“While I had some success in philanthropy early on, I understood quite rapidly that that was since of the distance I had to Melbourne, to advantage and to brightness — these things that so lotsof [other] First Nations individuals wear’t have gainaccessto to,” states Rona Glynn-McDonald, a Kaytetye lady and starting CEO of Common Ground, an online not-for-profit organisation that magnifies and shares Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and stories. At 27 years old, Glynn-McDonald is likewise an acclaimed filmmaker, artist and activist.
Although numerous of Common Ground’s early funders came from networks Glynn-McDonald had established at university in Melbourne, when she attempted to extend those networks to individuals from her hometown in Alice Springs, it was challenging. “I came to comprehend that philanthropy is a really colonial system. It’s all about relationships and power. And the method that non- Indigenous folk offer is based off their visions of effect rather than our neighborhood’s vision of effect.”
Seeing the big spike in contributions that Common Ground and other First Nations neighborhood areas gotten throughout the Black Lives Matter motion was a turning point. Glynn-McDonald began to concern how philanthropy might be revamped to muchbetter consistof and empower First Nations individuals.
“We had a substantial increase that came in through our contributions page, a contributions page that seldom gets individuals rearranging wealth — well, back then it didn’t,” states Glynn-McDonald. However, the kindness was short-term. “After a week, it simply totally dried up.”
It made Glynn-McDonald concern where donors were now directing those funds rather. “Where was that cash going? Who identified where it was going? Why did it stop? And what chances were there to checkout continuous systems?”
It was these concerns that influenced Glynn-McDonald to co-create First Nation Futures. It’s a financing platform that makesitpossiblefor anybody, whether company or private, to be able to co-invest and rearrange a part of their wealth back to First Nations individuals and jobs, through the organisation’s communitydriven partners.
But no matter which service endeavors she champs, at the heart of every function Glynn-McDonald takes on is the enthusiasm to produce future systems that assistance and centre First Nations individuals, understanding and cultures.
A bull at a gate
Glynn-McDonald keepsinmind being figuredout and “hyper-focused” as a kid. At 8 years old when she was growing up in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), she was conserving for an home and composing a “10-year-goals strategy”. “Mum constantly explained me as ‘a bull at a gate,’” she states, laughing. “I was constantly attempting to relocation faster than my body might keep up with often.”
Raised in a household of filmmakers, Glynn-McDonald constantly comprehended the worth of great storytelling. Her paternal granny was the co-founder of the main Australian Aboriginal Media Association, the veryfirst Aboriginal media organisation in Australia.
“I grew up in a household of writers, particularly filmmakers, states Glynn-McDonald. “And from a young age, I saw the power of electroniccameras, lenses and stories, to shine a mirror up to Australia and develop area for our neighborhoods to inform our stories in our own methods as a kind of sensation and a kind of resistance.”
Finding Common Ground
While studying organization and economics at university, Glynn-McDonald finished a long-lasting internship at Central Land Council in Alice Springs, which enabled her to evenmore link with the regional Indigenous neighborhood and provided her insight into how policy worked.
She went on to be the Director of First Nations at YLab, a social business that brings young individuals with varied lived experiences and partners together to co-design services in the health, work, and education systems. It was a function where she established abilities like assistance, issue resolving, interaction, all things which she feels haveactually been vital in making her a success today.
In 2016, Glynn-McDonald began establishing the concept for Common Ground. “I saw the requirement to develop more areas for First Nations neighborhoods to inform our stories,” she states. “And to be resourced to inform stories on our own terms.”
Common Ground formally introduced in 2018, beginning little with a collection of composed content, the organisation quickly grew, working with a variety of partners, partners and neighborhoods to record cultural stories in brand-new methods, broadening to mediums consistingof audio, movie and images.
One task that Glynn-McDonald is especially proud of is The Creators Circle. Each year, Common Ground assistance a group of 8 First Nations writers and developers over 12 months, running professional workshops and paying for them to develop and share stories through the platform.
“Having an specific [creator] state, ‘Before this program, I didn’t see myself as a writer, however now I feel it, and embody it totally,’ is such effective feedback,” states Glynn-McDonald, showing on the program. “What we’re attempting to do with this work is that we desire all First Nations individuals to feel strong in themselves, strong in their culture, and strong in their stories. Storytelling is a system for that.”
In 2019, Glynn-McDonald likewise got The Diana Award for her work with Common Ground in producing and sustaining favorable modification for Australia, and in the exactsame year she was called one of the Women of the Future by The Australian Women’s Weekly.
First Nations Bedtime Stories
Common Ground is focused on producing modification in the education and legal systems, producing resources for schools, running projects and support advocacy work. One of their education-based programs that Glynn-McDonald believes is especially impactful is their First Nations Bedtime Stories. This yearly job maps 5 dreaming stories from various contexts and neighborhoods to the school curriculum each year.
“The stateofmind shift that’s takingplace in class of main school and early knowing areas is so effective,” states Glynn-McDonald. “[The program] has about 100,000 trainees throughout Australia that take part in it each year.
“We hand over power and resources to a regional director and manufacturer to record stories from their own neighborhood. Then they get broadcast throughout Australia to schools. We supply instructor resources so they can bring these stories into class in a method that’s safe and totally directed by the framing that the owners of the story desire to be centred in the class.”
Tapping into class so that kids can discover about First Nations’ culture from an early age might assistance shape the understanding and understanding for the next generation. According to Common Ground, 91 per cent of Australians feel the relationship inbetween non-indigenous and First Nations individuals is essential, however just 34 per cent think they have a high level of understanding about First Nations cultures.
The First Nations Bedtime Stories are not simply for studen