Change Maker Local Research Project

Aboriginal communities have been standing up for change ever since invasion. Not all change makers have highly public profiles. There are examples of people working for change on a local level in every community. There are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in your local community working every day towards change.
 
We are asking students to consider Aboriginal change makers in their local area. This is an activity that we hope supports your class to connect to your local Aboriginal community while also considering work being done by communities that may not have been recognised by students previously.
 
The local research task encourages students to use their inquiry skills to consider contemporary First Nations change makers in their local community. If you are following the Challenge Guide you will find a worksheet to support the task within the guide. But don’t stop there. Your research can take any form that your class chooses. We would love to see the stories you find - share your students’ findings with #LocalProject.
 
You may already have connections with your community whose story your class could consider. It is a great opportunity to invite a local Aboriginal person in to have a yarn and share their work. But if this isn’t possible, here are some other ways to find information about local change makers.

Check local papers and publications – they often publish articles about work being done by local people.

First Nations media sources such as Koori Mail, National Indigenous times and IndigenousX feature stories about Aboriginal people from all over the country.

Newsletters, social media posts or other publications from local First Nations organisations often highlight initiatives and people driving the work they are doing.

You may like to take a group research approach or ask students to do individual research. Try to identify people who are as local as possible but if you can’t find a change maker in your local community, you might want to look more broadly at your region or your state.
 
Encourage your class to consider a broad group of people so that they can appreciate that change happens in many ways and all efforts are important. Consider Elders, community workers, people serving on boards and running local initiatives. Look at teachers, first responders, parents who are volunteering in schools and playgroups, and local rangers – the possibilities are endless!