Indigenous business Bawamarra Cultural Services based in Lisarow has won a 2023 Innovate with nbn Grant Program award announced in Sydney recently.
The business, owned by Jason May, opened in July 2022 with the aim of mentoring vulnerable children and youth, fostering cultural education and promoting digital awareness and safety within indigenous communities.
Winners in seven categories – health, agriculture, tourism, arts, education, indigenous business, and women in business – shared $125,000 in grants awarded to innovative businesses in regional and remote Australia to help them bring their bright ideas to life.
The winner of each category received a $15,000 grant and each category winner was automatically entered into a pool to become the overall winner and receive an additional $20,000 grant which was won by Armidale health care service Observa Care.
Grant winners were those decided to be harnessing the benefits of the nbn network to develop products or solutions that improve digital participation, productivity, or social outcomes for regional and remote Australians.
Bawamarra aims to use the grant towards developing a digital awareness and safety workshop targeting vulnerable indigenous children and youth which will also include teaching indigenous culture and life skills.
“The aim behind establishing Bawamarra is a big answer,” May said.
“In short, I wanted to use the skills, experiences and passions I had developed to support youth, men and families learn and share cultural knowledge, and policy and organisational change.
“I feel extremely fortunate about winning the grant.
“For Bawamarra to be recognised amongst the company of nbn.co and the other finalists was a little overwhelming and also very exciting.”
Run in partnership with the Regional Australia Institute (RAI), the Innovate with nbn Grants Program is part of nbn’s commitment to lift the digital capability of Australia.
“Each year the calibre of the ideas that are presented to us, some already developed, others needing added support, continues to improve,” nbn Regional and Remote chief development officer Gavin Williams said.
“We’ve seen plenty of innovative ideas bursting out of the regions again this year.
“Our purpose is to lift the digital capability of Australia.
“All of the finalists and grant winners couldn’t do what they are doing without connectivity.
“All of the 2023 Innovate with nbn Grants Program recipients are making real differences to the lives of those who live in their communities.
Regional Australia Institute CEO Liz Ritchie said the finalists and winners of this year’s awards showcased and rewarded the diverse, creative and groundbreaking work that is happening right across regional Australia.
“These awards demonstrate with the right support and tools, regional entrepreneurs can compete on a national and even global stage,” she said.
“NBN Co and RAI have an enduring partnership based on advancing our shared objective to empower regions to thrive.
“The Innovate program does exactly that, by celebrating what can be achieved when harnessing the power of connectivity and digital technology.”
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