Increasing the Participation of Indigenous Australians in the Information Technology Industries

Abstract

Indigenous Australian people continue to experience chronic disadvantage relative to the living standards and well-being of non-Indigenous Australians. Despite the increased availability of education to Aboriginal Australians, their participation in Information Technology programmes is very low, as is their awareness of the options available in the Information and Communications industries. In this paper we report our fmdings and recommendations from a project designed to investigate how to increase the participation of Indigenous Australians in Information Technology courses. We sought out existing examples of successful Indigenous education initiatives and considered how appropriately situated variations could be developed within an Information Technology Faculty. We have learned that successful initiatives to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians depend on the active participation of Indigenous people. The insights from Participatory Design practices, including the tools and techniques for involving participants in the design process, whatever is being designed, will continue to inform the evolution of this project.