Group gets Macarthur’s grant to support FCT communities

The Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED) has been awarded a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support and strengthen the advocacy, voice and organisational development of the Original Inhabitant (OI) communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The support will enable CHRICED to work with OI communities, equip them with skills and technical capacities required to sustainably and lawfully advocate for the promotion of their rights and interests.

The project will enable FCT OI’s work towards an inclusive, resilient and sustainable development pathway, especially in the context of the devastation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant is part of a $80 million in awards by MacArthur announced in support of the foundation’s equitable recovery initiative, centered on advancing racial and ethnic justice. The initiative is funded by MacArthur’s social bonds, issued in response to the crises of the pandemic and racial inequity.

President of MacArthur, John Palfrey, said: “CHRICED expresses its gratitude to MacArthur Foundation for entrusting us with this historic responsibility. As an organisation campaigning for human rights and justice, we are excited about this opportunity to work with the natives of the FCT. Our project will respond to the marginalisation and the historic injustices meted against FCT OIs by putting their issues in the fore front of the governance and decision making processes.”

Palfrey added, “CHRICED will support the Original Inhabitant Groups (OIGs) with the technical skills and capacities to enable them sustainably and effectively campaign for their rights and interests. This work becomes even more critical in the face of the devastation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. CHRICED is ready to campaign strategically alongside FCT, until the injustices against them are redressed.

“As we emerge from this moment of crisis, we have an opportunity to improve the critical systems that people and places need to thrive. Our systems and structures must be rebuilt. We are committed to ensuring that our response to the pandemic is focused on supporting the reimagining of systems that create a more just, equitable, and resilient world.”

CHRICED is one of the 15 organizations receiving grants to advance the self-determination of indigenous Peoples. The group is also championing equitable housing demonstration project supporting restoration of communities, reducing incarceration and housing instability by generating an array of housing solutions that can help to permanently end the use of jails and prisons as housing of last resort.