MWLA is pleased to offer Connect, Design and Healing with Country services in partnership with Belanjee.
Michael recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Design With Country through the University of Newcastle which resulted in being guided and mentored by Liz Cameron of Belanjee. Liz and Michael have a mutual appreciation of the obligation of design practitioners shaping the built environment and the impact they can have on our First Nations peoples.
Over the course of Michael’s professional career, he has worked with numerous Indigenous Organisations, Communities, Elders and Knowledge Holders on a variety of project types and situations. Undertaking the course compelled him to reflect on past interactions and the influence his positionality may have had when working on these projects.
He believed he had shown respect, entered with an open mind and a willingness to accept different worldviews. Upon reflection, Michael acknowledges that he had fallen into the same old trap of a ‘One Way’ extraction; a need to collect sensitive cultural knowledge for the gain of a project outcome within a designated program time-frame and brief.
The partnership between MWLA and Belanjee is built upon a philosophy of;
- Adopting and promoting a de-colonised approach.
- More listening and less talking.
- Collaborating and not consulting.
- Building respectful, ongoing relationships and not ‘opting in and out’.
- Accepting different worldviews.
- Continued learning of Country.
- Eradicating preconceived biases.
- Advocating for greater Indigenous representation in the design, planning and management of the built environment and landscape.
If anyone wants to have a conversation about our experiences or what we might be able to offer to a project or team, feel free to reach out.
We are looking forward to meeting and collaborating with people that share common interests in advocating for Improved Recognition, Acknowledgment and benefits for our First Nations Peoples through greater representation and influence in the design and decision-making process.