BWM Dentsu is addressing the under representation of Indigenous Australians in the creative industry with a new initiative.
The initiative, called Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP, focuses on the absence of diversity in the creative and media industry. It aims to highlight the concerningly low presence Indigenous groups have in the industry.
Research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working in the information media and telecommunications sector is just 1,687 as of October 2017.
With a commitment to improving this statistics, RAP will commit 3% of total commercial spend to Indigenous owned or run suppliers. It will also ink a strategic internship partnership with Swinburne University and an event series will be set up that highlights and celebrates this culture.
The RAP will also implement honouring the traditional owners of the land, with an “Acknowledgment of Country” being performed before commencing all agency meetings.
“For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, storytelling, creativity and human-centred design are at the very heart of our culture” says Aden Ridgeway, a partner at Cox Inall Ridgeway, and the first Indigenous person to be elected as a parliamentary leader.
The initiative from BWM follows 2016 research that revealed the average person working in media is a white, 27-year-old male who lives in Bondi.
Many agencies are introducing initiatives to create a more diverse workforce. The August issue of AdNews zoned in on the types of initiative agencies, publishers and tech companies are exploring to achieve diversity and gender equality. Read more here.
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