“My mum inspires me to close the gap”

Close photograph of Jacinta with her mum
While National Reconciliation Week gains momentum and visibility each year in Australia, in 2021 we are urged to ask ourselves, how do we actively participate in what this important week is all about?

Date published: 04 Jun 2021

Author: Elizabeth Williams

Focus on people

“To me it’s about working together to share the knowledge and close the gap,” said Jacinta Shipley, proud Kamilaroi woman and member of HealthShare NSW’s Aboriginal Workforce Team.

“It means different things to different people, but what I see when my mum is meeting and talking with Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people inspires me.”

“She has the same respect for both sides and this gives me the confidence that I can do that in my day to day life as well.”

“I see the respect she gets not only from the Aboriginal community but also others who come to her for advice when they are working with the Aboriginal community,” Jacinta said.

In line with this year’s theme ‘More than a word. Reconciliation takes action.’ we asked the HealthShare NSW community what reconciliation means to them and how they are joining the journey to make a difference.

Check out our Sea of Hands video to see what our employees said and their ideas on how we can all work together at HealthShare NSW towards Reconciliation and Cultural Safety.

The contents of the video have been updated since original publication to safeguard cultural safety.

Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians. At the heart of this journey are the relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

HealthShare NSW’s Aboriginal Workforce Manager Lana Kelly and team member Jessica Smith say the sharing of knowledge and stories is crucial action which helps build these relationships.

“It’s about non-Indigenous and Indigenous people finding common ground together and the way we do that is through storytelling,” Lana said.

“To me it’s about shared learning. Aboriginal people telling the stories and non-Aboriginal people learning about our history and embracing it,” Jessica added.

Lana is a proud Gumbaynggirr woman and Jessica is a proud Wiradjuri woman.

Want to learn more about National Reconciliation Week?

Visit the Reconciliation Australia website.

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