From the Ground Up: Working with Communities in the South-West

This project, From the Ground Up: Working with Communities in the South-West, will be undertaken over three years from January 2008 until December 2010. It will involve Kulunga working in partnership with Alcoa to implement a range of targeted activities to build capacity amongst Alcoa staff and the Aboriginal communities in the Peel and South-West regions of Western Australia.
 
The project complements and supports Alcoa’s social investment strategy, internationally and within Australia, which regards people as their most valuable asset, is committed to equal opportunity for women and places a particular focus on improving the lives of Indigenous people (Alcoa in Australia).
 
The project also addresses Alcoa’s ‘Safe & Healthy Children and Families’ Portfolio in the following ways:
  • developing the capacity of all children, young people, individuals and families through their engagement in existing and new community based initiatives;
  • developing capacity in communities by acknowledging and promoting Indigenous cultural strengths.
  • encouraging/supporting Alcoa staff to participate in cross-cultural trainingwhich will enhance their competence in promoting greater Indigenousparticipation in local community activities designed to promote safety andhealth outcomes through their active involvement and mentorship;
Additionally, the very title of this new partnership seeks to describe its essence, drawing on the analogy of Alcoa’s ground mining operations, appropriate community building that is strengthened when it is community-initiated rather than top-down, and the focus of the south-west where many towns end with “up” and are named after Noongar words referring to their place of being.
 
For further information on this project, please contact:

 
Last updated 14 August 2009