As most people know this week is National Reconciliation Week (NRW). The week goes from May 27th - June 3rd each year so I thought I'd fill people in about what this week is about and how we can be continually supporting the goals that this week seeks to promote.
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Why May 27th-June 3rd?
In 1967, May 27th saw a referendum in which 90% of Australia voted to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the census.
In 1992, June 3rd saw Australia commit to the Mabo decision, legally recognizing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as having a special connection to Australian land, long before colonization.
What happens on NRW?
This years theme is "Let's Talk Recognition" and people are being encouraged to go into their workplace, uni, church, or other place of community and recognize the contributions and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Some ways that they suggest doing this is through a poster, playing music, starting a recognition wall, and there are a bunch of resources on the NRW website including posters, fact sheets and an event template poster if you want to hold an event.
There are also pre-existing events you can also go to that you can find more about here; http://www.reconciliation.org.au/nrw/national-reconciliation-week/what-s-on#1533
Close the Gap
Something else that's being publicized a lot this week is the Close the Gap initiative. This campaign seeks to close the gap between life expectancy of non-indigenous, and indigenous peoples; being an up to 20 years difference currently.
Close the Gap is linked in with Oxfam and you can support the campaign by buying shirts like....
To find out more about NRW http://www.reconciliation.org.au/
To find out more about Close the Gap https://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/indigenous-australia/close-the-gap/
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I would love to hear what's going on in your world this National Reconciliation Week.
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