By Eleanor Wilson
Indigenous students and community members gathered at Berwick College’s Wominjeka Centre on Wednesday for a collaborative conversation about Aboriginal self-determination in the Victorian Education system.
Initiated by the Victorian Department of Education and Training, Campfire Conversation invited Koorie students and community members to discuss changes in the education system to increase agency and success for Indigenous community members.
Throughout the conversation, Indigenous students from the college discussed ways they can be better supported in the school community, and how Indigenous culture and history can be amplified in Victorian curriculum.
Former student and Indigenous woman Ashlee Hyde said she would like to help future generations of Koorie students be “proud to be Indigenous.”
“It means I can help determine what the younger generations are going to be doing and how they’re learning and what they’re going to learn in schools,” she said.
“The more that [Indigenous students] learn, the more they can teach and the more that we can all come together.”
Berwick College Assistant Principal Alison Birkett said implementing further Indigenous education into the school would not only benefit Koorie students in their education journey, but the entire community as a whole.
“For me it’s not just about the 20 Indigenous students we have at the school, we need to be teaching Indigenous culture and creating that sense of inclusion and respect and reconciliation for all students,” she said.
“Because the non-indigenous students at the school are also going to be in government, and policymakers and teachers etcetera, so they need to be just as aware of the issues that Aboriginal people are facing.”
Campfire Conversation is part of a Department of Education and Training reform, with key points from conversations at Victorian schools fed back to the Department to contribute to change in the space.
