AUSTRALIA. oOh!media has launched its inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), marking a commitment to strengthening awareness of, and relationships with, First Nations people. The Reflect RAP also aims to drive meaningful reconciliation action across the business.
The Reflect RAP has been endorsed by Reconciliation Australia and was created in consultation with Two Point Co, a 100% Indigenous-owned consultancy. Two Point Co guided the RAP development and provided education workshops for oOh!’s board, executive leadership team and the RAP working group.
The RAP framework includes: increasing First Nations supplier diversity; improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment; retention and professional development and establishing and strengthening relationships with First Nations stakeholders and organisations. The RAP working group reports to oOh!’s executive leadership team.
To mark the Reflect RAP, oOh! commissioned a bespoke artwork from emerging artist, GO Foundation alumni and Wiradjuri woman, Lua Pellegrini.
Pellegrini’s work presents oOh!’s commitment to connecting people and the environment through colours and details representing the vibrancy and diversity of Country across Australia and New Zealand. The work includes six prominent concentric circles to reflect oOh!’s six offices across both countries and which are connected by waterways.
Reconciliation Australia acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. The organisation respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and past and present Elders.
Since 2006, RAPs have enabled organisations to sustainably and strategically take meaningful action to advance reconciliation. Based around the core pillars of relationships, respect and opportunities, RAPs provide tangible and substantive benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, increasing economic equity and supporting First Nations self-determination. |
oOh! CEO Cathy O’Connor said: “oOh!’s Reflect RAP lays the foundations of our company’s commitment to listening and learning and in turn, gives us an even greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“As the leader in Out of Home media, we operate over 35,000 advertising signs across the country, all of which sit on land that was never ceded. Formalising our reconciliation journey through a Reflect RAP is a vital first step in acknowledging the cultures, histories, the knowledge and insights of the people and communities on whose land we work.”
Reconciliation Australia CEO Karen Mundine commented: “This Reflect RAP enables oOh!media to deepen its understanding of its sphere of influence and the unique contribution it can make to lead progress across the five dimensions of reconciliation: race relations; equality and equity; institutional integrity; unity; and historical acceptance.
“Reconciliation Australia welcomes oOh! to the RAP programme and we look forward to following its reconciliation journey in the years to come.”
oOh! is already working towards reconciliation with initiatives including a partnership with the GO Foundation, which was founded by Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin, and implementing cultural awareness training for all Australian employees. 
 This feature forms part of our new Sight Lines section, dedicated to the world of airport and other travel-related Out of Home advertising and communications. It takes the same name as a successful ezine of the same name we published from April 2019 until the pandemic brought much of world travel to a halt. We are delighted to restore it, initially in column form, as the airport advertising sector bounces back with encouraging speed and vigour. All stories are archived under ‘Airport Advertising’ on the home page drop-down menu under ‘Other Revenues’.  Nowhere do the worlds of aviation and advertising converge more than in airports, often to riveting effect. Given how airports serve a crossroads of humanity, across geographies, cultures, religions, ages, advertising serves as a kind of Esperanto of the travel and communications world, a universal language that speaks to a population constantly on the move. Digitisation, once viewed as a threat to traditional airport advertising as millions of consumers looked down at their mobile devices rather than ahead (or up) at traditional advertising formats, has proved instead to be a positive game changer. Airports companies (and other travel infrastructure operators) and their concessionaires are increasingly deploying the flexibility and targetability of digital communication with thrilling impact. We’ll be devoting extensive coverage to this once again burgeoning sector with a surprise or two along the way. To borrow from both journalistic and advertising parlance, watch this space. * Send us your Out of Home advertising and communications stories to Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com |
