Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land in which we work, live, and learn. We pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have moved to this region and the important role they all play in ensuring our young people and our families thrive in a connected, strong, and nurturing community.
OUR HISTORY
Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation (Gugan Gulwan) was established and Incorporated under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976.
It was created to support young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families in the ACT and surrounding regions to thrive and succeed.
Gugan Gulwan originally ran out of the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) building in Griffith ACT.
Gugan Gulwan gained its independence from the (AECG) and moved to a demountable building situated on Boomanulla Oval. The building was extremely old and run down. There was no running water, and the three staff employed were required to use the toilets in the dressing sheds at the Oval. There were a few electric wall heaters to heat the whole building.
It wasn’t until 1996 that Gugan Gulwan was relocated to its Red Hill premises on Quiros Street.. This was a small unused preschool building. However, to the staff, it was a mansion! It had running water, heating, and even carpets and toilets.
In 2001, Gugan Gulwan was again relocated to the Erindale Youth Centre to accommodate the growing staff and increase in funding to provide extra programs. The small team of three staff grew to nine full-time staff overnight.
Cultural Integrity
Our cultural integrity at Gugan Gulwan will not be broken in any of our relationships and service delivery; all we do is underpinned by First Nations cultural values. We will not be undermined by western ways and approaches that aim to diminish the knowledge and control we have about ourselves. We will maintain our cultural integrity at all times.
Cultural Safety
We ensure all of our work, from the Board through to our grassroots work, is underpinned by cultural safety, which involves the child, young person, or adult experiencing an environment that is positive, safe, and nurturing. This environment supports all to be who they are, be comfortable and confident with who they are, and express themselves through their culture, where their spiritual and belief systems are respected and valued. We embrace the diversity of each person to build upon their identity through an environment and interactions that hold culture as the foundation; this is a right of our people to be proud and express their culture in their own way.
From small and humble beginnings, Gugan Gulwan has continued to expand its services and respond to the current and emerging needs of the ACT community. Gugan Gulwan is currently located in the ACT suburb of Wanniassa.
