The Indigenous Specialist Services team was formed in 2018 to strengthen WSP’s knowledge of Indigenous Australian culture and provide valuable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander design input on our major projects. Offering services including research and cultural protocols, ethical guidance, project-specific Reconciliation Action Plans, community consultation and stakeholder engagement, the team has grown throughout the regions, expanding most recently with Ashleigh Hyland, (Anaiwan), Performance, Participation and Change Consultant in Queensland joining us in the Brisbane office.
Applying Indigenous self-determination principles to establish accountability and strong governance across the project lifecycle, WSP’s Indigenous Specialist Services team incorporates employment and training opportunities, Indigenous supply chain procurement and promoting positive project-specific socioeconomic outcomes.
Our place and infrastructure projects offer an opportunity to elevate and acknowledge the Aboriginal Country, culture and people of the land on which they are located. In our Indigenous Specialist Services offering, we have adopted three core principles into our process to ensure we are connecting to Country in our projects – Indigenous led, community involvement and the appropriate use of Indigenous design.
The team has worked on many major projects nationally including WSP's Brisbane Office, the Special Activation Precincts and the Southern Program Alliance to name a few.
Michael Hromek (Yuin), WSP Technical Executive, Indigenous (Architecture) Design and Knowledge, says, “Expanding our Indigenous Specialist Services offering in Brisbane opens an opportunity to assist our Queensland clients in building cultural knowledge into their places and projects with a more locally focused approach.
“We have an important and continuing role to play in taking our clients and stakeholders through the journey and leading with our design principles when talking with Traditional Owners. I believe Ashleigh will be a great addition to the team, working to protect the Indigenous culture.”
Ashleigh has been with WSP for more than three years, previously working in the Sustainability group. She has worked on many significant projects including the Bruce Highway Upgrade – Maroochydore Rd and Mons Road, Inland Rail and more recently the Level Crossing Removal Projects in Melbourne.
Ashleigh says, “I am excited to take on this role as I feel it will make a difference in our communities and really connect us with Indigenous culture. I look forward to giving back to the community and continuing to learn from Elders and passing that knowledge onto others.”
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