SharingStories and Keep Left launch campaign on Australia’s shared history for Jan 26
First Nations not-for-profit SharingStories Foundation has launched an education campaign to encourage Australians to deepen their knowledge of First Nations history ahead of January 26.
The campaign, created in partnership with independent PR and creative agency Keep Left, is titled ‘Moment of Truth’, and aims to educate adults who didn’t have the opportunity to learn about January 26 at school to educate themselves about Australia’s shared history, so they can make informed decisions.
SharingStories Co-CEO and Pitta Pitta woman, Sharon Williams, said: “Truth-telling has the power to heal – however education has the power to create generational change. That’s why we’re encouraging all Australians to take a moment to step back from the debate and take a step toward unity – through education.”
SharingStories will provide free access to a suite of Invasion Day resources on its online education portal Jajoo Warrngara: The Culture Classroom. The free resources offer Australians a convenient option to deepen their knowledge of First Nations history through the perspectives of SharingStories First Nations community partners.
SharingStories co-CEO and Pitta Pitta woman Sharon Williams
The campaign consists of three key pillars, calling on Australians to “educate, contemplate and circulate” their #MomentOfTruth via social media in the lead up to January 26.
Educate: Learn the history of colonisation from First Nations voices.
Contemplate: What it means to be Australian through a shared history that goes back more than 60,000 years.
Circulate: Share your #MomentOfTruth and encourage friends, families and teachers in your life to engage with the Jajoo Warrngara free lessons.
Keep Left CEO, Caroline Catterall, said: “We encourage everyone to bookmark the Jajoo Warrngara resources as something you can use not just now, but down the track at work, at home, or with your kids.
“Research shows most adult Australians have gaps in their understanding of First Nations culture and history but are motivated for this to change for future generations. These resources are a simple and practical way to help facilitate that learning.”
Moment of Truth is the first campaign to come from a new strategic partnership between Keep Left and SharingStories.
The part pro bono, part commercial engagement has seen Keep Left work with SharingStories is an important part of Keep Left’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), with the agency working with the organisation on strategic planning for 2023, brand development, campaign development, and campaign activation across the year.
“Our team will benefit from having access to SharingStories’ knowledge and resources, which will help us greatly while we’re in the ‘educate’ phase of our RAP. While we’re early in our journey as a company we recognise that reconciliation is a continuous cycle of improvement, and our partnership with SharingStories supports that,” explained Catterall.
The Keep Left office will remain open on 26 January, with all staff given the opportunity to swap the 26 January public holiday for another day. For those that choose to work on 26 January, there will be a range of educational activities on offer throughout the day.
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topics
Australia Day
caroline catterall
Invasion Day
January 26
Keep Left
SharingStories
Sharon Williams
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