ABC unveils new reconciliation action plan
ABC has released Elevate RAP 2019-22, its new reconciliation action plan which seeks to raise the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The announcement:
First Australians’ voices to be heard loud and clear under ABC’s new reconciliation action plan
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, voices and names will be heard across the ABC and become an everyday part of the Australian vocabulary under the public broadcaster’s new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
The ABC’s Elevate RAP 2019-22 , released today, strengthens the Corporation’s commitment to champion initiatives that recognise and embrace Australia’s Indigenous history and cultures, including employment and business opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and building closer relationships with Indigenous communities.
The Elevate RAP features a major new commitment to bring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and voices into the national conversation. The ABC will introduce initiatives such as rolling out radio station idents incorporating local languages, increasing the use of Indigenous names in content and introducing rights and release forms enabling Indigenous communities to retain the copyright and ownership of their cultural knowledge and languages.
The ABC will also partner with First Languages Australia to develop a new version of the Gambay Map to promote the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
David Anderson, ABC Managing Director, said: “In this International Year of Indigenous Languages and beyond, the ABC is dedicated to ensuring First Nations’ voices are heard in our organisation and reflected in our content for audiences. Our vision for reconciliation is an Australia in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander words, voices and languages become an everyday part of the national vocabulary.”
Karen Mundine, CEO of Reconciliation Australia, said: “The ABC continues to lead national reconciliation action in the Australian media industry. The ABC’s vision for reconciliation and the leadership role that the organisation has taken to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander names, voices and languages into Australia’s national vocabulary is what has earned the ABC its Elevate RAP.”
Reconciliation Australia endorses an Elevate RAP for organisations that have a proven track record of championing initiatives to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and create societal change, and who are ready to take a leadership position to advance national reconciliation.
The development of the Elevate RAP was overseen by the Bonner Committee, the ABC’s primary internal advisory and representative body relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, content and communities.
The ABC launched its first RAP in 2009, committing the Corporation to improving opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the four key areas of cultural understanding and respect, employment opportunities, content and community links. The Elevate RAP 2019-22 is the ABC’s fourth RAP.
Source: ABC media release
