The Association of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies (AGECS) meets in Carlton on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people. Our mission statement recognises that quality early childhood settings enhance learning and developmental achievements for all children, with the most significant impact being on outcomes for children experiencing vulnerability. In keeping with this we acknowledge the dispossession of the Wurundjeri peoples and other Aboriginal Victorians due to the impact of colonisation.
AGECS believe that recognising the past and its impact on the present is central in ‘closing the gap’ between the aspirations of the Aboriginal community and Aboriginal well being and learning outcomes in early childhood. We acknowledge the survival and enduring strengths of the Victorian Aboriginal community in spite of dispossession. We aim to support the Early Childhood profession in partnership with the Aboriginal community to further their understandings of Aboriginal history, culture, identity and pedagogy. As such AGECS is respectfully committed to the participation of Aboriginal people as knowledge holders and teachers around the professional development and resources that AGECS offers.
Wurundjeri Elder, Aunty Joy Wandin Murphy has approved the wording on Acknowledgement of Country written by Sue Atkinson-Lopez.