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VAEAI Overview

Established in 1976 as the Victorian Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (VAECG), the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc. (VAEAI) is a community based and controlled organisation. The major aim of the VAECG was to develop processes for the involvement of Victorian Koorie community members in decision making regarding education and training provision for Koorie students. This goal continues to be the core of the organisations' principles of Koorie community empowerment.

Central to the VAEAI's approach to education is a holistic view of the needs of Koorie students, advocating a birth to death philosophy of education. This belief calls for the provision of services which incorporate all sectors of the education system, beginning from the provision of early childhood services right through to post-compulsory education and training, creating educational pathways for Koorie students. Furthermore, the VAEAI recognises the influences of social and economic issues on the individual and the impact these have on the Koorie community, supporting a cross-sectoral approach where education works closely with health, social justice, housing, well-being and employment for the social well being and economic development of Koorie communities.

The VAEAI provides an advocate role for the Victorian Koorie community and provides representation in relation to all education and training policy, strategy and program development at the local, state and national levels. It promotes the provision of education and training which is culturally relevant, reinforces cultural identity and provides supportive learning environments for Koorie people. VAEAI also supports the provision of education to the wider community which increases awareness of Koorie culture, communities and aspirations.

VAEAI is a statewide organisation with a regional structure, divided on the basis of family ties. A number of Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups (LAECGs) comprise each of VAEAI's eight regions.

Since 1990 a number of major developments have taken place that have enhanced VAEAI's functions and elevated the status of the organisation's operations.
In 1990, the relationship between the Victorian Koorie community and the Ministry of Education (now the Department of Education and Training) was formalised with the Partnership in Education: Koorie Education Policy which addressed the 21 goals of the National Aboriginal Education Policy (AEP).

Also in 1990, VAEAI was formally recognised as holding the same status as an Industry Training Board (now an Industry Advisory Body). VAEAI's role as an IAB is to provide advice on the development of and access to relevant programs that will provide skills training to members of the Koorie community.

1997 saw the launch of the Koorie 2000 strategy. This strategy strengthened and formalised the involvement of Koorie people in educational decision making, building on the Partnership in Education between the VAEAI and the Department of Education, Employment and Training (now DE&T).

The launch of Wurreker in 2000 was a joint initiative of the VAEAI and the then Office of Post Compulsory Education, Training and Employment (now the Office of Training and Tertiary Education). The equal partnership between the Koorie community and the OTTE ensures that training delivery and support services value the aspirations of individual Koorie students and enable Koorie communities to have a say in their training and employment future.

In October 2001, the Victorian Premier, the Hon. Steve Bracks, and the VAEAI president, Ms. Geraldine Atkinson, launched the renewed partnership in education and training, Yalca. Yalca, meaning Yellow Box gum in the Yorta Yorta language, supports a birth-to-death philosophy of education, placing the Koorie student at the centre of education policy and decision making, and acknowledges that local Koorie communities through LAECGs are best able to determine local education and training needs. In addition Yalca acknowledges the need, and provides the framework to develop and implement collaborative initiatives and strategies across departments and agencies for the benefit of the Koorie community.