Although its roots go back further, Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good, or DIYDG, was officially established in Cairns in 2016 when, as described by co-founder and chairperson Semara Jose, “A small collective of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and culturally diverse young people got together to do good work within our communities.”
She says the process was a steep learning curve. “We were in our early 20’s and learning our obligations in terms of reporting, and building the capacity and skill set of the organisation, it was just huge.”
Prior to incorporating DIYDG, Semara, a proud Gudjula, Eastern-Kuku Yalanji and Darnley Island woman, explains the group had been auspiced by a non-Indigenous corporation. She says that while they appreciated the opportunities this provided, it never fully aligned with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander value system.
“That was what triggered us to get incorporated,” she says. “We felt it was time to stand on our own two feet and do the things we wanted, the way we wanted to do them.”
Fellow DIYDG co-founder Stacee Ketchell, is a Wakaid and Meuram woman hailing from the eastern and western islands of the Torres Strait. She says that despite full-time work and family commitments, she, alongside many others in the DIYIG team, poured all their spare energies into DIYDG throughout 2017 and 2018.
“We were figuring things out as we went,” Stacee explains, “participating in community and providing more and more opportunities for young people. It was going well but, at the same time, we knew we could benefit from new skills and capabilities to really drive home the point that us deadly young black people know what we want.”
DIYDG Wellbeing camp
It was at this point the UTS Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) - an ‘away from base’ residential block program specifically aimed at Indigenous early-mid career professionals - came onto their radar.
“My sister started the BBA in 2018 and recommended it to us,” Stacee continues. “She said, ‘You need to do this course!’ so we took a look and said, ‘Yes, let's do it!”
Semara, Stacee and Daniel all signed up for the 2019 BBA intake and Daniel, who is a Kuku-Yalanji and Guugu Yimidhirr man, says the timing couldn’t have been better.
“We took away a lot of learning from our degree that we were able to implement straight away, particularly in terms of how to run and operate a business, and how to grow one within our unique capacity.”
Daniel says that while balancing work, family and studies was an ongoing challenge, the fly-in, fly-out nature of the course made this balance easier than other methods of study. “Block Mode meant we could keep up with our home obligations because we knew we had time set aside purely for our university degree. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard, but the structure definitely helped,” he says.
DIYDG Leadership Conference
All three co-founders mention the connections they made as one of the most meaningful parts of their degree, particularly with other Indigenous students from across Australia.
“Those yarns were so interesting and created space for us to think not just creatively and critically, but also futuristically. Because we understand both the Indigenous and western worldviews, we are in a really strong position to visualise the future we want,” says Semara.
“I came away from the degree much more conscious about the impact of the choices I make and realise we have an amazing opportunity to reshape how we do business in Australia. The positive ripple effect for our communities could be huge!”
With almost 10 unique programs catering for a range of ages and interests, a staff of over 20 and now fully employed by DIYDG themselves (and no longer volunteers), Semara, Stacee and Daniel all agree that the future looks bright. This sentiment is echoed by Tom Evans, Manager of Indigenous Programs and the BBA at UTS. He says he is absolutely thrilled to see DIYDG growing and expanding its success story.
“I’m a strong believer in the BBA. It’s a tough course, but it’s wonderful to see students applying themselves with such dedication and then maximising the benefits by bringing positive change into their communities,” he says.
“It gives me great pleasure to see students like Semara, Stacee and Daniel succeeding. They joined the course wanting to use the degree to help them build their organisation, which they have done, and now they are part of a growing body of alumni all succeeding in their chosen field.”
For more information:
visit bba.uts.edu.au
email bba@uts.edu.au