Community Bridging Services (CBS) Inc. Launches Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan

Community Bridging Services (CBS) Inc. were proud to officially launch our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), with endorsement by Reconciliation SA, at a staff meeting last week.

Despite the recent referendums result, CBS Inc. remain committed to inclusion and giving a voice to people in the community. Our RAP will weave into the CBS Inc. culture and values as we treat everyone with respect and make improvements where needed.

The CBS Inc. Reconciliation Working Group, named “Kulini” (meaning “listen” in Pitjantjatjara language) meets every 6 weeks to create the Reflect RAP and begin working through its actions. The group is championed by Executive Management and with representatives from staff and clients identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

The Reconciliation Action Plan Framework involves 4 RAP types – Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. As CBS Inc. are just beginning our official reconciliation journey, we start with the Reflect RAP. As put by Reconciliation Australia, “Committing to a Reflect RAP means scoping and developing relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, deciding on your vision for reconciliation and exploring your sphere of influence.” This RAP runs for 12 months and once all steps have been satisfactorily completed with review from Reconciliation Australia, CBS Inc. moves on to the Innovate RAP.

CBS Inc. are committed to working through this RAP and exceeding all requirements. This starts with how we introduce the Reflect RAP to our staff. We were proud to do this with a special staff meeting were we officially launched the Reflect RAP and incorporated as much representation from First Nations People as possible. Thank you to Kura Yerlo Inc for hosting our event, to Something Wild for catering with your locally sourced and inspired treats, to Michael and Petiola for the Welcome to Country and to Jason from Reconciliation SA for joining us for our launch to share your support with us.

A special thank you to our artwork cover artist, Cecelia Kluge, for creating such a beautiful and meaningful artwork for our cover. Cecelia also shared a statement to staff about her artwork via our RAP Working Group. “In 2017 I was officially acknowledged as being from the Stolen Generation. The process was quite long and stressful but thanks to Link Up I was supported through it all. My nanna protected her children by not telling them so that they would not be taken. Unfortunately, most of her children died without knowing. But her grandchildren all proudly recognise being aboriginal. My painting hopefully depicts the difficult process of being led in every direction and being lost.”

You can read our Reconciliation Australia endorsed Reflect RAP on the Reconciliation Australia website and CBS Inc. website.