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Facilitator training hitting mark by Lenora Thaker 11 February 2014
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uilding a pool of skilled and knowledgeable Indigenous facilitators who can lead education and training in their own specialised fields or areas of interest according to Iain Henderson, Education and Training manager from the Australian Institute of Social Relations (a Division of Relationships Australia South Australia - RASA) is the motivation behind the organisation’s hosting of ‘Stronger Better Groups’ Australia’s only comprehensive facilitator training especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The training course ‘Stronger Better Groups’ was developed last year by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainers Lenora Thaker and Veronica Williams who are passionate about seeing Indigenous Australians become more proficient in the art and practice of facilitation from small focus groups to large community group gatherings. Lenora said “facilitating one’s own mob can be the most challenging. In our training we use very specific techniques to tackle the hard stuff from getting rid of nerves to every facilitator’s worst nightmare - what to do when all hell breaks loose.” Fiona Petersen who completed Workshop 1 recently at NSW Central Coast said that “since undertaking the training I have successfully facilitated two major group meetings, with one of them being attended by individuals from all over the country. The learning I had taken away from the
Indigenous facilitators in training at NSW Central Coast recently: Back row (L-R): Jack Fletcher, Stuart McMinn, Glenn Collis. Front row (L-R): Veronica Williams (facilitator), Dion Devow, Lenora Thaker (facilitator), Michele Able, Lisa Walters, Fiona Petersen, Norm Button. Image supplied
training allowed me to not only confidently lead group processes to the intended outcomes but resulted in me overcoming the barriers I once had to ‘holding space’ in a room of individuals with varying perspectives and backgrounds. I may not ever be completely comfortable with facilitating large forums, but knowing I’m capable of it, and can be successful at it means I’ll do it. The nation has a shortage of skilled Indigenous facilitators and I’m now very happy to put my hand up and say ‘I can do it’, and I know how to do it well”. Michele Abel from Canberra who also undertook the training last year said “it was important to me to know that the people delivering the program were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander themselves. I wanted to do this training within a learning environment that understands the dynamics and complexities of facilitating groups in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander community”. Iain from RASA said “we have provided group facilitation training to Aboriginal people in the past that has always left me with a sense of ‘there is something missing here’, or, unease that what was provided did not hit the mark”. As non-Aboriginal trainers and facilitators my education team and I could draw on our well informed non-Aboriginal understandings and methods of group facilitation. What ‘Stronger Better Groups’ can deliver is a program that will connect with Aboriginal and Islander culture and context and build the facilitation skills and knowledge on this. This is something I as a non-Aboriginal facilitator could never do”. The first and only course being offered in Adelaide will be 26th-28th February. For more information contact Iain Henderson Ph 08 8245 8100 or email i.henderson@rasa.org.au.
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