In Summary

  • The workshops will include mastering governance knowledge, understanding how students learn, course design, content development, and how to be a good presenter.
  • Since 2013, Swinburne’s Dr Rowan Bedggood and her team have worked with Marra Worra Worra to further develop the organisation. 

Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal Resource Agency in the Kimberley in Western Australia, has sponsored five people from Fitzroy Crossing to travel to Melbourne to complete governance train-the-trainer workshops at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus.

The workshops will provide insights into how to deliver a governance training course, including mastering governance knowledge, understanding how students learn, course design, content development, and how to be a good presenter.

The aim of this train-the-trainer course is to enable the visitors, who have already completed a governance training course conducted by Swinburne, to train local committees, councils and boards in the future.

Since 2013, Swinburne’s Dr Rowan Bedggood and her team have worked with Marra Worra Worra to develop the organisation, provide governance training and guidance, and support local business growth and development.

The latter is done partly through an annual Indigenous Study Tour, which  takes business students up to the Kimberley to work with local Aboriginal people and their business ideas.

 “Instead of us travelling to Fitzroy Crossing to deliver governance training all the time, our aim is to train local Aboriginal champions who can deliver governance training to their own mob, as and when they like” says Dr Bedggood.

Established in the late 1970s, Marra Worra Worra is the oldest and largest Aboriginal Resource Agency in the Kimberley. The organisation’s aim is to provide support and encourage members of the Fitzroy Valley community to develop strong and sustainable communities and organisations.

Marra Worra Worra’s CEO Dickie Bedford says they aim make the Fitzroy Valley community stronger and keep their people on country for longer. 

“It is well known that we, the Aboriginal people, are in a better space when we are back on our country and a major part of that is good governance in communities.”

“We look forward to a very good week here and can’t wait to get back home and start delivering,” says Mr Bedford.