On November 23rd-25th, Pathways & Partnerships Manager Mikaela Ford flew to Mparntwe (Alice Springs) for CONVERGE 2022 hosted by First Nations Media Australia (FNMA) and ICTV.
The conference featured many inspiring and insightful panels and an array of extraordinary speakers. Over 180 delegates from First Nations Media traveled from near and far to connect and reconnect, sharing knowledge and truths.
The theme was MEETING TOGETHER >> MOVING IN ONE DIRECTION (APURTE IRRETYE-KE IKWERRE ANYENTE-LE)
The conference started with an incredible welcome to country from Arrente elders, hosted at the Olive Pink Botanical Gardens.
CMTO was invited to present a showcase on the First Nations Take It On Project, the partnership project in collaboration with FNMA and for the first time since the project’s start 2 years ago, participants were able to meet in person for a long overdue yarn.
The session featured current and former participants in the project and was presented by Mikaela as the project coordinator.
In attendance at the showcase/meet up was:
- Tabatha Saunders- Project Co-coordinator
- Kirstyn Lindsay- Project Co-coordinator
- Ange Parrish- Former mentee, current mentor
- Rohanna Angus- Former mentee
- Tessa Bobir- Current mentee
- Sophia Mann- Former mentee, current mentor
As part of this year’s program we had the privilege of seeing people who were former participants of the First Nations TAKE IT ON program, assume the role of mentor.
Glenys Opum, station manager at Noongar Radio, was originally a participant of First Nations TAKE IT ON in 2021. She has now joined the program as a mentor to pass on her knowledge of leadership skills. Here’s what she had to say about the program:
“This program is a great way to strengthen our connections with other first nations people and learn from each other. The team who’ve organised the program have been awesome in making sure all participants are welcomed and supported, I’m very excited to see the outcomes of this year’s program and the journey ahead”
CMTO is looking forward to delivering another round of First Nations Take It On in 2023!
First Nations TAKE IT ON Leadership Mentoring is a 10 week mentoring project for First Nations peoples in the community media sector who want to advance their leadership and management skills. If you are interested in being involved in the next round, email [email protected]