BRIDGING THE GAP FOUNDATION
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Momentum² is currently consulting to the Bridging the Gap Foundation (BTG) established by Menzies School of Health Research which is part of Charles Darwin University.
BTG is taking the lead on one of the nation’s highest priorities: improving and extending Indigenous Australians’ health and education opportunities and outcomes. It is collaborating with governments and other organisations to work in partnership with health and education researchers to make a real difference.
Projects undertaken to date are outlined below.
Momentum2 has collaborated with Bridging the Gap (BTG) on a number of projects over the past months. These include projects involving the inaugural ICHM Indigenous hospitality scholarship and HealthLAB.
The scholarship provides the opportunity for a an Indigenous student to pursue a diploma with the International College of Hotel Management which is based in Adelaide and part of Charles Darwin University. The winner of the first scholarship was Kenneth Abrook.
BTG organised several alumni events in Sydney and Adelaide for alumni from ICHM and Charles Darwin University (CDU). Guests who attended the CDU and ICHM Alumni event in early November 2018 in Sydney also learnt first-hand about Menzies School of Health Research’s HealthLAB. Associate Professor Heidi Smith-Vaughan from Menzies spoke passionately about HealthLAB and work that the team has been doing in remote areas of the Northern Territory to monitor health outcomes and educate people in these areas on healthy lifestyles.
$6.57 million in funding for programs to support BTG’s National Preventative Health and Education Program (NIPHEP) was announced by the Hon Ken Wyatt M, MP, Minister for Indigenous Health in March 2019. This is a partnership with John Moriarty Football and the project will commence in mid-2019.
HealthLAB is a mobile health program established to reduce the prevalence of chronic, preventable diseases in young Indigenous Australians. Since the launch last year, Momentum² has generated media exposure of the project in Australia.
Another project was to provide support for the Ramingining Health Day held in September 2018 at the local high school and organised by the senior students in the HealthLAB Student Ambassaor program. The day was a huge success in educating students about their health. A hands-on approach with various apparatus was used to facilitate learning and many members of the community came to provide support on the day.
