Hon Paul Fletcher, Minister for Families and Social Services, visited KARI’s Liverpool office to officially launch KARI’s new Lead With Culture project. The Minister was given an insight to how the project will be run and how it will have a positive impact on the lives of Aboriginal youth.
The Lead with Culture project identifies two contributors to the high rates of unemployment, disability, lack of education and welfare dependence of young Aboriginal people. These contributors are:
- A lack of cultural connection, and the resulting confused sense of self-identity
- A lack of understanding of an Aboriginal young person’s cultural context by the wider community. Young people in KARI programs agree that cultural disconnection is a barrier to employment and education. They believe more cultural education is vital.
Lead with Culture aims to address these issues by providing cultural awareness training. This allows candidates to gain knowledge about Aboriginal history and culture and how to embrace and promote culture in the workplace.
KARI Foundation and the Department of Social Services have developed an innovative and practical cultural enrichment program, which will have enduring measurable change for Aboriginal youth and communities.
Lead with Culture is a project that works collaboratively with education, communities, government and businesses to build strength and pride in Aboriginal young people”
said KARI CEO Casey Ralph.
KARI looks forward to working with the community on continuing to empower our youth with culture and delivering positive change.