Meaningful conversations for reconciliation
Reconciliation Week is an opportunity for Australians to explore how together we can contribute to a better, more respectful society.
To learn more about South Australia’s reconciliation journey, we spoke with Shaun Childs, proud Kokatha Wirangu man whose descendants hail from the far west coast of South Australia.
When he’s not playing footy and spending time with his family, Shaun is a consultant for not-for-profit Reconciliation SA, leading support and advocacy organisation driving the reconciliation movement across South Australia.
sa move: Can you tell us about your role with Reconciliation SA?
I’m a consultant at Reconciliation South Australia. My line of work is delivering and facilitating anti-racism training and helping workplaces with their reconciliation action plans (RAP). We workshop how workplaces can be better or more accountable in terms of their reconciliation action plans.
sa move: What does an average day look like for you?
Having different conversations! An average day is talking to people about what anti-racism means; it could be workplaces, organisations and businesses calling to have a conversation about what anti-racism looks like. A lot of workplaces and organisations want to have a chat about how they can better their environment.
A day could also be delivering and facilitating programs on all the different dimensions of reconciliation.
sa move: You’re a small team making a big impact – how many people are at Reconciliation SA?
There are six of us, it will be seven soon, and that’s both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff. We have other reconciliation bodies across Australia in their respective states as well.
sa move: How does Reconciliation SA help organisations make positive change?
It’s really about having those meaningful, truth telling, honest conversations. We encourage organisations and workplaces to foster and strengthen their relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
Reconciliation is not just an Aboriginal person’s business. So that’s what we encourage: to be interested and to be seen to have those meaningful conversations. Because what that does is it really closes the gap. We encourage businesses that it shouldn’t be left up to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples to do all the heavy lifting.
We’re going to be better as a society once we start having those conversations.
For example, there’s been workplaces who have a Reconciliation Action Plan board and a reconciliation working group – but they haven’t got any Aboriginal members as part of that RAP.
So we ask, how can you make decisions about Aboriginal people when there aren’t any Aboriginal people on the board?
We’ve found that having Aboriginal people being part of RAP working groups has really broadened [the organisation’s] experience, with the RAP actions more realistic and more respectful.
RAPs are meant to be challenging; they’re not meant to be, okay, we’ve drafted it, we’ve sent it in, now we can just stop. A lot of people think that once it’s out there, they can sit back, but this is now where the real change starts. You always have to be working towards making it accountable.
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sa move: Next week is Reconciliation Week. What does it mean to you?
To me, it’s really important that the broader community, non-Aboriginal people, can be seen and be counted to be having meaningful, respectful conversations. It’s about relationship building. Personally, it’s about having people be interested and keen to learn from Aboriginal people in terms of how we can be better as a society.
sa move: What is one thing you wish everyone knew about reconciliation and Reconciliation Week?
Lean into this uncomfortable space, learn what’s going on [in Aboriginal communities] and be heard. Use your voice and platforms. You might not think it’s helping at the time, but if every individual is doing this, it can make a huge impact. If everybody just does a bit of heavy lifting to help the cause, about reconciliation, about building those relationships and strengthening those relationships, it can go a long way to having a better future.