On January 18th this year, our Wanta Academy and RSAS Managers, as well as our Management staff and Chairperson Trish Lechleitner, came together in Darwin for the Annual Wanta Aboriginal Corporation Professional Development Conference. Everyone arrived on the Monday from different corners of Australia after enjoying a well-deserved break with their families and friends. For some of us, even though we talk and network regularly, it was the first time we had met in person! The Wanta PD is a great opportunity for us to meet, get to know each other better, partake in some professional development learning and plan for the year ahead.

On Tuesday morning, we were straight into it! We heard from Demian (CEO), Clare (COO) and Prav (Regional Manager) who provided an overview of the year that was; the year ahead, and what the priorities are for this year. Prav gave an exciting overview of a new ‘School of Life’ Academy model we plan to roll out this year. The School of Life model will incorporate new activities to enhance life skills such as Learner Driver training, Nutrition programs and Rhythm to Recovery (also known as Drum Beat), which is a rhythmic musical program using drums to support social and emotional development. He even led the group through a Drumbeat session!

Throughout the week, staff also completed some important training which included:

  • CPR training; a very important qualification for each of our staff to retain.  
  • Social Enterprise Development with the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE); a very engaging and thought-provoking session about how we can incorporate Social Enterprise into our programs.
  • Dispute Resolution with the Northern Territory Alternative Dispute Resolution.

We capped off our busy week that was full of learning and networking with a dinner at The Darwin Sailing Club admiring the stunning view of the sunset over the water.

Wanta has an amazing group of staff heading into 2021, and we are so excited for the year ahead.