Fairley Leadership Program — Welcome to Country Day
Traditional: The Fairley Leadership 2022 cohort was treated to a Welcome to Country smoking ceremony on Wednesday, March 30.
The Fairley Leadership Program 2022 is under way with a number of future leaders from Benalla and the wider north-east community.
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It incorporates Indigenous affairs to learn and explore the meaning, importance and interconnectedness of Indigenous culture to lead our communities towards a more inclusive future.
On Wednesday, March 30, participants of the program took part in an inaugural Welcome to Country Day to explore the significance of Indigenous Australian culture.
Goulburn Murray Community Leadership executive officer Nathan Bibby said the Welcome to Country Day was an important and significant inclusion into the Fairley Leadership Program.
“We are grateful for local Indigenous elders and leaders facilitating the day and organisations spending the time to explore the cultural connections, relationships and responsibilities we all play in developing a thriving Yorta Yorta community,” Mr Bibby said.
The Welcome to Country Day facilitator is Yorta Yorta man, Greg James.
“We have been discussing for sometime how we can work in partnership and the introduction of the Welcome to Country Day is one outcome of working with Goulburn Murray Community Leadership to provide emerging community leaders an important learning experience like this,” Mr James said.
Historical: The Fairley Leadership 2022 cohort was taken on a tour of The Flats.
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The Welcome to Country Day included a smoking ceremony facilitated by Neil Morris and Michael Bourke.
Smoking ceremonies are a spiritual practice whereby the burning of native plants is performed for protective and cleansing purposes.
They were also be taken on a walking tour of “The Flats” by Greg James and Uncle Lance James.
“The Flats” is a significant landmark for Indigenous people as it became home to those in the first ever mass strike of Aboriginal people in 1939.
The Fairley cohort also had discussions with Rumbarala Aboriginal Co-operative chief executive officer Felicia Dean and Academy of Sport, Health and Education director Leonie Dywer regarding the importance of health and sport in community development.
If you’d like to learn more about Goulburn Murray Community Leadership or the Fairley Leadership Program, visit www.gmcl.org.au
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