Hockey Australia making strides through Indigenous forum
Published Fri 08 Oct 2021
Hockey Australia continues to make inroads in its commitment to its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs with a presence at the Indigenous Emerging Business Forum (IEBF) 2021 in Perth.
This was the second successive year HA has been part of the forum, which is about growing employment, procurement and business development opportunities for Indigenous people.
Part of the day comprised a luncheon attended by 700 people featuring keynote presentations from guests including Hon. Stephen Noel Dawson MLC Minister for Mental Health; Aboriginal Affairs; Industrial Relations, and proud Yamatji-Noongar woman Ms Dorinda Cox who is Western Australia’s first female Aboriginal Senator (Greens).
Significantly, many of the large mining and resource companies and contractors attended the Roy Hill IEBF 2021.
One of the forum’s key objectives is to encourage and assist business development and bridge the digital divide.
The forum is designed to help and support Indigenous businesses to grow, network and advance opportunities.
HA Commercial Partnerships Manager Tyler Lovell, a member of the IEBF working group and the key instigator of HA securing a place at the forum, left the event enthused by the progress being made.
Lovell is also buoyed by the exposure and awareness of the energy and effort HA is putting into positively impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Hockey Australia has a Community Hockey Program in the Pilbara region and the Goldfields region. It also supports programs such as Aspire to be Deadly, which the Cairns Hockey Association runs.
“The big change with the forum this year was the sheer volume of attendees and the increase in the number of the 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned businesses who took part,” said Lovell.
“For hockey, it was a great opportunity to showcase what we are doing in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander space and also the programs that we run in Western Australia.”
“We are speaking to some interested parties and businesses that would like to see our programs expand throughout WA, so we’re optimistic about where that might lead.
“We use hockey as the tool to connect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through our schools program to promote healthy living, increase school attendance and inspire students to reach their goals. I’m confident it was a successful exhibition of what we are doing as a sport.”
Lovell was accompanied throughout the day by Kookaburras duo Blake Govers and Josh Beltz, Hockeyroos Sophie Taylor and Greta Hayes, as well as Hockey WA President Michael Henderson.
“The forum is about providing a platform to emerging Indigenous businesses to be showcased to the bigger corporate companies in Western Australia,” said Lovell.
“With the development of Hockey Australia’s Reconciliation Action Plan well underway, we are taking positive strides in our commitment to helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in many aspects of life.”
