Gan na program – Aboriginal Cultural Awareness

The St Vincent de Paul Society is proud to present our new cultural awareness program – the Ga na program. An initiative of the 2018-2020 Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), this This three-part eLearning experience is designed for Members, Volunteers, and employees.

Gan na is Bundjalung for ‘deep thinking, hearing, feeling, and understanding’.

The program begins with different world views, providing an in-depth understanding of the history of Australia’s First Peoples. You will learn about traditional ways of life and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ relationship to Lands and Water through spiritual and kinship connections.

The journey continues in the second module, examining the deep impacts of colonisation on traditional lifestyles and the surrounding lands, and the subsequent fight for recognition, respect, and self-determination by First Nations peoples.

The series concludes with a third module titled ‘Walking Together’ which explores ways in which Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and communities can come together to work cooperatively towards reconciliation.

This training is voluntary and self-paced, and is a great way to gain a better understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures,

The Gan na program is one of the actions that came out of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2019-2021 and we look forward to sharing more actions with you from our new RAP for 2021-2023 soon.

You can access this learning opportunity here. If you have difficulties logging on, please contact learning@vinnies.org.au