Work-integrated learning:
Reconciliation action plan
“If you think you are too small to
make a difference, you haven’t spent
the night with a mosquito.”
- Dalai Lama
During my final trimesters at Billy Blue,
one of my courses was Work Integrated Learning or WIL. This was a choice of internship or working as a group with a live brief for real clients and designing a real feasible solution to the brief that they can operate themselves. I chose group work. Our client was the Torrens reconciliation committee which consisted of members of senior staff and partners of Reconciliation Australia.
The million-dollar question we had to solve was to increase student engagement with the reconciliation movement. To do this we had to create a reconciliation action plan or RAP* that is respectful, inclusive, empowering, engaging, and doable.
How we went about it was our call, but it had to be something that could realistically be implemented into the Torrens student environment.
*(RAPs are tailored programs/ plans for organizations to follow and begin their journey of reconciliation towards the indigenous peoples of this land and its neighbors.)
Reconstructed Brief
How can we get students and staff to care and engage with the reconciliation movement to create positive social change?
Final Design Solution
Our group's final solution was a three-pronged attack of student engagement that came together to form the “Torrens Together” program, consisting of a RAP orientation video that introduces new and current students to the world of reconciliation, a Torrens community-wide art program, RAP information website, and art/ RAP info book, and finally, a complete Torrens merchandise overhaul that is made from selected student submitted art and is sold on the website from which the sales would be donated to indigenous endeavors around the nation. My contribution was the Torrens Together program that encapsulates all our ideas – including building and designing the website and book renders.
Visit the site for full experience
https://nathanielbarakat.wixsite.com/torrenstogether
Design challenges
Due to this being based on aboriginal culture and history, it needed to be done in the respective style. The problem is I'm not "allowed" in a cultural sense to just make that kind of art, copy it, or simply paste it in. Rash and cheap imitation was never going to fly and is against my morals so I was in a weird situation. My solution was emulation and modulation. Using the now widespread contemporary style I used design research and inspiration to produce respectful designs that showcase, highlight, and embolden our project's message of community. Such research included the use of indigenous symbology dictionaries and art forms to help create
an authentic and accurate style whilst being original in my own production.
(as seen on the website banner and book decorations)
This research was also implemented by my group to help with their own creations such as the student merchandise mockups and orientation video.
