Bendigo TAFE presents its Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2024-2026.
The RAP serves as a roadmap to guide Bendigo TAFE to work towards its vision for reconciliation, comprising a future where First Nations peoples, their cultures, knowledge, and wisdom are celebrated and influence our approach to education, teaching and leadership.
The Innovate RAP 2024-2026 outlines Bendigo TAFE’s practical commitments to:
• Strengthening relationships: Forging, weaving, and embedding relationships with First Nations peoples, communities, and commercial organisations in the delivery of educational services, thereby contributing to Kangan Institute’s collective progress to meaningful reconciliation.
• Deepening respect: Providing insights to First Nations cultural norms, leadership, teaching and learning practices, and fostering leaders with deepened knowledge and understanding of First Nations histories, cultures and leadership styles.
• Creating opportunities: Continuing to champion and build our relationships with businesses, organisations, students and industry to create meaningful study and employment opportunities.
• Embedding governance: Embedding a structure for the organisation to understand issues of inequality and improve the inclusivity and accessibility of vocational education and workplace culture.
This announcement follows the launch of Bendigo TAFE’s first RAP in 2021, with the TAFE achieving significant progress in its journey to reconciliation. Highlights include:
• Celebrated in two categories at the 2024 Wurreker Awards:
o Teacher/Trainer Award: Bendigo TAFE educator Caroline Tarran (Winner)
o Government Employer Award: Bendigo TAFE (Finalist)
• Leadership and management and human resources student Desirae Kilduff-Mourish achieved the 2022 Koorie Student of the Year at the Victorian Training Awards. Desirae went on to complete a training and assessment qualification and won the 2023 Outstanding Student Achievement Award (Bronze) at the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Awards of Excellence, amongst many other accolades.
• Learning, respecting and helping to share the stories of First Nations connections to land, waters and culture, and Australia’s true history, with First Nations artwork also integrated across our campuses.
• Collaborating with First Nations businesses as part of the Whole of Victorian Government Social Procurement Framework, including recently working with First Nations Furniture to uplift furnishing at Charleston Road Campus.
Comments for attributing, Sally Curtain, CEO Bendigo TAFE:
"Bendigo TAFE’s promise of excellence is at the heart of everything we do. It reflects our shared purpose of changing lives through the transformative power of education and skills.
“As we introduce our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2024-2026, we are reminded of the significant role education and skills play in fostering reconciliation, empowering communities, and shaping future leaders.
“Our RAP sets a clear framework for embedding this commitment deeper into our institution's culture to drive meaningful and lasting change.”
