Culture and Governance
Culture informs a group’s rules and values about what is the ‘right way’ of exercising power and governing—and what is the ‘wrong way’. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people put their culture at the heart of their governance.
To learn ways to embed cultural values in your governance check out the Culture and Governance Factsheet. It explores:
- Two-way governance
- The governance environment
- Building and maintaining cultural legitimacy
The Indigenous Governance Factsheets were developed by the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute and Reconciliation Australia to promote peoples’ understanding of Indigenous governance. Each Factsheet provides an explanation of the topic and tips on best practice strategies.
Indigenous Governance Toolkit
More information, tips, examples and resources about this topic are available on the Indigenous Governance Toolkit.
The purpose of the Toolkit is to share effective and innovative governance strategies and knowledge about what works and why. The Toolkit promotes a strengths-based, developmental approach to governance building which places culture at the heart of understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander modes of governance.
It is a free online resource developed to support Indigenous nations, communities, individuals and organisations to strengthen their governance in ways that are meaningful to them.
The Toolkit is founded on the pioneering research of the Indigenous Community Governance Project and is regularly updated with best-practice tips and inspirational stories from the Indigenous Governance Awards and other research and case studies developed by the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute.