Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group Inc.

1. Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group Inc. Men’s Shed – Redfern NSW

2. History The term Babana means ‘brother’ in the Dharuk language. A common form of greeting among Aboriginal men, the term ‘brother’ also conveys a sense of the cooperative effort and community that underpins Babana Founded in Redfern in October 2006 (and incorporated in 2007) Babana brings together Men from all walks of life that are committed to supporting and empowering each other, their families and their community. Babana has been instrumental in running campaigns that help unite and affirm the positive values of traditional Aboriginal culture, focusing on healing together to create a safe and hopeful community Initially formed with a membership of 10 from Redfern community, but now covers the Greater Sydney Region and has membership of over 200 Men

3. Vision Babana’s vision is to be recognised nationally and internationally as a leader in achieving a difference for the Aboriginal communities within Sydney and Australia.

4. Purpose Babana’s purpose is to enrich Australia culturally and professionally, and to enhance the capacity of Aboriginal communities and individuals to engage in all aspects of Australian society, through: • Building on the membership of both Aboriginal and Non Aboriginal Members • Striving for excellence within the event management field • Creating a supportive environment that celebrates Aboriginal heritage, diversity and the achievement of social justice • Leading and contributing to community campaigns to assist the Aboriginal people

5. Goals • Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group becoming the Aboriginal Men’s Group of choice for males within the Greater Sydney who are interested in Aboriginal issues irrespective of their background; • ensuring that we have an environment that provides an outstanding experience, with exposure to experts within the community; • providing opportunities and perspective for members to contribute to the actions of the group; • setting an agenda that engages the community and has members who become leaders in Sydney, NSW and Beyond • enhancing the capacities, skills and knowledge of members to pursue opportunities within employment and volunteer roles.

6. Babana Shed Babana Shed is located in the heart of Redfern – one of the suburbs in the inner city of Sydney. 72 Renwick Street Redfern NSW 2016

7. Shed Overview Babana is not the typical shed Reasons: Small Premise Lack of trade skilled members No funding from Government Community Needs

8. How we differ from a “normal” shed Help connect men with their communities and mainstream society Work with the most disadvantaged Indigenous members Run “Cultural” Activities Provide a space to reconnect with other men Activity and Networking Based Shed approach

9. Understanding the Cultural Interface Babana works to provide an understanding of the cultural interface

10. Congested Knowledge Systems In this contested space between the two knowledge systems, the cultural interface (Nakata, 1998), things are not clearly black or white, Indigenous or Western. Programs and Events are targets so that the congested space can be navigated by Indigenous and Non Indigenous community

11. Ways we utilise the Cultural Interface Babana has an Indigenous Employment Program Health Programs Education and Cultural Programs Mentoring

12. Employment Arm Babana IEP Work with the most disadvantaged Indigenous members Links with Corportate Australia Links with All levels of government 95% Retention Rate

13. Health Arm Indigenous Health is one of the key areas that needs to be addressed: Weekly Health Events Quit Smoking Partnerships Contribution to the AMSA Spanner in Works booklet Strong connection with Aboriginal Health workers

14. Education Arm Only a small percentage of Indigenous students across the nation receive an ATAR to get into University. Babana works with our partners to: Increase awareness of programs Engage mature aged into employment Promote aspirational programs Conduct Cultural programs and Camps

15. Mentoring Arm Qualified Mentors Links to only Cert IV Indigenous mentoring training Utilising Elders in community Connecting with Indigenous and Non Indigenous organisations to offer assistance

16. Community Engagement Babana work in an active manner with many organisations (including Non Indigenous) to help address the gap between employment, education, housing and health. These include: Jawun – Seconde from KPMG and QBE Tribal Warrior Association Redfern Local Police Job Service Australia Providers Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs (UNSW) Redfern Foundation

17. Babana Shed in the Future Seeking larger premise Cultural Training Mentoring Training Art workshops Trades Element Increased connection with other Sheds

18. Questions ?