OUR STORY
IN 2001, AT AUSTRALIA’S MOST NORTHERN POINT OF THE CAPE YORK PENINSULA, THE SEEDS OF WHAT WAS TO BECOME A MODEL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE WERE SEWN.
It was the turn of the millennium and local Aboriginal community members were frustrated.
They wanted a better future. For their families, their children, their people.
NEW BEGINNINGS
Among the feelings or powerlessness came a common strength, a motivation. The Aboriginal people of Cape York were mobilised. Determined to take back their own destiny. To be active participants and reap the benefits of the modern economy. For their future.
It was the catalyst for change, led by Hope Vale Indigenous leader Noel Pearson. The torch had been lit, and the light was shining the path ahead.
The light reverberated. From person to person. Town to town. From creek beds, to urban cities. Big business to government.
Aboriginal leaders were joined by some of Australia’s most influential corporate and philanthropic changemakers who would become Jawun’s founding partners.
People coming together.
It was the birth of what would become Jawun. A story that sparked a fundamental shift in the way people thought about a working with communities. A new approach, Indigenous-led empowerment – led by local people, for local people. Jawun works and connects in-place with people showing leadership and vision around a common empowerment agenda.
THE MEANING OF JAWUN
The story of Jawun echoes those that have been told in traditional cultures for thousands of years – when we lead the way, we follow the footsteps of those who come before us and pave the way for those to come.
Jawun means ‘friend’ or ‘family’ in the Kuku Yalanji language of Cape York. An honour bestowed on us in 2010 by Traditional Owner, Elder, and Keeper of the Kuku Yalanji language, Mr Harrigan:
When (the older people) say, ‘Who is this waybela (European) coming here?’ I say, ‘This is Jawun – friend and family. I talk to them, they come here and we all work together as a partner.’
Jawun acknowledges Mr Harrigan who passed away in 2016 and thank his family for allowing us to share his beautiful stories. Mr Harrigan was a dear friend to us, as well as a respected statesman in his community, a recognised cultural healer, and the owner of many beautiful and culturally important stories and songs.
THE JAWUN STORY ECHOES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
At Jawun, we become a friend of the people, the place and the community. Always working together. We facilitate Indigenous-led engagement through a long term, intergenerational agenda. To achieve the vision of local communities, we first need to really listen to the aspirations of its people.
Community driven empowerment does not naturally fit a four-year funding cycle. It’s organic and relies on a genuine partnership, built over time and on the foundations of trust, working together at the natural pace of the community.
Working with Indigenous leaders, organisations and communities, Jawun facilitates this long-term engagement, through partners with corporate, government and Indigenous australia, to achieve locally driven aspirations.
The strength of the Jawun model of engagement is in working together. The vision and aspiration is led by the community, matched with the skills and human capital necessary from corporate and government sectors.
It’s a connection that has seen more than 4000 corporate and government employees from banking, management consulting, resources, insurance and public sectors, live and work in Indigenous communities across the country, transferring skills and knowledge of success to accelerate community initiatives and enterprises.
And it’s deeply reciprocal.
Because at the heart of human behaviour and learning, is a desire to understand.
Understanding leads to respect, and a genuine relationship built on trust.
THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF THE JAWUN MODEL
The Jawun model consists of four key components. These components not only make Jawun effective in achieving progress for Indigenous communities, they also make it unique when compared to other development organisations around the world.
An emphasis on Indigenous-led organisations and initiatives
A local or ‘place-based’ focus
Partnerships across different sectors
Programs which utilise the unique skills of our partners
THE SECONDMENT PROGRAM
Several steps are involved in placing skilled secondees into Indigenous organisations:
Our Indigenous partner organisations outline their priorities and identify key projects requiring support.
We assist Indigenous organisations to plan how best to enable corporate or government secondees and skills required.
We then work with corporate and government partners to identify suitable secondees to match with the project.
Jawun manages the secondee’s induction into the region and provides ongoing support during their secondment (typically six weeks).
“JAWUN HAS A DECISIVE ROLE IN OUR WORK IN CAPE YORK. IT GAVE US PEOPLE FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR WHO HAVE HELPED US TO SEE BEYOND THE WELFARE HORIZONS THAT USED TO DOMINATE INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS WHEN OUR SOLE SOURCE OF INPUT WAS GOVERNMENT. THE COMBINATION OF KEY ORGANISATIONS, THEIR SUSTAINED COMMITMENT OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, THE COMMITMENT OF THEIR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE — THEIR PEOPLE — MAKES JAWUN A NEW MODEL FOR CORPORATE–COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AIMED AT TACKLING DISADVANTAGE.”
— Noel Pearson (2000), Founder and Director of Strategy, Cape York Partnership; Chairman, Good to Great Schools Australia; Jawun Patron.
CHANGEMAKERS
The success of the Jawun model in enabling Indigenous-led development agendas, and the rate of progress of those agendas themselves, is heavily dependent on the effectiveness of leaders.
Jawun supports Indigenous leadership development in three ways; in-place through the direct role played by secondees in supporting Indigenous leaders, by leveraging networks spanning other Indigenous regions as well as corporate and government sectors to enhance leaders’ connections, and through Jawun leadership programs.
These leadership programs include the Emerging Leaders program, the Leader in Residence program, Nation to Nation placements and Stories of Female Leadership network. The programs align to our Indigenous partners vision to strengthen a sustainable pipeline of Indigenous leadership in their communities.
SHARED VALUE
The end result of everything we do is to create real change to improve lives in Indigenous communities. We aim to promote financial independence, self-determination and self-reliance.
To do this, we support communities to develop and improve initiatives around:
Education and training
Employment
Economic and business development
Financial management
Accommodation and housing
Family income management
Building Indigenous organisational capability
