ABORIGINAL CULTURAL AWARENESS TRAINING
Culturally Safe • Supportive • Engaging • Inclusive
WINGARU BUTABUTA
Thinking Together
Wingaru is a Darug word meaning ‘to think’ and Butabuta a Dunghutti word meaning ‘together’.
Wingaru Butabuta is a cultural awareness training program designed to support organisations seeking to improve their cultural capacity through a shared understanding and sensitivity to the issues Aboriginal People experience, both today and in the past.Cultural awareness training seeks to recognise, appreciate, understand and accept cultural differences in the workplace. It is designed to strengthen organisations, their teams and the services they offer.
Benefits of Cultural Awareness Training
Shared understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and the issues they face.
Increased cultural sensitivity among staff.
The fostering of improved communications internally and externally.
An increased capacity to work better and more efficiently with others.
Better servicing of Aboriginal clients and customers.
Improved workplace culture and relationships.
Our Services
Our experienced team offers the following services:
Cultural Awareness Training
Consultation on culturally appropriate education resources
Creation of culturally appropriate educational content
The creation of culturally inclusive programs for your organisation
Reconciliation Action Plan development
Onsite consultation for schools, early childhood organisations and out-of-school-hours care providers
Mentoring and coaching
Flexible training that can be delivered online or face-to-face
Our Mob: Meet Our Facilitators
The Wingaru ButaButa program was developed by experienced educators Tricia Wallace and Cynthia Younie. Between them, Tricia and Cynthia have been delivering cultural awareness training for almost three decades.
Patricia Wallace née Webb
Patricia Wallace is a Darug woman who grew up in the Blue Mountains of NSW. Having spent her childhood playing in ‘The Gully’, a place of seminal importance to local Aboriginal people, and being taught stories and culture by her father and aunts, Tricia has always had a strong connection to her culture.Tricia’s mother passed on a love of education to her daughter. She encouraged Tricia to become as educated as possible and to use her education to share culture and knowledge, because it is only through sharing knowledge that we can educate each other.Tricia has over 30 years of experience delivering services and programs to Aboriginal communities, and over 15 years’ experience delivering cultural awareness training to both government and non-government organisations. Tricia’s qualifications include Bachelor of Education majoring in Aboriginal Studies; Diploma in Community Servicing; Diploma in Aboriginal Mentoring, and Certificate III in Workplace Training and Assessment.
Cynthia O’Brien-Younie
Cynthia O’Brien-Younie is a Dunghutti woman from the Mid North Coast of NSW. Cynthia is one of 12 children and grew up in a large family, which fostered a deep pride in both her culture and identity.Cynthia is passionate about sharing her culture and knowledge to support the development of a shared understanding among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. She believes that through education comes understanding and through understanding comes acceptance.Cynthia has over 38 years of experience across the private and public service supporting Aboriginal People and working with government to improve services for Indigenous communities. Cynthia is a qualified facilitator with over 13 years’ experience delivering cultural awareness training to both government and non-government organisations.Cynthia’s qualifications include: Diploma in Aboriginal Mentoring; Diploma Aboriginal and Community Services; Certificate in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Competence; and Certificate III in Workplace Training and Assessment.
What Participants Say about our training…
“The Wingaru cultural awareness training was very informative and eye-opening. It was also more in-depth than previous training we received.”
Kelly – Tempe OOSH
“Wonderful training. It was thought provoking, encouraged questions, and will impact positively in the corporation.”
Jacqui – Slalom Australia
“I would definitely recommend this training to others. I think every company in Australia should have this awareness.”