This year’s festival was certainly fitting to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Barunga Statement. The overwhelming success of this event was a shining example of what can be achieved by strong Aboriginal Corporations and their key partners.
Where do we start…
A heartfelt thank you to the Bagala Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) for again welcoming festival goers to your country with open arms, and for allowing us to be part of the celebration of sport and culture. A huge thanks must go to Campaign Edge Sprout, who was engaged by the Bagala Aboriginal Corporation to manage the festival on their behalf. Anya and her team were incredible, delivering a sold-out Festival for the first time in many years.
For the fourth year in a row, the entire Aboriginal Investment Group (AIG) team relocated to Barunga to assist the Bagala Community Store and Laundry serve the 4000+ festival goers.
The Store experienced record sales, with over $143 000 worth of stock sold throughout the festival and the Laundry was inundated, with free washing offered to all festival goers along with the normal community demand. It was impressive to watch the operation continue to run smoothly at full capacity.
The Laundry also provided a health promotion hub as we joined forces with our partner, the National Heart Foundation of Australia. Together we shared knowledge about the importance of skin health for heart health.
AIG CEO, Elizabeth Morgan-Brett and David Lloyd, CEO of the National Heart Foundation of Australia, were delighted to spend time with visiting ministers Linda Burney, Minister for Indigenous Australians and Senator Malarndirri McCarthy to show first-hand, the impact of our Remote Laundries project.
A huge thanks must go to the Heart Foundation for their support in engaging cardiologists to volunteer their time to provide an incredible opportunity for attendees to receive personalised advice to better care for their skin and heart health.