Global Reconciliation Exchanges are carefully designed and managed learning exchanges that aim to provide opportunities for local communities from different global contexts to share personal and professional knowledge and experience around how everyday practices can serve as vehicles for social inclusion and reconciliation work at the community level. The three sport focused exchanges to date have combined the long term reconciliation work of Global Reconciliation (through partnered projects with RMIT University, Monash University and the University of Western Sydney) with Bluestone Edge’s concept of the Deepend Journey.

Brazil - Australia 2013: Changing the Score

In October 2013, a group of 18 Australians, including professional athletes, sport-for-development professional and researchers travelled to Rio de Janeiro to participate in an eight-day sport focused Reconciliation Exchange organised by RMIT University, Bluestone Edge and Global Reconciliation and hosted by the Brazilian Institute for Innovations in Social Health (IBISS), an NGO that has been carrying out social inclusion and reconciliation work in dozens of favela (shanty town) communities in Rio since 1989.

The exchange was undertaken with the participation of Richmond Football Club (a team within the Australian Football League – the highest level professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football), and the Korin Gamadji Institute (a prominent Australian Indigenous sport and education pathways organisation.

Brazil - Australia 2013: Changing the Score was conducted as an action research project model with the aim of documenting and evaluating the Reconciliation Exchange model.