The NSW Reconciliation Council launched its Strategic Plan 2003-2006 at the Guringai Festival in Sydney on May 26 2003.

Acknowledging the significance of launching the Plan on Sorry Day, Council Chairperson, Lynette Riley Mundine reminded guests that reconciliation had always been about social justice and there was no greater social justice issue than reparations for the Stolen Generation.

The Strategic Plan outlined a four year program to build capacity in the reconciliation movement. The plan focused on four key areas; developing the people’s movement; leadership; communication; cultural renewal and economic development.

New initiatives to meet these policy objectives include: A new small grants program for local reconciliation groups worth $40 000 per year, to assist local groups with reconciliation programs in their communities; IT training for Aboriginal people in small regional centres to give participants basic IT skills they can use to access further education and training opportunities online; new education resources for reconciliation including a recently completed Information Kit on Aboriginal Affairs; and $40 000 over four years for one NSW community to run a local history project that has a reconciliation outcome.

“These projects allow us to do more than just talk the talk of reconciliation” said Ms Riley Mundine. “It means we can put our money where our mouths are, we can support the work of local reconciliation groups at the grassroots and we can deliver some quality programs to Aboriginal people in communities across this state.”

The NSW Reconciliation Council will begin to roll out its new reconciliation initiatives in July 2003.

For more information on the Strategic Plan go to www.nswrecon.com