Testimonials

With Evolve you are getting a fun, inspiring, engaging and authentic experience with people who actually know what they are talking about!

I recommend the training to everyone, it was a real education! I loved that the training was provided by such wise, compassionate women. It was obvious they lived the life they were talking about – and took pleasure in spreading the right words.

I loved the method of the delivery – in form of a circle, the discussion cards, and the interactive activities. No death by powerpoint here!

Do cultural awareness training! It’s fantastic. Be prepared to think deeply about your own culture and biases also. The training will gain you a deeper knowledge of Aboriginal cultures, especially the complexity of the social structures and the connection with landscape and Dreaming.

“We thoroughly enjoy working with the Evolve team. They have an extraordinary capacity to create a fun and relaxed learning environment where staff feel completely comfortable asking all the hard questions. Their creative use of humour and capacity to tailor the program to meet the specific needs of the group is exceptional. Many of our staff tell us it is the best cultural competency training they have ever experienced and has transformed their approach to working with Aboriginal health organisations. I encourage others to partner with Evolve because of their strategic, thorough and holistic approach.”

“Illawarra Forum I wanted to increase my connections and involvement in working with Aboriginal communities. Through the Evolve program, I achieved this and more. I made great connections with other service providers who shared this interest. I learnt many new skills and ideas that increased my confidence in working with Aboriginal Communities. This includes a deeper understanding of our First Australians and their early history, Indigeneity and connection to land and Country, and the importance of ‘Sorry business’. I now understand ‘lateral violence’, how it arises and where to find information about how to deal with it. I highly recommend this training to others. Munya is a great teacher, with a unique combination of gentleness, strength and amazing intelligence. What a woman!”

“I loved connecting with local Aboriginal people at the Evolve program. Together we are now ‘Taking the Bull by the Horns’ on employment strategies for people with a disability. “

“Evolve Communities enabled us to draw on their rich organisational cultural knowledge and expertise to develop our first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Handbook. With Evolve we created a resource to support our people to be more culturally aware in delivering health and care in Australia and provide guidance on showing respect to our Traditional Owners. Working together was very much a partnership and a unique learning experience that supported our commitment to reconciliation and also continuing to learn from Indigenous Australians.”

“As Evolve Communities have taught iAccelerate, Aboriginal Songlines are essentially knowledge networks that enable the communication of ideas to flow back and forth between two or more locations and serves as the perfect model for innovation ecosystems”

“The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (formerly FaHCSIA), on behalf of a range of Queensland and Australian government agencies and the Mt Isa Regional Operations Centre (ROC), engaged Evolve to support the remote communities of Mornington Island and Doomadgee prepare Community Safety Action Plans. Evolve employed, trained and coached local Aboriginal community researchers. Using Evolve’s Songlines and Meeting Marketplace approaches, the local team collaborated with all tiers of government, service providers and the entire community to develop and produce community research reports and safety plans that addressed diverse challenges.”

Evolve worked with the Yalata community to develop the Yalata IPA Management Plan. The Australian Government has cited the approach and plan as an example of best practice: Yalata IPA Draft Healthy Country Plan – practical approach with limited time/ money. Evolve put a very good plan together in a relative short time frame by working closely with lots of Yalata organisations and people. Evolve have a great grasp on the key and unique challenges facing Aboriginal communities and went the extra mile to establish connections throughout the community. Their approach is highly flexible, adapting to changing circumstances and challenges with the aim of making things work on the ground for community. Our main aim was that the plan belonged to the community, this has been achieved!

An Evolve team of 12 facilitated a multi-day National Conference for School Principals, based on Evolve’s Meeting Marketplace approach: “It was a fantastic, unique and enriching professional experience to work with the Evolve team. At all times they displayed a calm and professional manner, quick to focus on solutions and consistently good humoured and accommodating of our frequent last minute changes to requirements and timeframes. Evolve brings genuine passion and experience to their work, and is committed to achieving the best outcomes for clients, adopting a solutions based approach that emphasises good working relationships and cultivates trust”