Dreamtime Expo - Marrung

A group of our First Nations students were invited to attend the KGI Dreamtime Expo. An annual youth leadership and cultural gathering, hosted by the Korin Gamadji Institute and the Richmond Football Club. The exclusive event was held at the M.C.G., which, for some of our students, was the first time they had ever been to the G, especially in the ‘fancy upstairs’ rooms!

The event goes beyond football, showcasing the strength, leadership and excellence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across sport, community, culture, education, media and the arts, and our students contributed to the activities and events throughout the day with respect and once again strengthened our connections with KGI, who commented numerous times on their courage and attitude.

Throughout the day, students chatted and participated in activities around shame, resilience and times where they may not be standing in their power. There was an excellent activity called Shield and Spear- the message here was really powerful, so I have included it as food for thought when working with these amazing young people- can we recognise when their shield is up? And how do we continue to create culturally safe and supportive spaces for them to lower it? Sheilds look different for everyone.

‘We all carry a shield and spear to protect ourselves from shame, judgement, fear or getting hurt, and we stay quiet. We hide parts of ourselves; we avoid taking chances, seeing who we really are. The ‘shield’ protects us- but it can also stop the world from seeing who we really are. Leadership begins when we lower the shield, back ourselves and let people see our storm, culture, strengths and voice.’

DREAM BIG- you’re not the next generation, you’re THIS generation.