At the Sydney Swans we are proud to partner with the GO Foundation, who empower youth through education.
Ahead of next weekend’s referendum we are sharing the GO Foundation’s statement on a Voice to Parliament and why they believe a ‘yes’ vote matters.
For more than a decade, The GO Foundation has created opportunities and supported young Indigenous Australians through our holistic Education Scholarship Program. Our mission at GO is empowering through education and this year Australia will have one of the most critical debates we will have in a long time and an opportunity to say ‘Yes’ to empowering Indigenous people through a Voice to Parliament.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart calls for an Indigenous Voice to be embedded in Australia’s Constitution. The GO Foundation supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart and supports the ‘YES’ vote. We welcome the significant benefits full implementation of the Uluru Statement will bring to Australia as a whole, particularly through the provision of insight into Indigenous culture which creates a rich platform for all to learn – regardless of age, gender and race.
As an Indigenous governed and led organisation, the GO Foundation is a change maker in the lives of young Indigenous people. Through lived experience and a strong cultural lens, our program focusses on culture, education, and opportunity, to help our young mob reach their potential, be active in our communities and become the next generation of leaders. A Voice to Parliament and a successful October referendum is for our young mob and future generations. This is the chance for all of Australia to unite, ensuring the future is focused on recognition, listening and improved outcomes for Indigenous people.
GO believes that through our focus on culture, education, and opportunity, we can:
- connect Indigenous young people to the oldest continuing culture on the planet and in doing so build their resilience, self-esteem, and a desire to continually learn about the true history of Australia. This learning strengthens identity and connects our young people to our 65,000 years of Indigenous cultures, history and heritage.
- empower young people in their lifelong journey to reach their learning potential and design their own futures, with high aspirations and broad horizons; and
- provide our young people with the introductions that will further their success at school and beyond. As they use the opportunities provided to them, they enable change and leave a legacy.
We stand on the shoulders of giants and those who have gone before us, paved the way and continue to guide us. The Indigenous Voice to Parliament will give Indigenous People the opportunity to have a say in matters that relate to them, and honour the strength of those who have fought hard for many years for this recognition. Should the referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament be successful, we promise to listen and learn so that we can play a role in forming a more comprehensive and respectful society for all to flourish.
Voting ‘Yes’ in this referendum is another chance to empower through education and further our nations journey to reconciliation and we hope you will join us on that journey.
Australians will go to the polls on Saturday, October 14 to vote in the referendum on whether to amend the Constitution to recognise First Nation’s Peoples and enshrine a Voice to Parliament. The poll comes on the same day as the Sydney Swans women’s team is due to run out in this year’s Marn Grook match at Henson Park, to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture.
At the Sydney Swans we were fortunate to have club greats Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin, together with Karen Mundine from Reconciliation Australia, speak with us about what the referendum means. You can listen above to some of what they had to say.
