SBS releases ‘Elevate’ Reconciliation Action Plan, will benchmark, increase First Nations voices
A still from an upcoming SBS program called True Colours. SBS has committed to benchmarking and increasing First Nations voices and perspectives on the network.
SBS will benchmark how many Indigenous voices it shares and improve on it each year, it has announced, launching its ‘Elevate’ Reconciliation Action Plan. The organisation has become the second media outlet to reach the highest level of RAP recognised by Reconciliation Australia, and has detailed its plans to improve First Nations coverage.
What you need to know:
- SBS has shared its first ‘Elevate’ Reconciliation Action Plan, the highest level an organisation can get through Reconciliation Australia.
- It is SBS’s fifth RAP and sets out a long list of plans to benchmark, improve and build on indigenous coverage, voices and staff.
- SBS is the 20th organisation to reach an Elevate RAP – the second in media after the ABC.
SBS has become the 20th organisation in Australia – and second media outlet after the ABC – to prepare an ‘Elevate’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), the highest level that demonstrates a proven track record of leadership on reconciliation.
This is SBS’s fifth RAP, which outlines what it will do over the next four years to grow the voices of First Nations people on its platforms.
The network says it will define metrics and targets for Indigenous coverage and perspectives over the next year, major those targets public, and will review them each year until 2026.
It will also produce more content in Indigenous languages – including original content, increase the number of special features on radio, social and digital channels, work on three major network events each year, do more Acknowledgements of Country, appoint a First Nations Editor in its News division, develop an anti-racism framework, promote the ‘Beyond 3%’ initiative, increase the number of Indigenous staff members to 3.3 per cent, and increase NITV’s budget, among other commitments.
It will also deliver First Nations content in more than 60 languages across the network.
“We are investing further in bringing communities together in a deliberate, innovative and unprecedented way through our Elevate RAP, which outlines our strongest commitment to date to advance reconciliation,” SBS Managing Director James Taylor said.
Karen Mundine, CEO of Reconciliation Australia and a Bundjalung woman, congratulated the network on its commitments: “SBS has identified a strong desire within Australia’s multicultural communities to build connections and solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” she said.
