Communio Calling
Communio Calling
Prophetic Voices 2024
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Prophetic Voices, our student voices forum returned in 2024. Host Gabrielle Sinclair is in conversation with some of GSE students reflecting on their experiences and unpack their final statements. This year the students investigated the topics:
- Integral Ecology: In a Culture of Consumerism
- Towards a Future of Non-Violence: Domestic and Family Violence
- Reconciliation: Beyond the ‘No’ Vote
Students were guided by the topic experts: Jacqui Remond from Australian Catholic University, Alice Dunlop from Naturally Connected, Erin and Nardine from the Good Samaritan Inn, and Nina Ross from Reconciliation Australia.
You can find more information on Prophetic Voices and the final student statements on our website: https://goodsameducation.org.au/prophetic-voices/
Welcome to Good Samaritan Education's podcast, Communio Calling. My name's Gabrielle Sinclair and I'll be your host. The Prophetic Voices Program for 2024 again provided a platform for students to proactively engage and wrestle with their ideas on topics that that were passionate about and wanted to find their way of impacting on that particular topic or idea in their community. Today I'm going to bring to you three conversations because we talked about three different topics this year. Topics that the students chose to take and learn more about, talk to experts, and then refine their own ideas. You're going to hear the statements. We're going to have a conversation with a few of the students that were particularly involved with each statement. You're going to hear about their process and their journey in the program. The three topic areas that the students chose this year were integral ecology in a culture of consumerism towards a future of non-violence, domestic and family violence, and reconciliation beyond the no-vote.
SPEAKER_02My name is Ellen and I'm from Lewis Hill College in Brisbane. And I think I chose the ecology group because I, like Grace said, I too have a passion for the environment and I was really interested to hear about the different ways I could make a difference as a young person.
SPEAKER_06All right. Thank you. Well, what we might do first before we get started into talking a bit about the statements, I'd really love to hear about your memories of prophetic voices and the time that you had together with the other students. What do you remember and what did you learn about yourselves in working with the teams and coming up with the statements themselves?
SPEAKER_02I think that, like for me, like the highlight was hearing about all the things that the different schools were implementing and so that and bringing that back here and teaching everyone else about those sorts of things. And I think it taught us a lot of skills in communication, like share our opinions respectfully and acknowledge what other people think as well.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, I also think that when we worked on the statements as a group, it was definitely interesting to see the different perspectives that were brought up and the different attitudes towards the one topic. And it was really amazing to kind of broaden our own ideas of what our thinking is of this topic and kind of stray away from just the ordinary and original ideas that come across.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I really had hoped that prophetic voices would give you that opportunity to, you know, you get to hear from the experts, which will stretch your own understanding, but then as a community together, you're then get to stretch each other in a new way and new perspectives of understanding what that is for you in your own context and how you guys can actually make a difference in where you are helping your communities through that journey as well. Well, let's dig into a bit about that topic. So integral ecology in a culture of consumerism. Have you come to understand not just sustainability, but rather an integral ecology as we're kind of making this shift in our understanding of what advocacy looks like?
SPEAKER_02I think that I view integral ecology as like a more holistic approach to doing things than just sustainability, because I think it takes like the factors of like social and economic factors and how people and creation is affected by environmental issues into consideration as well, not just like the depletion of resources that kind of focused on with sustainability.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, it's hard to balance and uphold the modern world and our technological advances and to be able to uphold our society as it's evolving, but also go back to the bare bones of environmental safety. And to be able to have integral ecology is to be able to have these ideas in our lives, in our everyday situations, and to be able to make it applicable and to be able to make it approachable for everyday.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's an important distinction too that we're still grappling with because sustainability has become so part of how we talk about the environment in particular. But when we look at integral ecology, it actually takes in all of the relationships in every part of our lives and how that affects from the whole of creation. So it's a really important distinction. Before we continue talking about the statement, let's listen to it so you can refresh your memories about what were the things that you really talked about and heard from each other during that time.
SPEAKER_00We, as Good Samaritan education students, want to acknowledge and take action towards sustainability and striving for integral ecology. We cannot survive in this culture of consumerism, in which individuals are unaware of the differences between their needs and wants as they desire to keep up with the trends of the media, thereby increasing demand, resulting in excessive waste production.
SPEAKER_12By actively making a conscious effort, we can become aware of the consequences of our consumer patterns. On a local level, this is done through initiatives such as return and earn, second-hand stores, and waste-free lunches.
SPEAKER_01As stewards of the earth, it is our responsibility to preserve our planet in a way that allows the needs of our future generations to be met. In doing so, we practice the value of selflessness and engage in conscious decision making, helping us to protect God's gifts and the lives of our neighbors. Following the teachings of LaDato C, we understand it is our responsibility to take ownership for our action within our GSE school communities.
SPEAKER_06Wow, there you have that. Wise words from you guys. What are the things that you hear afresh today that kind of strikes you afresh?
SPEAKER_02I think when it said we cannot survive in this culture of consumerism, in using like the word we cannot survive, that kind of communicates how serious it is and that we can't keep going about doing the things we're doing right now and like there needs to be change, or the consequences are going to be able to be reversed.
SPEAKER_06It's our survival that's all of creation. What about you?
SPEAKER_12The emphasis on that it's our responsibility really places its importance in not only in my life, but also in society around us. God has given us this role, God has given us this responsibility to uphold, and it is our duty to do this. And it's not something that we sweep under the rug because it is God-given, and we have to place emphasis and importance on its recovery. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Well, how do you think the culture of consumerism is impacting young people in your school? And what are the steps with your peers to help them distinguish between needs and wants? How can you see that as a practical way forward?
SPEAKER_02I think that in going to an all-girls school with lots of teenage girls who feel a lot of pressure to conform and fit in, it can be very easy to get caught up in a cycle of always like needing the latest trending things and then get caught up in that culture of consumerism. Actually, at the moment, I'm doing my English IA2 on fast fashion, focusing specifically on sheen. And as I'm researching, I'm finding all of these facts and statistics about the mistreatment and exploitation of workers. I think if those messages were communicated more broadly, then people's consumer patterns might be shifted a bit. And also, actually, when we were in Sydney at the Prophetic Voices Conference, I think we heard from some of the schools in Sydney that they're running programs where they do book swaps and clothing swaps. And I think that would be something I'd like to implement here.
SPEAKER_12Thanks. Well, good luck with your project. Me personally and for us as a school, we do have those initiatives. So we hold a secondhand store where girls can bring in clothes. And I think that is so important. And that's really a good way to not only bring our school community together, but to also acknowledge that this is what we should be doing. We should be going to these secondhand stores and to be able to have gratitude in each individual piece that we have and to be able to place importance on the things that we do need instead of having a multitude of things that, like you said, are for devices to conform and to know that we don't need to have this to be accepted into our society.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06It's a lifelong journey about these pressures because you know, advertising works really. And we do get into unconscious cycles of purchasing because we're just following a trend, as you say. And yeah, it's up to all of us to become more conscious rather than unconscious in our purchasing and our awareness of how we're engaging in the economic cycles that are being put in front of us. So reducing waste is one of the pieces in the puzzle of getting a better handle on our accountability in regard to the resources we use. How do you see some of those local initiatives that are talked about in the statement, like return and earn programs and waste-free lunches, as helping to change attitudes in your communities?
SPEAKER_02At Lewis, we run a service group called Spark, which stands for Students Protecting and Restoring Creation. And as the name would suggest, it's devoted entirely to caring for and advocating for the environment. And as part of that, this year we've implemented containers for change 10 sentence, which I think is the same as return and earn in Victoria and some else. And that's like extended outside of the service group as well, so it's like school-wide. So I think that helps. And I think when there's a small financial reward, the waste is no longer being seen as disposable, but as a resource that can be recycled and reused. And I think that does a lot for advocating for its informal.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, I also agree with kind of a broader view on how we can become advocates in our society through return and earn, it's really important to raise knowledge and communal advocacy because we're all in this together, and we're only going to be able to come to a realization of how we can improve our world together. And so these are so important not only in our school communities, not only even in our families, or even in a community such as a city or a country, it is important to be in this together and to have communal initiatives that helps raise advocacy and awareness around it.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, absolutely. Is there anything in particular that was a personal turning point for you in building up your awareness or opening up your awareness for your personal role and the choices that you make as part of advocacy that you create in your own personal journey?
SPEAKER_12I think for me, very recently, a couple of weeks ago, I was able to go onto the Philippines immersion through the GSC immersion system. And to be able to see how they live with such limited resources and how they survive only on what they need and how happy they are and grateful they are with those resources is absolutely life-changing. And to also to be able to see the waste and a life without waste that we don't see is really confronting. I'm sure if many people went to the situations that they live in in almost complete rubbish and how happy they are is quite incredible and very life-changing to be able to see that. So that was definitely a turning point for me to open my eyes and my mind and how to think more intentionally about what I implement into this world and how I make my dent.
SPEAKER_06That's great to hear. Because yeah, we throw things in the bin and they get taken away by the rubbish and we don't see what happens to them elsewhere. And so if we get sanitized to the way our resources end up, we become less accountable in that. So you're seeing them in different communities and different environments where they don't have this sanitization option. So they have to be more resourceful in how they use the things that are available to them. Thanks, Grace. Great to hear about your immersion story too. How about you?
SPEAKER_02I think for me, over the course of the Prophetic Voices program, listening to the guest speakers and then in Sydney as well, kind of realizing that environmental problems don't just impact the planet, but also the well-being of the people living on it and how the things we are doing are impacting more vulnerable communities. I think that's probably the turning point for me.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's all very well for us to do our little bit, but when we don't see the impact or when we start understanding more clearly the impact, that if we don't do something, those communities that are at the forefront of vulnerability certainly makes us sit up a bit and pay a bit more attention. I wonder if you can imagine for a moment that everything you brought into your home, everything that you personally purchased and your family, from a loaf of bread to a chocolate bar to new sneakers, a toothbrush, a mobile phone, that you had researched ethical companies so that you knew where your resources were going, and knowing how those procedures and how they were looking after the earth, and then knowing that they were looking after the people that work for them, and you opt to buy local and what the impact that might have on our footprint and knowing the end plan for everything that we use. When we bring something into a house, what where is it going to end up? And if we had that idea in our brains every time that we kind of committed to using a resource, what the world would look like. Can you share what that might look like for you? And do you think it's possible to commit to that kind of consciousness in our everyday?
SPEAKER_12I think for right now it would be extremely difficult to be able to pursue, but realistically, that would be incredible. And to be able to know consciously that you're making a right decision for our world would be amazing. But for right now, is it that realistic? Is it that probable? Is it that approachable? And not sure if we have those resources and that security in those choices yet. However, to be able to come to that conclusion would be absolutely just incredible.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I agree with that. And I think that's definitely the goal, but I see how like it can be difficult to get there because obviously it is more expensive to purchase more sustainable items and everything. You look up on the internet, um, like a purple skirt or something, you'll get hundreds of options from Sheen. And it's like it's all right there at our fingertips. But I think if you weigh up the intangible cost with cheapness of it all, I think you'll see that the livelihood of our environment is probably more important, and that's why we need to take in consideration.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I think that's why we talk about reduce recycle. So reduce comes first, and I think learning to reduce and starting small of what we're purchasing that gives us the opportunity to perhaps save for the more expensive item that we understand or know or have researched their ethical standards and just buying natural products more than um things that are made of plastic and all of those sort of things. But yeah, starting small and sharing with your friends. There's lots of apps out there to help you research and know which brands to avoid and which ones to support. So there's opportunities for a daily impact, even with your own economic circle as teenagers at the moment, as well as the impact you can have in sharing that with friends and family and your peers. So well, thank you so much for sharing some of your story and some of the journey that you've been on with Prophetic Voices. It's wonderful to hear how it's continuing in your different communities at the schools and how it's something that not just this statement that's been made and created, but it's an ongoing thing that we're all a part of.
SPEAKER_02Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_14I'm Misha from Mount St. Benedict's College. We're here in Pennant Hills, and I chose to be in the writing group on the topic of nonviolence because I think it's a very important subject that needs to be discussed and a subject that everyone should be educated on and learn facts about. And I think everyone should be part of the conversation discussing gender-based violence, non-violence. And I think everyone should be part of this topic because it's so important that everyone knows what goes on in like violence-based households or anything like that. Again, it's just really important to be knowledged on the subject and to discuss with your peers how you can work for a culture towards non-violence.
SPEAKER_10I'm Gloria from Saints Scholasticas. I think I was drawn to joining the Culture of Nonviolence group because of just like listening to Nadine and Erin. I think it was such a great opportunity because, like, personally, I hadn't had much experience learning about those kinds of things other than in PDHPE when we just have like statistics in a workbook and being able to just listen to them who have like so much experience in stories of the people that they work with. And I just felt like that was such a good learning opportunity that I had never had before. And I was just really interested, and I wanted to be able to make a statement with the rest of the other girls to just be able to connect more girls towards this topic because I feel like it's such an important topic for people to be aware of, especially because of our age and because of our gender. But I really liked in our statement, we were trying to include people that aren't usually included in that topic. So, like usually males. So we were really interested in widening the conversation. And I just found that really interesting.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, so for our listeners, we had the experts, I guess, who were talking to the students on this topic was Erin and Nardine from Good Samaritan Inn in Melbourne. And they could bring a different lens for students to hear some experiences of those escaping domestic violence and the work that they do with them. So it really brought for those that had not necessarily in their own life experience had any peers or friends or even family that have had to see this up close, that they had the opportunity to hear through story a bit about what that looks like on a more realistic, not the statistics, but actually stories, people and the humans that are actually involved. So what we might do, we might have a listen to the statement that you guys created, to what you guys came up with after hearing and talking about this subject.
SPEAKER_11Believed, valued, notice. One in three Australians between 18 and 19 have experienced a high prevalence of intimate partner violence in the previous year. But this doesn't have to be our future. We as a community strive to reduce the statistic. We aim to do so by challenging the gender stereotypes involving all genders and their perceived responsibility towards a culture of nonviolence.
SPEAKER_14Active listening around the topic of nonviolence emphasizes the importance of leading with an open mind, making sure everyone is able to show compassion, feel valued, and supported, using empathy, understanding, and trust. We encourage new perspectives into the conversation through education. This aims to create an environment where everyone has a voice.
SPEAKER_10Personally, it was empathy. I think something that really stood out in the sort of workshop that we had with Nadine and Erin was like them talking to us about the differences of empathy and sympathy. And I thought that was very interesting because I had understood the differences, but I hadn't really applied it to my life and sort of looked at the ways where maybe I had been sympathetic but not empathetic towards someone, and I didn't actually help that person by being sympathetic. So being able to recognize that and sort of take on that, that's something that I should try to work on is building empathy, which doesn't really exclude the person or makes them feel like totally outside of what I know, but actually putting myself in their shoes and trying to understand them. I think that was really informative for me.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's our own self-awareness that grows when we learn more about these things. Thanks. Uh Misha, what about you?
SPEAKER_14Yeah, and like adding on that with the whole empathy thing, it like reminded me of how we talked about education, like as a whole, like educating peers or people just on the subject around that culture, like the perceived culture and people's perceived responsibilities around it, and really educating people on how it's not one's responsibility or anything like that to just stop. But together working as a community, you can like strive to put an end to it and lower the statistic. And adding on to that, it's like keeping an open mind. So you're learning, you're being educated, you're striving as a community, and keeping an open mind during that whole process is what really stands out to me because having an open mind makes you open up to uh wanting to learn, wanting to actually strive to uh put an end to violence. So it's just around that culture.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and I guess the use of the title in the statement of non-violence is actually taking a shift. So it's not actually the focus on the violence while that needs to be dealt with and that needs to be an awareness-raising thing, but it's actually an attitude of nonviolence that we need to really bring people's awareness to and what that looks like. So in the statement, you use the term active listening. How might you use or help your peers use active listening to engage with others to discuss these issues openly and honestly to promote a culture of nonviolence?
SPEAKER_14Yeah, so with active listening, it just really promotes people wanting to share their experiences, like learning about nonviolence. And so nonviolence as a whole is what we're trying to put out, the idea of that. And so the whole culture is like wanting to share with other people. Active listening is wanting to actually hear about it and hear how you can make a change. So it's about wanting to make a change, wanting to be able to share experiences and overall, like again, keeping an open mind with your active listening. So it's all about wanting a change, wanting to learn more, wanting to create a different experience for people that will inevitably make nonviolence a whole thing as a subject, like make it more impactful.
SPEAKER_06And the idea of listening, sometimes we think of it as a passive thing. And when you look at the word non-violence, we think passivity. But this idea of active listening, it's not just sitting back and removing yourself, it's actually engaging in a more depth with greater depth rather, and to expand yourself so that you can then move into the space that's respecting all of the parties as well. Gloria, what are your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER_10Yeah, adding on to that, I was just thinking like listening with a purpose and just being present in listening. And I remember I had a conversation with my friends, and we were talking about how sometimes when we speak to each other or like complain about our problems, we get solutions. But sometimes like people aren't just looking for solutions, they're just looking for someone to actually sit down and understand them and to listen without judgment or interruption. And I think that's something that's very important. And again, like reflecting on myself, I feel like I can definitely like put that into my own active listening to actually be present and instead of just focusing on solving the problem or about what I would do, actually putting myself in their shoes and hearing their story.
SPEAKER_06Sometimes we listen to respond rather than listen to take in really being present as part of that, too, about hearing people's stories. And I think the raising of awareness, actually, we need to create space for story. We need to create space for people to feel safe to tell story too, because so many that are in situations where they don't feel safe, so many barriers are in their way to feeling like there's an opportunity for them to break a cycle that they're in. So listening and providing safe spaces for listening is really important. And that can be in our everyday experiences with our peers that kind of reflects on everything that we do. So when talking with your peers, what are the gender stereotypes that keep coming up that you see as part of the challenge in this context to provide, you know, to help shift that focus that we kind of get stuck in that will help promote a culture of nonviolence? How do we flip some of those gender stereotypes that keep becoming roadblocks for us?
SPEAKER_14So, like gender stereotypes that we kind of see in, say, like, for example, partner violence is like the man, like or even the woman having like a role of power over the other partner. And so promoting nonviolence is kind of making sure in a relationship, not one person holds power and you're equally respecting and putting values, spreading values to your partner. You're both equal, you both deserve respect and not like commanding being like in a place of authority with someone that you're intimate with. So that's kind of what you're promoting, being equal in those sorts of aspects. And another gender stereotype we see is that the pressure put upon one person. They're like, oh, like you have made it come to this. You have made me want to be violent towards you. And so again, like promoting nonviolence is having that culture of communication, respect, again, putting yourself in other people's shoes so that something like that doesn't happen. So you're communicating, you're listening to other people's active listening, like other people's needs, wants, like what you want in partners. And so that will put an end to partner violence in many aspects, just by doing all of that and like stopping the stereotypes.
SPEAKER_06And there's two parts to that, right? There's a the proactive and understanding your own wants and needs before you're even in a relationship, but then recognizing it and having the courage to help potentially someone else recognize it if they see the signs that someone that's close to you may be experiencing some of those cycles that they're not yet even aware of.
SPEAKER_10And I was thinking about the gender stereotypes that we mentioned in our statement that comes with education of domestic violence and family violence, because we definitely had a very good discussion about how girls' schools or like girls are the ones getting educated about domestic violence, family violence, which is important in order to prevent that, but that only goes so far. And it's actually males that also need an equal education and understanding of what violence is to actually be able to try and reduce and prevent violence happening. So I just thought that was so interesting because I go to all girls' school and all the girls here are very educated about domestic violence and they're very passionate about it. But I definitely hear stories of that sort of lacking in schools that are like single sex with just boys. They don't actually get the same education, which I think is very important if we want to go towards a culture of non-violence.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's definitely a whole society issue. It's not stuck in one gender, that's for sure, or any gender. And there's multiple issues that happen, particularly with diversity of gender, uh, people that are targeted even more heavily than the dualistic genders. One of the things I wanted to chat to you about, what are the hopes you see? So I'm hearing you talk about the what you're hearing in your schools, the conversation obviously that we've been able to have prophetic voices across schools, but what are your hopes and what are the hopes that do you see amongst your peers that might help us along this path to unpacking this and actually bringing about a culture that might sow the seeds of non-violence?
SPEAKER_14Yeah, so goals, for example, speaking on what Gloria was saying in the last little chat, we actually, like our school had a person, Brent Sanders, I believe, come in and talk to us about what violence is described as, what kinds of violence there are, especially in sexual violence. And he told us that he did a talk at a boys' school and they were really shocked to figure out exactly what counts as sexual violence, like all the different aspects of it. Like it's not just this big thing. There are little things that actually are violent towards women or any other people. And so what she said really made me like think about how people of all genders need to be more educated on it. And a goal that I'm seeing all recently is people actually wanting to talk about it and understand it and putting it into practice. Like some of my mates who go to co-ed or boys' schools, they're like receiving talks, they're understanding. And sometimes I'll bring it up in conversation with them just to know where they are or what they think about it. And I find that I'm seeing more knowledge on their side and more understanding of what needs to be done, or they're also talking to their friends, like that's not okay, or this isn't right. So, like the goal that I'm seeing or striving towards is just education put into place, putting it into practice in an environment of schools, especially around teenagers. So the putting that into practice is what the goal is for around like all genders, especially for the stereotypical aspects of it.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, thanks. That's about the choices we make, right? About brands that are promoting and things that aren't promoting the culture that we want to see built up. And it's almost really choosing how we spend our money to making sure that the brands that we give our money to also have the same values that we want to have espoused and built up. Glory, did you want to add something?
SPEAKER_10Yeah, I think exactly what Misha said. I think like having a goal of trying to just bring in more casual conversation among pairs, like people our age, and just being able to talk to friends, especially those from other schools, and sort of getting an idea of what do they know, like what discussions are being had over there, being able to just destigmatize these sort of conversations. They don't even have to be very heavy, because I know that sometimes this conversation can be very heavy, but just things like promoting consent in everyday ways, it can also just be asking for a hug and you have to ask for consent for that kind of thing. Just promoting different ways of respect and sharing those ways through conversations with people our age is a way of aiming towards nonviolence.
SPEAKER_06Well, it sounds very hopeful to me that those conversations are happening amongst yourselves and your peers. And I guess reflecting and talking about the challenges that our culture is facing for family and domestic violence is the first step in changing a culture to create a safer and more supportive community for all of us to live and thrive in. So thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. We'll step out of the statement for a minute and I'd like you to just think back to your time at Prophetic Voices. What are the memories that keep coming back to you in terms of being able to share things that are really valuable or issues that are really valuable across the schools that you really enjoyed or remember as part of Prophetic Voices program?
SPEAKER_10I really enjoyed the fact that it was a three-day retreat. I think it was just such a great way to get out of the busy school life. And I loved meeting everyone because everyone had very similar values and a passion for social justice. And I thought that was just so great. Like as soon as we entered, everyone was so friendly and we could tell that everyone sort of had the same goals and they really wanted to be here, and that just helped the conversation go so much easier. Like I remember when we were making our statements, everyone was so passionate and just bouncing off each other. So being able to meet like-minded people, even though we come from different backgrounds and many different schools, but having that passion for social justice, it was very enjoyable.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, I kind of just was really the passion aspect of it. Everyone just wanted to be there. Everybody wanted to share their own opinions. And I feel like the prophetic voices retreat speakers, like Erin and Nadine, especially, who we were with, they just created a safe place for us to share our opinions. They bounced more off of it, they shared more knowledge, they let us share our own aspects of it. And hearing everybody's individual opinions is what really made it so important because everybody's individual opinions is like the real world. That's how we're actually going to fix the problem with everyone's experiences and people's lives. Hearing about everyone and what they do, what they've learned, and Erin and Adine's actual experiences with working with people. It just was really important to me that everybody got to share. Everybody was willing and happy to be there. And everyone kind of knew what they were talking about. And if they didn't, they asked questions and everything. So I just really liked the environment there and how everyone was so open sharing with each other.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Oh, well, I am very glad that you were part of the Prophetic Voices experience for this year and that you got to be curious and you got to learn and hear other people's voices and then become your own voice as part of the statements for this year. So thank you very much for being part of it.
SPEAKER_10Thank you for having us.
SPEAKER_06Well, welcome to Communio Calling. It's our podcast for Good Samaritan Education, and this year we are talking to some of our students from Prophetic Voices and hearing a bit about their experience. But before we get really stuck into that, I'd like to introduce yourselves, where you're from and maybe what country you're on today.
SPEAKER_13I'm Felicity McIntyre. I'm from St. Mary's and I'm on Darowal Country today. Hi, my name is Sophia Ferrara.
SPEAKER_15I'm from Rosebank, and I'm pretty sure we're on Wangul Land.
SPEAKER_09My name is Matthew. I'm also from Rosebank and I am on Wangul Country.
SPEAKER_06Great. Well, thank you. Well, one of the things I wanted to really talk to you about today is why did you choose this particular writing group? So there was a couple of topics to choose from, but you guys chose reconciliation beyond the no vote. So why? What inspired you to kind of dig deep into this one?
SPEAKER_09I chose it because on the day when we were having all the presentations, I felt most informed about this one. And when she was speaking about her experiences and the way she lives it each and every day, it kind of made it more personal on a deeper level. And I just felt I can be more engaged with this topic.
SPEAKER_15How about you girls? I agree with Matthew. The speaker was very good. Her personal stories really brought it to a different level. And I guess it's something that I've always been aware of, especially in the media in the last year. It was everywhere, and even in classrooms. I know in history we were learning about like the civil rights movement, and it kind of links in well with that, and that's when it kind of was brought to my attention. And I think it's something that hits so close to home because it's our like First Nations people. I thought it was really important and hearing her voice really inspired me and was intrigued to find out more. Right.
SPEAKER_13When I was listening to Nina speak, I realized how little I knew about the problem, and I felt like I needed to engage with it more so that I could more readily act upon it in my own community.
SPEAKER_06Really, that's a great thing to do and a brave thing to do, just know how important something is and you want to dig in. I guess as we're looking back on that gathering in July, what are the things from the whole Prophetic Voices experience that you've kind of reflected back on or that really challenged you during that time?
SPEAKER_13Something that challenged me was during Nina's talk, she said some very personal anecdotes that were really thought-provoking. How after the no vote came out, she was very heavily impacted in her own community and she felt unwelcome among her own friends because statistically speaking, many of her neighbors and friends had voted no.
SPEAKER_07Yeah.
SPEAKER_15I agree with that. Also, the story about her son like going to school and face racism. Many people think Australia is not a racist country and that we've moved beyond what's happened from the stolen generation. But it just shows that even our generation today still has a lot of, I guess, even unlearning to do. Need to start thinking a different way and see a new perspective to things.
SPEAKER_06Thanks, Sophia. Yeah, that unlearning is an important one, I think.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, something that I really engage with myself was when she was telling us like our call to action, when she was teaching us about what a rap was, it was pretty much the first time we actually heard about it. And as soon as we were done with that talk, we I think that night when we had like free time before dead, we sat together in the gathering room and we were like, Does our school have this? We asked our teacher if we actually do have one, and then as soon as we got back to school, we asked our teachers if we do, and they said we do, and we wanted to make sure that there was a student voice, and we want to know if there's some student involvement within this rap.
SPEAKER_06Well, I'm gonna talk to you a bit more about that in a minute, but I thought we might just listen to the statement that you guys came up with, so then we can like dig into it to view the ideas that you guys put forward.
SPEAKER_04The journey of reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians requires us to use the knowledge of our heads, the ear of our hearts, and the work of our hands.
SPEAKER_03It is an ongoing process of learning that works towards a just community, going beyond acknowledgement and taking active steps towards repairing the historical wounds of Indigenous peoples.
SPEAKER_05It is a celebration of culture and a partnership underpinned by the founding and strengthening of relationships between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australia. As good Samaritan education students, we employ our heart to change Australia's national culture into an inclusive one. By embedding education and correct terminology into schooling from a young age, we can create mutual connection and belonging as a community with hope for the future.
SPEAKER_08Our aim is to use our hands, holding schools accountable in the pathway of education by implementing reconciliation action plans in all schools shaped in the Good Samaritan Standard Tradition.
SPEAKER_04We aim to open conversations within school communities to address the discomfort of Australia's past. Reconciliation action plans create an equitable and welcoming learning environment for Aboriginal Australians, celebrating the richness of First Nations culture, traditions, and our shared history.
SPEAKER_13When Nina was talking to our group about how we can implement reconciliation action plans, how we can better connect with the Aboriginal community of Australia, she was talking about how we need to use our head to think about ways that we can improve and use our heart to connect with the community and use our hands to act on what we think.
SPEAKER_06Very powerful. It's also very benedictine, like using the whole of you. It's not separating anything, but using that kind of whole idea of all of us, our mind, our body, our spirit connecting to everything of who we are, because that's that indigenous way of thinking that we need to take on board more is very similar to the that Benedictine view as well.
SPEAKER_15Did you guys want to add a bit more? I was just gonna like reiterate, it's all interconnected. If we start thinking differently, then we can act differently and connect with people differently and actually make an impact.
SPEAKER_09Also, it shows us how we can take steps forward in really connecting and reconciling with the indigenous people through everything that we do in our daily lives, in our actions, in our words, in our thoughts, throughout our school life, throughout families. It shows us how we can really use that terminology to reconcile our thoughts like the true ways.
SPEAKER_13It's a very critical way of thinking because you're not only using your head, but you're using your heart, taking it the furthest step to act on those thoughts. Because there are so many things um that we think are the way to deal with um reconciliation in Australia, but um when we think more deeply about it, there are better things that we can do, which Nina Russ was talking about.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Well, let's talk about action. You guys are inspired to really advocate for reconciliation action plans after hearing more about them. So I'm keen to hear about those discussions afterwards in your schools and what do you discover about where they're up to in their rap journeys?
SPEAKER_09So as soon as we found out about the raps, as I was saying, we really quickly got onto it and we spoke to our teacher and we asked, Do we actually have a reconciliation action plan set at Rosebank? And she said yes. And we asked her, Is there a teacher committee and is there like a student and family committee? And she said, It's actually just starting up at our school. We met with our other leaders. Sophia and I and we spoke to them about creating a student body to help out with these reconciliation action plans, and we would really like to see when we can get updates and how finding new ways to really implement this rap at our school.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, sounds great.
SPEAKER_15I also know at our school, other than raps, we have like there's a teacher on staff who actually for National Reconciliation Week, she's an art teacher and she shared her culture through art and she did like different printmakings, and it was an opportunity for I think it was year eight to actually learn about Indigenous art and like actually got to do it, like actually practice it and from a First Nations perspective as well, which I think little activities like that going around the school is another way of moving towards reconciliation.
unknownThanks.
SPEAKER_15Lucidity, did you want to add something?
SPEAKER_13I did not know that our school had a rap until we went to Prophetic Voices and learned about it from Nina Ross. So I think the awareness of it is very important because I had no idea that there was a system for that at our school. But after talking to my teachers, I learned that there's a staff committee that helps with the rap. And we also have an Indigenous Ally and Allies Club at our school that works with that committee to help make decisions and learn about Indigenous culture. They've implemented things in our schools, such as like smoking ceremonies, which we've had a few of this year, which is a really important way to connect to our country that we're on. Also, they produce artworks alongside some of the elders in our community that are hung up around the school. That's great.
SPEAKER_06And there's lots of different layers to it and levels. So some people might be just starting out and each of them have a period of time where you kind of put your wish list together, your aspirations together, and you check them off and integrate things into the community to which you belong. And then after 12 months, it gets renewed and replanned and reshaped. It's an ongoing process. It's not kind of, oh yeah, we've done that, tick the box, but it's about trying to embed and it's a pathway, it's a journey that people are on. So it's yeah, it's exciting to hear what your schools are up to. Now you mentioned in the statement that we need to get better at embedding our understanding of different terminologies from a young age. How do you envisage that this approach will influence future generations if they understand language and how to use different names better?
SPEAKER_13Nina talked about using not um shortening the term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to ATSI or the acronym because it's very diminishing. She also shared the anecdote of her son who experienced being called slurs at school and how that really shapes the welcoming nature of environments and how minority groups such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can feel very isolated if they're not being talked to in the correct way. Those people can feel unwelcome at places such as schools, which is obviously a cycle because school and education is such an important thing in the development of children. And if they're not feeling welcome at school, then they're not going to want to attend and they're not going to value it. So it's a real cycle.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. One of the wonderful things that's we've noticed at Good Samaritan Education across all of the schools is that there's not necessarily been a big change in population as such, but they're obviously becoming safer places because more students are now identifying that they have Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander heritage. I mean, that's a really good sign that, you know, the people haven't changed, but the space and the environments changed so that they feel more comfortable to kind of identify themselves. Now, one of the things I remember Anina saying is that if you don't know what someone wants to be called, there are different terms, indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, and what someone would like to be referred to, there's no correct answer unless you ask them yourself. And so not to be shy about that actually engaging and honoring the person by saying, How would you like to be referred to? Anyone want to comment on that?
SPEAKER_09We do know that at our school, the abbreviation of the ATSI community, that was the way that we actually said it, like how we abbreviated it. It was quite present in our syllabus. So we made sure that at Social Justice Day, we have Social Justice Day at our school where we learn all about it. And it was brought up that we have to make sure that we're not abbreviating it or shortening the word Aboriginal. So they also informed us on what to do on if we have to approach someone and what we're gonna say. So it's always good to ask them how do they want to be recognized and how do they want to be approached as a person from that particular community, which not label but like what how do you recognize yourself? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Does anyone else want to add anything? Having heard the statement again, something that triggered a memory or something in terms of, oh, that's right, and perhaps a discussion about how you got to that particular element of the statement.
SPEAKER_15I think that the change in language, to me, it's so common sensical. Like you ask someone what their name is, why don't you ask them what they'd like to be called in regards to their like ethnicity and stuff like that? I think that it should be common practice, and that since it's not common practice now, we need to push more than ever for it to be common practice. It doesn't make sense why it's not, to be honest.
SPEAKER_06I know you're right though, Sophia. But you know how sometimes we shorten names without asking permission, and sometimes and people have to say, actually, I don't like being called that. So it's tricky. We're human beings and we don't always get it right. But it's having that vulnerability and humility to say, actually, what would you prefer?
SPEAKER_13A big focus in our discussion group was also the fact that reconciliation isn't just a problem for indigenous peoples, it's a problem for everybody because it's our whole community and it impacts everybody. It's an ongoing process, Nina said, of unlearning, learning and relearning. So some things that we've learned in the past are actually not how the indigenous people want to be represented or actually not facts. So sometimes we need to unlearn them and learn new information that is correct and represents them in the way that they want to be represented.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. I think it's really important. I'm trying to learn, and and I think it's important to learn about the community in which you particularly live to connecting with the local. I think as you were saying, it's not just a one community issue. It's actually about being in relationship and reconciliation doesn't happen with one side. It's about that relationship that's ongoing. Well, thank you guys so much. It's so great to hear how, in your own spheres of influence, that you are contributing to a broader cultural shift along the path of reconciliation and the commitment that you're making in your communities and beyond. So thank you for sharing a little part of your prophetic voices experience and journey. There is this wonderful quote from Joan Chittister that really helps frame our idea of prophetic voices. Prophets are those who take life as it is and expand it. They refuse to shrink to a vision of tomorrow, to the boundaries of yesterday. And I think this year with our theme of holy audacity, that really rang true. We gave them input on lots of different things. We had experts that shared the story with them and journeyed with them. And I think you'll agree the statements they came up with are quite amazing. Inspired by the voices of the students in your ears today. May you continue in your day as you expand the table of hospitality to those you meet so that you may go and do likewise.
