Issue One:
Young Mums and Bubs
Young Mums and Bubs is a group delivered by long-standing Aboriginal grassroots organisation Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation, located in Emerton. This initiative was created as a response to the local Aboriginal community wanting to have further opportunities for young mothers and their children to connect, share knowledge, create, and learn with each other. The community-driven group has been running for 13 years, initially beginning as an arts and crafts group. The activities have since evolved and facilitators now consult with the mums on their priorities and desired directions for the group, such as educational sessions, guest speakers, recreational activities and skill development. Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation also employs a community support worker who provides support and advocacy for the mums that need extra assistance with connecting with other organisations and services. The program has created opportunities to empower the mums to build confidence and knowledge that can be passed on generationally, especially alongside the guidance of community Elders.
“The memories of the communities that we are members of, including our families, shape us as social beings and situate us in a particular sociocultural instance in history. Family stories convey the shared, ongoing narratives of family memory, persistent beyond any single member, that a family builds to create a sense of collective identity and connection across multiple generations.” – Jones & Ackerman, 2018
The Young Mums and Bubs group uses community based co-creation throughout its program planning, with the mums in the group providing feedback and ideas for the activities that are hosted. When the need arose for the group to pivot from an arts and crafts group towards other activities, the group began organising sessions such as a TAFE-run woodworking class, where they learned about different type of plants and where to source the wood from based on cultural knowledge. We can see in this approach that the program organisers seek ideas which are then actioned, out of a fundamental desire from participants for existing structures to change. This process is then repeated when required, which maintains ongoing engagement and participation in decision-making, and strengthens the bond created in the group (Leino & Puumala, 2021). By implementing a community based co-creation approach, Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation is able to create a program designed to engage participants and empower young mums to be more confident and learn new skills.
Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation delivers an intergenerational model within a culturally responsive context in the Young Mums and Bubs group. This can be seen in the way the group encourages the sharing of practical knowledge embedded in cultural wisdom which is first learned by the mums, to then be passed on to the next generation in time. This form of culturally responsive intergenerational practice is guided by the directors of Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation who are local Elders in the community. They help to nurture this generational connection and carrying forward of knowledge and practices, which promotes cultural resilience in the community. The group embodies a point explained by Jones and Ackerman (2018), in which family memory is a unique form of collective memory characterised by its connection through ongoing communication and interaction between children, parents and grandparents. Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation also works to maintain a culturally safe and respectful space for participants by having student interns meet with Elders and community support workers first, prior to entering the Young Mums and Bubs group. This is to protect the younger generations and ensure they are safe and respected.
Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation delivers other groups throughout the week. On Tuesdays it hosts an Elders gathering with over 30 Elders in attendance, and a homework club for years K-12 where they can choose to bring their homework in and have some afternoon tea. On Thursdays a Healing Circle comes together; the participants of this group have recently published a book called Fences and Walls, which talks about trauma and resilience, and which is available on the organisation’s website. And Fridays is a creative day open to the whole community, which activities including painting and weaving. Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation aims to hold an art exhibition with artworks from the last five years reflecting the “Baabaynian past, present and emerging”. Being guided by Elders who bring with them a wealth of cultural wisdom and knowledge, and connecting them with younger generations to support their learning and growth, is something that Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation has been able to achieve with much success, and it is especially apparent in the Young Mums and Bubs group.
Evidence in practice
Community based co-creation is foundational in community development, whereby professionals and residents work collectively to improve their community by embedding local voices and experiences in the design and implementation of programs, services, infrastructure and neighbourhoods (Vanleene & Verschuere, 2018). Community based co-creation creates an innovative space where community can vocalise what they need and shape the services that will affect them at all stages of development. This practice works best as a flexible process, to allow for significant changes to the programs if community feedback has indicated that this degree of change is needed (Leino & Puumala, 2021).
Intergenerational practice refers to the participation from different generations in activities that benefit everyone and maintain relations based on sharing (Buffel et al, 2014). When implementing this approach within a culturally responsive context, the generations involved are not only from the same community but often from the same family. In this context, cultural safety is paramount in the building of community capacity, resilience and protection when designing and delivering programs and services (Brascoupé &Waters, 2009).
References
Brascoupé, S. & Waters, C. (2009) Cultural Safety: Exploring the Applicability of the Concept of Cultural Safety to Aboriginal Health and Community Wellness. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 5(2). Available from https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijih/article/view/28981
Buffel, T., De Backer, F., Peeters, J., Phillipson, C., Reina, V. R., Kindekens, A., De Donder, L. & Lombaerts, K. (2014). Promoting sustainable communities through intergenerational practice. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 1785-1791. Available from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275543515_Promoting_Sustainable_Communities_Through_Intergenerational_Practice
Jones, J., & Ackerman, M. S. (2018). Co-constructing family memory: Understanding the intergenerational practices of passing on family stories. In Proceedings of the 2018 chi conference on human factors in computing systems, 1-13. Available from https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3173574.3173998
Leino, H. & Puumala, E. (2021) What can co-creation do for citizens? Applying co-creation for the promotion of participation in cities. EPC: Politics and Space, 39(4) 781-799. Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2399654420957337
Vanleene, D. & Verschuere, B. (2018) Co-Production in Community Development. Co-Production and Co-Creation. Chapter 15, 198-207. DOI: 10.4324/9781315204956-31
