This week is National Reconciliation Week, a time to celebrate the culture of First Nations people and explore Australia’s shared histories, cultures and achievements.
2020 marks two decades since the groundbreaking reconciliation walks of 2000, with 250,000 indigenous folks and allies coming together at bridges across the country to call for greater recognition and equality for First Nations people.
Reconciliation Australia’s Chief Executive Officer Karen Mundine says this year’s theme, In This Together, could not be more timely.
“That theme is resonating now in ways we could not have foreseen but it reminds us whether in a crisis or in reconciliation, we are all in this together!” Mundine said.
“Our program of online events and activities mean we can still be in this together while being apart.”
“The anniversary dates which mark National Reconciliation Week (NRW) are significant milestones for reconciliation: 27 May – the 1967 Referendum, and 3 June – the High Court Mabo decision.”
“Like other important dates we commemorate, the purpose remains the same even if the way we mark it is different.”
“The reconciliation bridge walks marked a shift in our national consciousness and twenty years later more than 90% of Australians now support reconciliation, with 80% believing in the importance of formal truth telling processes,” said Mundine.
Reconciliation Australia are recommending 20 ways to be ‘in this together’ in 2020.
Activities include tuning into Indigitube channel, learning more about the Uluru Statement from the Heart, looking back on 2000’s bridge walks, cooking with native ingredients, and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.
We would also encourage our readers to connect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ+ organisation Black Rainbow, as well as local organisations First Peoples Rainbow Mob and Noongar FM’s Rainbow KINection program, and support the vital services they provide to our communities.
For more information on National Reconciliation Week, head to reconciliation.org.au
Image: Facebook
OUTinPerth acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live and work. OUTinPerth is created on the land of the Whadjuk Noongar people.
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