Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework

The Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework will inform how RA can incorporate the views of local Aboriginal people into its work to reduce the impact of future disasters, and to support preparing for and recovery from disasters in the Northern Rivers.

The Northern Rivers Connecting with Country framework will guide the way RA works with Aboriginal people living across Bundjalung, Yaegl and northern parts of Gumbaynggirr lands, understands community priorities and works toward joint, mutually beneficial outcomes.

Jagun Alliance Aboriginal Corporation (JA) has been appointed to run the collaborative process to develop the Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework.

The Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework will focus on key concepts:

• Country: Understanding what is Country
• Culture: Understanding and valuing culture
• Community: Embedding First Nations voices across RA’s project lifecycles.

Discussions with local Aboriginal community will explore these concepts at a local scale, providing guidance, tips, and protocols on how to apply principles into project decision making.

The adoption of the Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework will support RA’s work on-Country and in Aboriginal communities to be guided and informed by the cultural knowledge, diversity, traditions, beliefs and needs of local Aboriginal people.

Engagement stages

The Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework will be developed in two stages.

• Stage 1 – JA is working with Aboriginal cultural advisors, board members, their leadership teams and community facilitators through a series of gatherings to develop a draft Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework.
• Stage 2 – JA is hosting community engagement activities to review and refine the draft Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework, including its key concepts, commitments, and actions.

Feedback from the second stage of engagement will be adopted into the draft Northern Rivers Connecting with Country Framework and provided to RA for final review.