Working in collaboration with the Queensland tourism department’s  Our Country Advisory Service team and First Nations partners, Articulous has co-created a disaster resilience workshop program and resources specifically tailored to First Nations businesses, rangers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations delivering tourism services.

More than 300 First Nations tourism operators, ranger groups, creatives, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation representatives have participated in 11 workshops, with one more scheduled in June. The workshops have been held across Queensland, from the Bunya Mountains in South East Queensland to Barcaldine and Mt Isa in Queensland’s Central and North West, to Badu Island in the Torres Strait Islands at the top of the state.  

Recognising and celebrating First Nations peoples’ resilience and caring for Country over countless generations was the starting point in co-defining, co-creating and co-testing all program aspects with input from 152 First Nations partners, stakeholders and workshop participants.  

Collective cultural insights have guided the creation of the workshop program and resources. Continuous feedback has guided deliverables, with workshops increasingly emphasising storytelling as core learning mechanism, enabling participants to share lived experiences and locally grounded strategies for preparedness and response. Storytelling has also been embedded via videos of mob sharing first-hand stories and experiences about visitor and cultural safety, preparation steps and crisis communication tips.

Resources have been iteratively developed, transforming from an initial four-page checklist into a comprehensive 16-page visual toolkit, incorporating checklists, Indigenous artwork, images and icons and messaging, short films from 10 First Nations Tourism operators sharing experiences, and an editable Emergency Response Plan. 

Articulous engaged an emerging First Nations artist to develop artwork for the resources to provide materials with an authentic First Nations look and feel. Where possible, First Nations businesses have also provided catering and videography for the workshops.

Participant feedback has been highly positive with 80% of comments positive. Many also reported the workshops had prompted them to take action, checking insurances, delivering community-led disaster-planning and capacity building activities and developing disaster plans. demonstrating the project’s broader and longer-term impact.