NAIDOC Week 2012
NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
NAIDOC Week is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life.
NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’. This committee was once responsible for organising national activities during NAIDOC Week, and its acronym has become the name of the week itself.
The theme for NAIDOC Week 2012 is Spirit of the Tent Embassy: 40 years on. This year’s theme celebrates the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders who established the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972. The Tent Embassy’s founders instilled pride, advanced equality and educated many on the rights of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Acting High Commissioner, Mrs Jane Duke, said “The Australian High Commission is proud to celebrate NAIDOC Week 2012. NAIDOC Week is celebrated not just in the Indigenous community, but also in increasing numbers of schools, local councils, government agencies and workplaces, including at Australian Embassies and High Commissions around the world. For many years, the Australian Government has been the major funding contributor to a range of national focus activities. I welcome the observation of this year’s NAIDOC Week, which aims to promote greater understanding of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures”.
For more information, please refer to the NAIDOC website.