At the end of 2012, Arup’s Lucy Keatinge participated in the Engineers Without Borders 16-day Study Tour of the Murray Darling Basin, which included visiting Traditional Owners and developing communities where participants learnt about community development, appropriate technology and humanitarian engineering.
The tour followed the Darling and Murray Rivers, beginning in Brisbane and ended in Melbourne, the tour included over 5,000km saw the 11 participants pass through at least 12 traditional owners lands, visit six communities on country and three engineering sites.
The Murray Darling Basin study tour provides participants with an opportunity to learn about Aboriginal culture and history first-hand from Traditional Owners, and apply this to their personal and professional lives through a reconciliation plan.
Building Understanding
Lucy Keatinge: “We focused on building understanding of the First Australians culture, their everyday reality and integration into our western society. A huge variety of topics were explored through discussion including:
- The central importance of being on country and the multiple spiritual and ancestral connections to the land,
- Small business operational environments in remote and rural areas,
- The limited opportunities faced due to remoteness and limited educational opportunity,
- The best way to assist in building long term sustainability for their communities, programs that will embed skills and learning, continuing to be of use long after the consultants have gone,
- the long term effect of dislocation of families who were forcibly removed onto Reserves and Missions, and the influence that has today on existing Indigenous communities,
- the positive effect of empowerment and doing for themselves,
- the need for mutual respect and appreciation of the oldest continuous culture on the planet.
Long term effects of the project for participants will include building a better understanding of the environment in which most Indigenous communities operate and their preferred method of learning.
“The experience has already changed the approach I am using in our current project work with Indigenous communities. The ability to bring these experiences to others and build understanding of the differences and similarities of both the culture and people. The importance of accepting that the Indigenous culture is contemporary and applicable today to the Western approach. The best method for embedding real change is a two way exchange of information and learning.” Said Lucy.
A Broad Range of Benefits
The positive impact of this project can be felt by the communities themselves, our project partners and also Arup as a firm.
For the communities, the ability to create links with EWB members enables them to further expand the circle of influence to create a positive reception for Indigenous culture in our contemporary Australian society.
For our project partners, connections to Arup and involvement through other channels enables further understanding about the structures of NSW Aboriginal Land Councils.
For Arup as a firm, we are continuing to learn from our experiences, rather than imposing our own culture, to respect the land and resources, as well as our place in the built and natural environment, and to appreciate that this culture is over 10,000 years old and just as relevant today. “Our efforts need to focus on both the output and the re-useability of materials, in the cradle to cradle approach.”
“Everyone can play a part, I encourage everyone to talk to your Indigenous neighbours, colleagues and friends. Ask about their story – everyone has a story, usually of dispossession and destruction in our recent colonial history. Seek out businesses and events, support these by attending shows, buying gifts, and engaging in economic participation.”
