Student Number: 39856956
Government Initiatives
Government
Initiatives
Government structures such as the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) have strategies in place to support and encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in sport as well encouraging the Australian population to become more involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sport.
Australian Sport Commission (ASC)
The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has created a variety of initiatives in an effort to create positive and ongoing change in an effort to improve equality between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians. It also supports national sporting organisations which helps these organisations to continue providing and delivering sports and development programs and to help improve the inclusivity for sport opportunities for specific groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Share A Yarn (ASC)
Promoting Reconciliation in Australian Sport
Share a yarn is an initiative which aims to promote reconciliation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athletes by giving Australian elite athletes the opportunity to engage with and create relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communitites, allowing the athletes to learn about First Nations cultures, lands, and history from these communities. It allows for these athletes to utilise their platforms to share and advocate what them have learnt within their own sporting community and with the wider Australian community. The athletes and communities communicate within a collaborative, respectful and honest environment which allows them to build trust and continue to have a safe place to learn, listen and take accountability.
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This initiative also includes the creation of the Share a Yarn Map. It displays the facilities which has enabled the Share a Yarn initiative and is used as a resource to enable learning and respect for traditional owners on which the system operates and the athletes train. This initiative is an opportunity to use the power of sport to promote reconciliation.
Yulunga Traditional Indigenous Games
Promoting Education of Aboriginal Sport
​The Yulunga cards, which in the language of the Kamilaroi ( people of northern-western New South Wales means playing, were created by Ken Edwards and recognised and supported by the ASC. Yulunga is a sport activity resource of over 100 traditional First Nations games.
This resource was created for the use of primary age children, however is also a great, inclusive resource. It gives the wider Australian population the opportunity to learn about and experience Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sport and culture. By using the Yulunga cards in schools around Australia, children from a young age are able to have exposure to an aspect of First Nations culture and is an important way to greatly increase awareness and educate specifically Australia's youth population.
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Prior to the Yulunga cards being created, not a lot was known about traditional First Nations games. Ken spent around a decade researching traditional games across the country, with many of the games being specific to states, territories and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities documenting his findings and condensing this research into the Yulunga research which we know today.
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Connection to Country Action Plan
The ASC's connection to Country Action Plan involves the hope that in implementing Australia's High Performance 2032+ Sport Strategy , the Australian Sport System will begin to encompass and purposefully include and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as well as their cultures, traditions, and communities. The system also creates culturally safe environments for First Nations Peoples by promoting and implementing reconciliation and self-determination which facilitates a place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to enjoy and utilise their opportunities with sport within Australia, aiding them to achievements in athletic excellence at all levels.
National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA)
The National Indigenous Australians Agency is a government agency established in 2019. It works to improve conditions, enable self-determination and aspirations of many aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and community's lives. The agency does this by influencing and asking for change in government in regards to ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a voice when talking about decisions that affect them.
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A key area which the NIAA focuses on is health and wellbeing, working towards the goal of closing the gap in health between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians where sport is one of factors which contributes towards improving their physical and mental health.
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The NIAA has also provided grants to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sporting foundations, initiatives, and structures such as granting the John Moriarty Foundation $5.5 million in funding to continue supporting First Nations children in playing football. The NIAA and ASC in an agreement, together granted $4.7 million towards AFL Northern Territory, with a particular focus on sport outcomes of women and girls as well as youth engagement across the Northern Territory.