Welcome to Making Two Worlds Work
Winner of 2009 Victorian Health Care Awards
Reducing Health Inequalities
This project is an initiative of Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation and Women's Health Goulburn North East - organisations based in northeast Victoria. It is supported by the Upper Hume Primary Care Partnership and Wodonga Regional Health Service.
How it came about
The original idea for the project came from non-Aboriginal workers attending cultural training at Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation during 2005. They expressed a desire to have
- Locally produced Aboriginal artwork and images they could display in their agencies
- Accessible information about local Aboriginal history and culture, protocols, key organisations and contacts
- Resources to support their work with Aboriginal clients, families and community.
The way we work
We used art as a way to involve our Aboriginal community and acknowledge the essential role that storytelling, art and symbols play as culturally appropriate communication mechanisms. As a result we have six impressive paintings depicting aspects of health and wellbeing that form the foundation visual imagery for the resource kit.
We planned ways to ensure that the Aboriginal community was involved in all aspects of decision-making along the way. This included a number of 'community conversations' about health and wellbeing to inform the project and to provide feedback.
The local Health Portfolio Network meetings, held monthly and attended by workers from Aboriginal organisations and generalist services, acted as a reference group. This meant that a diverse and fluid range of workers also contributed to the evolution of the resources.
What we have developed
The resource kit contains:- Suite of six colour posters, developed from the original paintings
- 'Working with Aboriginal clients and community' audit tool for agency planning and review
- Checklist for working with Aboriginal clients
- Health Promotion Framework with an 'Aboriginal lens'
- CD of over 100 graphic images based on the six paintings for agencies to use when designing written or visual information for Aboriginal clients and community
- DVD that
- explains 'Indigenous Welcomes' and 'Acknowledging Country', and
- describes the importance of art for Aboriginal communities. - Signage for services to welcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to their agency
- Information guide that includes local knowledge about culture and history, frequently asked questions, key Aboriginal organisations and contacts. (Updated Local Contact List 2011)
We developed the resources to ensure local ownership and relevance, however much of the material will be useful for other localities, or easily adapted. We encourage the broad use and adaptation of the resources, however please acknowledge the Making Two Worlds Work project as the original source.
