VCOSS with Reconciliation Victoria and ANTaR
Securing A Fairer Victoria for Victoria’s Indigenous communities
In March 2007, VCOSS, Reconciliation Victoria and Australians for Nativie Title and Reconciliarion ( ANTaR) partnered to host a forum to develop a strategy to secure 'A Fairer Victoria' for Victoria’s Indigenous communities. There were three key objectives for the forum:
- To build a coalition of community sector organisations who are committed to making real the rights of Indigenous Victorians through both advocacy to the Victorian Government and through implementing culturally sensitive practice in their own organisations
- To identify key actions for achieving 'A Fairer Victoria' for Indigenous Victorians and their communities
- To inform the ongoing advocacy work of Reconciliation Victoria, ANTaR and VCOSS
The forum was a significant opportunity to demonstrate mainstream community sector organisation support for the Strategic Framework A Fairer Victoria for Aboriginal Victorians: A plan for action. A range of actions were agreed to at the meeting – these will be posted in the near future.
White Blindfold event
The first White Blindfold event, held in August 2006, was a joint presentation by ANTaR Victoria, Reconciliation Victoria and VCOSS to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples and to draw attention to the need for the non-Indigenous community to acknowledge it’s role in the ongoing marginalisation and impoverishment of Australia’s Indigenous Peoples.
Close to 200 people participated, wearing white blindfolds. By removing their blindfolds and placing a thumb print on ANTaR’s Treaty Scroll, the non-Indigenous participants demonstrated their commitment to “seeing things differently” and to working in solidarity with Indigenous people in front of Indigenous leaders witnessing the public ritual.
Images from the event can be viewed on the ANTaR website. Speakers at the event included Indigenous academic Lillian Holt, Aboriginal community leader Alf Bamblett, prominent Human Rights advocate and QC, Julian Burnside, and ACTU President Sharon Burrows. You can read Lillian Holt’s presentation here and Julian Burnside’s here.