Messaging and Narrative Shifting Project
The First Nations Messaging and Narrative Shifting Project aims to research and develop a persuasive narrative, and works that work to build public and political support for First Nations self determination and justice.
From deaths in custody, to child removals, land rights and closing the gap - government reports repeatedly show that the current top-down policies are failing to improve the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and are instead taking us backwards.
This deficit language, however, which is so prolific in mainstream media, doesn't work in creating change. Research shows it's not just ineffective, it is counter-productive. It increases support for punitive and paternalistic policies, reduces support for self-determination and justice, and silences community-led vision and solutions.
That’s why we need to find the words that work, to shift the narrative and engage the broader public in support of our solutions.
STEERING COMMITTEE & LEAD TRAINERS
DR JACKIE HUGGINS AM
Jackie is a Bidjara (central Queensland) and Birri-Gubba Juru (North Queensland) woman from Queensland who has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs for over forty years. Jackie is a celebrated author and historian, and former co-chair of National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples.
KARRINA NOLAN,
ORIGINAL POWER
Karrina, Director of Original Power, is a descendant of the Yorta Yorta nation, with 25 years’ experience in community organising, campaigning, training and facilitation. Original Power is building the capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to protect country.
LARISSA BALDWIN,
GETUP
Larissa, First Nations Justice Director at GetUp, is from the Widjabul clan of the Bundjalung nation. Larissa co-founded the Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network, and has worked in many Indigenous organisations including Stronger Smarter Institute.
The Messaging and Narrative Shifting Project has three phases:
MESSAGE RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATIONS FELLOWSHIP
First Nations communicators, journalists, community advocates and activists learn best-practice messaging, including framing, metaphor, passive voice, hedging, introduction to cognitive linguistics and how to develop a persuasive message.
LANGUAGE ANALYSIS AND MESSAGE TESTING
This stage will give us a strong evidence base to find out what are the messages that are effective in engaging the base, persuading the middle and alienating the opposition - in order to build public and political support for self-determination. A combination of interviews, surveys, focus groups, language analysis and dial testing will be used to qualitatively and quantitatively test the messages.
ROLL-OUT OF NEW MESSAGES
This stage of the project is all about sharing what are the most effective messages in building public support for First Nations self-determination and justice. This will include sharing the results with First Nations advocates and advocates from ‘ally’ organisation.
PHASE 1 — First Nations Message Research and Communications Fellowship
The first stage of the Messaging and Narrative Shifting Project began with a Fellowship program bringing together 19 First Nations communicators, journalists, community advocates and activists working across a diversity of issues to learn best-practice messaging.
Fellows convened over two residential retreats and three webinars, collecting over 2000 pieces of data to analyse the words used by advocates, community members and opposition in their area - health, housing, service delivery, land rights, disability, LGBTQ+, representation and more.
PHASE 2 — LANGAUGE ANALYSIS AND MESSAGE TESTING
The Messaging and Narrative Shifting Project has entered Phase 2, focusing on qualitatively and quantitatively testing the key messages collated and developed by participants from the Research and Communications Fellowship. This features a combination of interviews, surveys, focus groups, language analysis and dial testing.
If you are interested in getting involved in the project, contact Jess at jess@australianprogress.org.au.
