23 February, 2010 2:27PM AEST

Indigenous and Polynesian mentor goes to Japan

The co-founder of a group that is helping indigenous and Polynesian people in Cairns better understand each other's cultures is off to Japan for a conference on how other cultures can work together.

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Derek Beaut, who runs DunAmis Youth Services will spend two weeks at JENESYS, or the Japanese-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths talking about his work and learning from other similar services from across Asia.

He will also be the only Australian at the conference.

DunAmis was formed three years ago with Tony Tikitau of Polynesian origin.

"It essentially came from a need to help South Sea Islanders and Pacific Islanders get accustomed to indigenous Australia and our understanding of our land, so there's no war or cultural clash so to speak. [It was] just to make it a more comfortable situation," Mr Beaut, 27, said.

"There was no understanding between them [Aboriginals and Polynesians] so what me and Tony decided to do was develop a company, create a business and harmonise between the communities, get a local understanding.

"Tony's Polynesian, he's from the Cook Islands in the South Pacific and I'm Aboriginal. We formed a bond over many years and we consider each other family so what we decided to do was extend that understanding of each other towards the community."

The service provides after school programs including dance and sport to help break down the boundaries between the different cultures.

"We facilitate programs for children because in indigenous cultures, we're ashamed," Mr Beaut said. "We don't like to mingle outside of the community and outside of the family. We like to hide in our shell because we're comfortable that way."

"So through sports and recreation we're designing more programs that will get them interacting with people from DunAmis because we bring outsiders in.

"We design ice breakers and teach them things about Polynesian culture so it's a culture exchange."

In Japan, Mr Beaut will be working with university professors and discussing ways in which cultural barriers can be brought down.

"It's about understanding one another so there isn't a prejudice," he said.