VACCA will once again host events across the state for community to gather and celebrate NAIDOC Week.
VACCA’s NAIDOC Week events attract hundreds of children, young people, Elders, families, carers and community members across the state, providing the opportunity for us to get together and celebrate our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and cultures.
This year is a special celebration and we honor the role that Elders play in bringing up strong connected children and families. We recognise their ongoing journeys, and how their fight for Aboriginal and Torres Strait voices and culture to be recognised and celebrated has paved the way for our collective futures.
For many children in care, VACCA NAIDOC events are the only event they can attend for the year where they know their culture is valued, respected, and that they belong to a community that means something very important.
"NAIDOC is a special time as it is the one time of the year that as a peoples we can celebrate each other with pride and joy and what it means to be Aboriginal. Hosting events for our children, our families and our community, giving them the chance to come together is so special and it’s so important for our children in understanding who they are and where they come from,” says VACCA CEO Muriel Bamblett.
“I encourage the Aboriginal community to get involved in our NAIDOC activities throughout the week where possible,” she added.
This year's NAIDOC theme For Our Elders acknowledges the influence Elders in community have in our lives, and are integral to the success of VACCA.
“As holders of cultural knowledge, as leaders, teachers, trailblazers and advocates, our Elders give us strength and guidance. Their struggles have helped to pave the way for ongoing change, recognition and voice; and it is their strength and resilience that helps us move forward. We pay our respects also to those Elders we have lost for their part in supporting our children and VACCA” said Ms Bamblett.
There's plenty of opportunities for allies to show support too this NAIDOC Week. Stand together with mob and march in the streets, or join your local flag raising ceremony. It’s also a time to play your part in promoting respectful relationships between Aboriginal people and non‑Indigenous Australians - calling out racism and being vocal in your support of ensuring Aboriginal people will have a voice on issues that affect them now and in the future.