CAIRNS Hockey and local MP Warren Entsch have welcomed news that a new program aimed at boosting young indigenous women’s participation in sport will receive funding through the Federal Government’s Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS).
Murray Bain, General Manager of Cairns Hockey, said the organisation will receive support for a pilot of the Aspire to be Deadly Community Partnership Program.
“We are over the moon with the news,” Mr Bain said today. “We’ve had so much interest from indigenous communities wanting to take part, now we can get our Stage 1 program underway.”
Aspire to be Deadly aims to give women and young girls opportunities to complete and advance their education, to create real pathways for training and employment and to be visible so they themselves become role models for other indigenous women and young girls.
“It’s also about involving them in interactive training and workshops, so they learn how to better communicate key messages relating to health, safety and well-being in support of community participation sports programs,” Mr Bain said.
In the long-term, Cairns Hockey aims to run the program in more than 40 indigenous communities in Far North and Far North West Queensland, reaching 40,000 participants over three years. It is also seeking to build training facilities and residential opportunities specifically for indigenous young women, supporting training, education, employment and capacity outcomes.
Mr Entsch said Aspire to be Deadly will use Mentor Support Programs to ensure the engagement and success of the young women involved in the program.
“I’m very supportive of mentor-based learning as it helps create a relationship between the two individuals, making use of the knowledge and wisdom of a more experienced person to support and develop another,” he said.
“This relationship builds a greater level of commitment and engagement and – at the end of the day – success, and that’s exactly what we want from our new Indigenous Advancement Strategy.”
Mr Entsch has had a long involvement with Cairns Hockey – he is a Patron of the RIHP North Queensland Rubies indigenous women’s hockey team and provided a Letter of Support for Cairns Hockey in its application for IAS funding.
“Cairns Hockey has had a long-standing policy where it works to support community benefit programs and drive initiatives that can produce positive social outcomes across the whole community,” Mr Entsch said.
“I’m very pleased that they’ve been successful in this bid and I’ll continue to work with them on gaining further funding as the program is rolled out in our region.”
