CHILDREN from across Brisbane have created a sea of hands in support of reconciliation and building a greater understanding of Indigenous cultures.
Scores of youngsters from Catholic Early EdCare kindergartens and care centres contributed their handprints with hopeful messages and cultural questions as part of an art instillation in the grounds of St Stephen’s Cathedral.
The art project was created especially for National Reconciliation Week that runs until June 3 with the theme of “Be Brave. Make Change.”
“The business of reconciliation is about shared histories and truth telling,” Catholic Early EdCare general manager of Program and Practice, Kirsten Holland said.
“We asked all the children and all the educators and all of our services to put their hand up and make a commitment to knowing more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and knowing more about the communities in which they live.”
To create the colourful art project Ms Holland said hundreds of conversations had taken place over the last few weeks.
“We have been sitting around tables, sitting together and yarning together,” she said.
“Children have written on these hands what they wanted to know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories and traditions.”
Ms Holland said many of the questions asked by children related to understanding more about Indigenous practices – food, dance, music and art.
There are also statements about wanting Australia to be equal for all children.
“We know that under the Closing the Gap targets the measures for Aboriginal children have not been met in Australia,” she said.
“We haven’t really done a great job of that.”
Ms Holland said National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
“The culture of change happens with our youngest children – that’s what we know from road safety campaigns, and we know that with the ‘slip, slop, slap’ [campaign to prevent skin cancer].”
Catholic Early EdCare is the early education provider of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. It provides 130 services and caters for more than 30,000 youngsters.
