Indigenous Governance Awards 2008 held in Melbourne

Waltja was very proud to be a finalist in the Indigenous Governance Awards for 2008. Waltja Committee members Irene Nangala, Margaret Orr, Nancy Tilmouth, and  Isobel Nampitjinpa, and Waltja worker Kate Lawrence travelled to Melbourne in August for the IGA Awards event.

The Indigenous Governance Awards celebrate and promote good practice in indigenous governance across Australia. Waltja was one of four finalists in the category for organisations established for more than 10 years. We didn’t win the main prize but the judges said that all the finalists are leaders and good models of well-governed indigenous organisations.

These are some of the nice things the judges said about Waltja:

“The staff feel it’s a privilege to work here and learn from Waltja members, in particular the traditional values and teachings”.
“Strong commitment to effective communication throughout the organisation.”
“Very strong links in the community, they are consultative and meaningful process”

After the Melbourne trip Irene Nangala wrote this letter to the judges Mick, Leah and Eddie.

Thank you from Waltja Management Committee. It has been good for us to be finalists in the Indigenous Governance Awards. We are really proud of Waltja. Next time when we try again we will plan how to tell you and show you all of Waltja’s work for the communities.

We were happy to meet you when you came to Alice Springs for judging Waltja. You are very welcome to come back to visit Waltja anytime, not just for judging.