Webinar: Centering children when supporting Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander families | AIFS
May 21 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are overrepresented in nearly all statutory services including child protection, out-of-home care and the youth justice system.
Join us in the lead up to National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June) for this important discussion, held in partnership with Emerging Minds, on how to better centre children’s experiences, concerns and aspirations for their future.
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2025 is Bridging Now to Next. The theme reflects the connection between past, present and future and calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead and continue the push forward, guided by past lessons.
This webinar will highlight the need to challenge the assumption of Western expertise that has dominated Australia’s colonial history and that has been imposed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities, and the importance of valuing and respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have a right for their voice to be heard in matters that affect them, and may want to be involved in decisions relating to them. By centering the perspectives and experiences of children, we can provide a place for children to feel seen, heard and understood, and help reinforce their cultural, social or personal identity. By practicing deep listening we can have more meaningful conversations and build deeper relationships with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families we work with.
