USC Fraser Coast will host a Close the Gap event to showcase initiatives to improve Indigenous life expectancy, educational achievement and employment in the Fraser Coast region.

USC students and staff and representatives from the Butchulla people, Galangoor Duwalami Primary Healthcare Service and the Central Queensland, Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast PHN will attend the event tomorrow (16 March)  form 11am-1pm.

As part of the program, Butchulla Elder Aunty Joyce Bonner will discuss a collaborative USC research project investigating the long-term benefits of initiatives to raise the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Fraser Coast high schools.

Senior Lecturer in Nursing Dr Julie Martyn will outline a joint USC and PHN project to provide targeted education to Indigenous health workers to develop their skills and knowledge.

In the lead-up to the Close the Gap event, USC has launched its Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) which includes an exciting initiative to work towards embedding Indigenous-specific information in all study programs.

The plan recommits USC to improving the environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at university, promoting the understanding of Indigenous culture and lifting the success rates of students.

— Clare McKay