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Impediments in the Path of Reconciliation - On the Fringe of Curriculum: Mark Rose 

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in last thirty five years we have seen many iconic statements
in the pursuit of recognition and social justice. From the optimism of the 1967 vote, Whitlam’s handful of sand,
Keating’s Redfern oration, the rise and fall of ATSIC to real and practical reconciliation
are all juxtaposed to the reality of third world living conditions for many
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Despite thousands of hours of cross cultural training delivered and received some real
impediments sit in the path of reconciliation. Political correctness has muffled the conversation
that this country surely needs to close the gap left by successive education systems
that has relegated the world’s oldest living culture to the fringe of curriculum.

This presentation will explore the ‘cultural knowledge gap’ in this country and will look towards unlikely models
that may hold the answers that will take this country far beyond reconciliation to national maturity