

MOSSMAN GORGE

MOSSMAN GORGE LOCKHART RIVER

HOPE VALE

LOCKHART RIVER 8

MAPOON

SEE, SHARE, REFLECT 2

4 See, Share, Reflect

Connect local leadership from across communities to share, see, learn from each other.

If I want to empower you I would give you the choice in creating your destiny right Philemon Mene

Sharing our Knowledge

LOOK AND LEARN

Indigenous

From 18-21 April, teams from people coming all Six communities visited together is Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge powerful. together to see what was happening in those communities.

Karen Gibson, They also got to talk with each Mossman Gorge other about their people, their challenges, and their hopes for the future. A big part of Empowered Communities if people opt-in is supporting the different local alliances to learn from each-other and also exploring opportunities to work together regionally through a Cape York Regional Alliance.

Indigenous people have the plan and the solutions. We are the only ones in fact with the solutions and it’s time to tell the world I’d like you to Think Big about your first priorities and your future and take in the lessons learned by our friends in other communities.

Fiona Jose, General Manager Cape Operations, Cape York Partnership

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SEE, SHARE, REFLECT

LOOK AND LEARN

We’d like to get some of the programs for our community to help people to understand how to save—SET (Student Education Trust) would be good for people to set up an education fund for children.

GLENNETTE GREENWOOL Kowanyama

It was eye-opening. The commitment to education and culture in schools was very good to see.... We learn from one another people’s view. That’s how we learn…. We didn’t know each other and now we are like an EC family.

Lucy Hobson Lockhart River

The trip has been educational. I picked up a lot of things along the way. I really enjoyed seeing the language in the school in Hope Vale. It was eye opening when Roy told us about how they made changes over the year—the visions and dream and how they worked together—committed themselves to that project.

DONNA ROSE JOHNSON Coen

I enjoyed mingling with other clans sharing culture and knowledge.

Hopefully Empowered Communities will be a future thing for the benefit of community. It was good to share our learning with the other communities.

MPower has been a big benefit—the O-Hub has helped our people with their finances. I hope we meet up with these leaders again.

Esmae Bowen Hope Vale 10

THEN WHAT HAPPENED? C

ape York Empowered Communities Back Bone made a book and video of this Look & Learn trip and has been supporting each of the people who went on the trip to use these tools to share with others from their community what they saw and what they learnt.

This got lots of conversations started. People were interested in what was working in other communities, and talked about the things they might like to try in their own community. The Team from Kowanyama liked some of the things they saw so much they asked these services to come and show other Kowanyama people what they do.

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4 Refine and Finalise Support local leadership to share thoughts from connecting with the other communities and refine and finalise their plan to achieve a priority outcome.

These reflections, alongside further local input, are being combined through a series of further workshops to refine and finalise their plan to help their families have income to support themselves.

Where these conversations have already been had, some groups are now implementing their plans - the Do-Act, Negotiate, Decide stage.

KOWANYAMA EXPO

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MOSSMAN GORGE AND HOPE VALE ARE

AT THE DO IT & ACT STAGE. The group in Hope Vale are one of the groups at Step 4 – Do it. Act and Negotiate.

So far, there are three really exciting things they been able to start on:

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4 Do it – Act.

Support local people to start implementing the actions from their plan that local people can do themselves.

4 Negotiate

Get government to the table with local leadership to seek agreement about the actions local people want government to take.

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1. Local Alliance They have decided to formally set up their Local Alliance – the Alliance of Guugu Yimithirr Families – a place where all families can come together and have a say on the decisions that affect their lives. Nominations are currently being sought from each Guugu Yimithirr family.

2. A plan to get more income As part of their plan to help their families get income to support themselves, the group in Hope Vale decided that they wanted to set up a local market. This would mean people could sell their arts/crafts/curios, and they decided that they needed some help to do this. CYECBB connected them with JAWUN to get a secondee to help figure out how to start a market. Local leader Dora Gibson, the Youth and Education Support Officer with Hope Vale Shire Council wanted to take the lead in implementing this idea and has recently had a six week JAWUN Secondee (Amanda Blackman) in Hope Vale working with her and the others from the emerging Alliance of Guugu Yimithirr Families to try this idea.

3. Changing the way they interact with local Service Providers

The Local EC Champion Bruce Gibson has also taken some of the ideas from the plan and putting on his hat as a Local Government Councilor, advocated successfully for improved service delivery arrangements with the Federal Government. These changes will help a service provider already in community be able to do their job better for Hope Vale people. The Alliance of Guugu Yimithirr Families has also met with a CDP Provider and held initial discussions about how that CDP Provider can help implement the Alliances plan to get more people on the pathway to work and into those jobs. This has also given the CDP Provider a chance to update the group on what they are already doing that’s aligned with the groups plan, whilst hearing some good constructive feedback how they can do better.

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MOSSMAN GORGE AND HOPE VALE ARE

AT THE DO IT & ACT STAGE. MOSSMAN GORGE Team Mossman Gorge is also at this step – Do it. Act and Negotiate. Community members have started individually to declare their support for Empowered Communities and their leadership groups have started to opt-in.

HELPING LOCAL LEADERS TO BE MORE FOCUSED Many of the ideas in the Mossman Gorge community plan were already being pursued by BBN as the plan was developed. So some might say—“well why did we need to do it, what has the EC process added?” BBN Directors who have participated in the workshops and

in the Look and Learn trip have said that what has been good about the EC process is that it has helped BBN be more focused and connected to community needs. It has provided a space for community people to have their say so BBN can do its job for them better.

BBN Chair and EC Local Champion Karen Gibson has liked the EC process.

“Through the Empowered Communities workshops it’s been great to see so many Mossman Gorge People come out and talk together, agree and take action. It makes that load feel lighter, as I realise how much everybody is ready, and wants to get going forward to get Mossman Gorge going.”

Karen Gibson

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The Wellbeing Centres Local Advisory Group member Katrina Douglas said of the EC process so far.

“We need this (EC) here. We need to help one another to make Mossman a better place.”

Katrina Douglas

WHAT’S NEXT? CONTINUING THE EC PROCESS

W

e will continue to support leaders from Lockhart River, Mapoon, Coen, and Kowanyama finish the process of trying EC.

HOW TO HELP OUR CHILDREN GET

Local Leadership Groups and Organisations in these communities will move through and finish this process in the next few months. If they then decide to opt-in to EC, our team will continue to work with them and their people to implement their initial plan to help their families get more income.

THE

BEST EDUCATION POSSIBLE

Then, we will then help them build their next plan for another outcome. Some local groups have already thought about what they want to talk and plan for next in their Local Alliance.

HOW TO HELP OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

FEEL AND BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY,

ENGAGED HOW DO WE HELP OUR PEOPLE GET BETTER HOUSING AND MOVE TO

HOME OWNERSHIP

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WHAT ABOUT THE GOVT SIDE? BACK BONE ESTABLISHED Federal Government has endorsed the idea of EC and has: • Started to get organised on their side • Provided 3 years of funding to establish the CY EC Backbone Organisation This funding is focused on supporting those that Opt-in to EC to finish building their Alliances and Development Agendas locally and regionally.

It will help CYECBB to:

Continuous communication – supporting the engagement of Indigenous people and organisations across the Empowered Community region

Develop ownership across stakeholders for a common agenda – local, regional and national Empowered Communities visions

Indigenous led responsibility – local indigenous organisations choose to opt-in to the Empowered Communities reform principals

Empowered Communities Backbone organisation

Mutually reinforcing activities – recognising and supporting the roles and priorities of the other parties in the community

• Support Local alliances to convene negotiation tables, • Support development of long term funding agreements between Alliances and Government, • Track implementation through shared monitoring and evaluation systems, and

Reciprocity – leading mutual exchange, supporting the broad development of leadership, and sharing responsibility between all parties

Shared measurement – supporting collaboration, and sharing best practice across all parties and opt-in regions

• Provide this information back to Alliances to refine review progress as they go.

It’s important to note: The backbone funding covers the existing EC Team, local champions, an expert in policy/government funding and an expert in data and monitoring. This funding also covers the costs of travel and meetings associated with this process. It is not funding to help complete actions in development agendas.

A key aim of EC is to use a little bit of money through the backbone funding to get everyone better organised and make the existing investment across Cape York (some $200 million per annum on Cape York) work better for Indigenous people.

If we can do that, this small investment in the backbone will be worth it.

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WHAT’S AHEAD...

The New Road Social and economic development

with culture, languages and identities “We have leadership.

We are ready to move to Empowerment”

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HOW DO I GET INVOLVED? We’d love to hear from you if you want to find out about how to get involved. Please call us:

Karen Gibson

Bruce Gibson

Allan Creek

Mossman Gorge Empowered Communities

Hope Vale Empowered Communities

Coen Empowered Communities

P 07 4098 1305 E admin@yalanji.com.au

Office 07 4083 8000

P 0417 976 878 C/O Post Office Coen

Doreen Hart

Bernie Singleton

Ellie Austin

Engagement Officer Empowered Communities P 07 4046 0617 M 0437 922 439 E dhart@cyp.org.au Cairns Office 302-310 Sheridan Street | PO Box 677, Cairns North QLD 4870

Engagement Officer Empowered Communities P 07 4046 0617 M 0438 517 450 E bsingleton@cyp.org.au Cairns Office 302-310 Sheridan Street | PO Box 677, Cairns North QLD 4870

Senior Policy Officer Empowered Communities

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P 07 4046 0625 M 0418 895 334 E eaustin@cyp.org.au Cairns Office 302-310 Sheridan Street | PO Box 677, Cairns North QLD 4870

Mossman Gorge BBN Opted-in to Empowered Communities on the 1st of September 2016 and begin their Second development plan – to support families to be Strong in Language – this month.

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To unite to shift power from governments to us, the people of Cape York.