Reconciliatory action and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games: inclusion for Indigenous Australian women?

The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) were branded innovative and inclusive — an opportunity for all Australians, including Indigenous Australians—to showcase their culture and talents. Underpinning this inclusivity, Games partners, including Indigenous Elders, developed a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), the first delivered by a major Australian sport event. Acknowledging the Games’ recent staging and gender equity objectives, this research explores how the GC2018 RAP enabled the inclusion of Indigenous Australian women. A social inclusion framework based on four inclusion dimensions—spatial, relational, functional and power— frames our examination of the implementation of the RAP. In applying this framework, the research informs critical debates concerned with understanding RAP outcomes and effects. Key themes include making space for Indigeneity, cultural belonging, skills and leadership opportunities and enabling the Indigenous voice. The study findings can inform future planning of reconciliatory activities associated with sport events.