NAIDOC Week 2021 and what I learnt about climate change

NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week allows Indigenous Australians to celebrate and share their communities each July with people across the nation. It gives all people an excellent opportunity to participate in an exciting range of activities. Indigenous Australians seek to protect their cultural heritage from exploitation, ruin and destruction. They embrace the essence of Australia through language, song, dance and traditional ceremonies. NAIDOC Week is an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate their living culture. 

Founder of Careers for Purpose, Teresa Romanovsky, has embraced activities at this year's NAIDOC Week. She's been busy learning new techniques in the kitchen during Sydney's enforced lockdown. Teresa has been making Australian damper bread, a traditional bread made by early settlers. It is very similar to the bread made by Indigenous Australians from a variety of crushed seeds, nuts and roots, mixed into a dough, and then baked in the coals of a fire. The modern-day damper bread was historically cooked by stockmen who traversed remote areas for long periods. They'd have limited rations, so the basic ingredients of the damper were ideal; flour, water and sometimes milk. The damper would be eaten with golden syrup. See chef Teresa in action. 

Teresa attended two NAIDOC webinars this week, 'Heal Country, Healing Our Waterways' and 'Heal Country, Healing Our Land'. Teresa said, "the passion of the Indigenous presenters was palpable. In both webinars, Indigenous Australians clearly expressed that this land we call Australia is hurting and our First Nations people are hurting with it". The presenters expressed their sadness, frustration and desperation about the destruction, poisoning and degradation of Australia's waterways and surrounding ocean. Harmful practices result in mass fish kills, harming whales and dolphins, killing native birds and making the water undrinkable. It's devastating to the local communities. Ocean oil and gas drilling is harming the native species and destroying their natural habitat. Uncle Bunna Lawrie, one of the webinar presenters, has been fighting against this destruction for over a decade.  

In the second webinar, 'Healing Our Land', the presenters expressed a similar sentiment about the government's lack of understanding and complete disregard of cultural significance. The government provides permits to clean and mine this sacred land, and native rights are manipulated to suit big business. "What came across loud and clear is that our Indigenous population have a deep-rooted understanding of this land far greater and more significant than any government or business could possibly appreciate. There is little consultation or appreciation to bridge the gap in knowledge. The Indigenous Australians have a unique perspective to protect native species, protect natural habitats, protect communities and ultimately protect us all from the devastating effects of climate change".

As a recruiter, Teresa understands that Indigenous Australian job seekers rely heavily on their friends and family when looking for work. This is important knowledge, particularly if their Indigenous social networks are limited and they have less information about employment support and opportunities. She is keen to ease the challenges between the employee and employer.

The Australian Human Rights Commission perceives "Unconscious biases are the learned stereotypes about certain groups of people formed outside of conscious awareness. They are automatic, unintentional, deeply engrained in our beliefs, universal and have the ability to affect our behaviour. Unconscious bias can be favourable or unfavourable attitudes which form the basis of positive or negative impressions of others". By addressing unconscious biases and acknowledging that everyone has them, striving to reduce them will help create a more inclusive and equitable space for the entire workforce.

Careers for Purpose delivers ground-breaking recruitment solutions for individuals and companies concerned about climate change, consumerism, species extinction and personal health. Together, employers and Teresa strive to increase the skill levels of Indigenous Australians through training in the workplace and formal education assistance. Teresa commits to sensitive pre-employment assessments and proposes customised and cross-cultural training programmes that will increase employee retention. She will empathetically guide Indigenous Australian candidates through the recruitment process so that they are offered equal opportunities and will not be screened out in the traditional way.

It is time to celebrate the deep connections that the Indigenous Australian people have with the shared land and learn from their ancient culture. Their customs and beliefs can actually support and enhance modern-day technology and science to make the world a better, more harmonious and healthier place for everyone.