Hi Gang,

I'm going to hold an event after school as part of a consultation with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and I'm trying to find good strengths based activities that are fun but also get the information I need.

We are going to ask- "what makes this community stronger for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families?" and ask around health, education, safety etc.

We are trying to get feedback from parents as well as children.

Any ideas appreciated!

Tammi

updated by @tammi-ocallaghan: 10/24/16 06:19:00PM

You might try this: Prior to meeting, ask people to take photos, or draw pictures of good things in the community - things that they like about where they live.Use those images to prompt small group conversations about how those good things might be connected in an effort to create something new. You may be surprised by some of the pictures. You may get a sense that the things that young people value are perhaps different than the things identified by older folks.

Thanks John! I will give it a go

Hi Tammi!

How did it go?

So our little event evolved after me being away for a while.... so its only just happened. Hence delayed response

BUT we ended up doing it as a school holiday event- and it was very much a family fun day type thing. We used the idea of asking people to draw or take photos of good things in the community- we asked before the event but didn't have much uptake so ran it as an activity on the day. THAT was gorgeous. Most of the kids identified their homes, but also cultural connection, and being proud of their culture. So thanks John!! Those images will prompt the conversation as we become more connected to these families and they are more connected to us.

We asked parents to write on our windows with liquid chalk what they wantfor their kids and them selves- again the response was culture and connection- and for their voices to be heard.

As I was asking one of the kids about their community- she said "what's community?" so that became one of the questions. (I've attached a photo)

And all of this was surrounded by community members sharing their culture, with Didgeridoo, weaving, ochre crushing, art works, and other stuff!

Altogether pretty lovely really so thanks! Hopefully we can grow and connect with these families more from here!