PAMA FUTURES Indigenous designed and led
LOCAL VOICES
Pama Futures was born from an overwhelming sense of powerlessness felt across Cape York peninsula, communities being locked out of all the decisions affecting them. The overwhelming message that has come through countless summits and meetings time and time again is that pama want a say in who delivers the services and how they are delivered. The grassroots understand first-hand the problems and issues facing their communities and why things aren’t working. Pama are simply asking for a seat at the table that hasn’t denied to them until now. Pama Futures provides a point of entry for community to lead these critical discussions affecting their future.
OUR JOURNEY
Since 2017 more than 800 Cape York people helped to work out the steps we need to take in Cape York. We’ve called this the Pama Futures agenda. It sets out a guide for structure change to put the power in local hands and supports communities to put development plans in place. The Australian Government is supporting pama to get organised, to get local decision-making structures in place to come to the table to negotiate agreements aground services and programs and investment in local priorities. The big focus is on how we do this.
18 CAPABILITIES. TO CLOSE THE GAP
Prenatal Foundations for lifelong health
We start with prenatal foundations for lifelong good health, care and management. It all starts in the womb.
Effective education from early childhood
We provide effective education from early childhood onwards to maximise our children’s potential and set them up for lifelong learning
Strong nurturing families
Families nurture and provide for each other and have strong bonds of responsibility and care, parents give children good memories and set them up for the future, thriving in safe, prideful homes
Villages with social capital, trust and participation
Our villages provide respectful and mutually contributing neighbourhoods, with a volunteering ethic to build social capital, trust and participation. Ask not what your community can do for you, but what you can do for your community
Villages with respect for norms, customs and laws
Our villages are places where there is respect for each other and people abide by our norms, customs and laws, and we are able to settle disputes and violence of all forms is strongly sanctioned
Girls’ freedom and empowerment
We ensure the safety, growth and empowerment of girls so they realise their fullest potential and inequality against women is eradicated from our society
Boys’ self-esteem and self-respect
Our boys grow up with self-esteem and respect for themselves and for women, all deserving of dignity and care
Strong ancestral languages and rich cultural capital
Our people have the opportunity to learn and transmit to their children their ancestral language and cultural knowledge and heritage to preserve and grow our cultural capital
Natural leadership and good governance
Natural leadership thrives and we are all free to participate in decisions about the future, organisations are well-managed and there is good governance at all levels
Work for income and self-reliance
Every post-school person is able to work, including unpaid self-reliance, to sustain a living and there are jobs for those needing them, and mobility to go to places where jobs are
Enterprise and industry
Every person or group that desires to establish and operate an enterprise is able to do so, and there is local and regional economic development and industries to sustain them
Stewardship of land and resources for sustainable development
There is stewardship of the land and resources of the community, and we are able to use them for sustainable development
Build tribal wealth for intergenerational equality
Tribes and communities are able to build their tribal wealth for intergenerational equity
Vibrant accessible markets
There are markets for goods and services, property, capital and labour that are accessible and vibrant and which enable a strong private and cooperative sector to grow
Infrastructure to sustain villages and the economy
There is necessary transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure to sustain the community and enable economic development