Credit: IMAA
Independent Media Agencies Australia (IMAA) has taken 15 senior media agency and media owner executives to Alice Springs to connect with country, as part of the association's third annual Kings Narrative Immersion Experience and its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
Kings Narrative, an Aboriginal-owned social enterprise based in Alice Springs, organised last week's four-day trip.
It included a bush medicine workshop, fireside talks, a bush food workshop hosted by Arrernte woman Rayleen Brown, a sip and paint session with Aboriginal creative collective No Fixed Gallery, and walks to Standley Chasm and Simpson Gap.
The group heard from Alice Springs mayor Asta Hill, local teacher Matt Axten, and Kings Narrative operations manager Kynan Carmody and business manager Jessica Carmody on the media's role and impact in Alice Springs.
Delegates also visited Kings Narrative's headquarters and met managing director Tyson Carmody to discuss the partnership.
Kings Narrative, founded in 2021, provides culturally safe counselling, coaching and support programs for Aboriginal men and boys. IMAA has partnered with the organisation since 2022.
Carmody said the delegates worked in industries that shape how Aboriginal people are represented.
"They are in spaces that influence what Australians see, hear and believe. They help shape stories, decide whose voices are amplified and influence how Aboriginal people are represented," she said.
"This immersion creates a safe space for truth-telling, learning and unlearning."
She said funding through IMAA's Make a Difference initiative had helped Kings Narrative buy equipment for Barber Blak Kings, tents and resources for its on-country programs, and support Aboriginal men through trauma and healing facilitation training.
Buchanan said this was his third trip to Alice Springs.
"It is a unique opportunity to listen, learn and lean in, forging a profound connection with our First Nations peoples' ancestral lands," he said.
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