Reconciliation Week

Rec Week poster 2010Reconciliation Week 27th May - 3rd June

The Lasy Kinection (Photo by Sara Kovari Creative Commons) Reconciliation Week is held every year from 27th May until 3rd June. The week marks two important dates – the anniversary of the 1967 referendum (27th May 1967) and the anniversary of the Mabo land rights decision (3rd June 1992). The week commemorates the gains made for Indigenous rights and reconciliation throughout Australia’s history, and provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the work that still needs to be done.

Each year community groups, schools, and other organisations across the country mark Reconciliation Week by holding events including discussion forums, Indigenous cultural festivals, flag raising ceremonies, walks, school fetes and other projects aimed at raising awareness of Indigenous social justice issues and exploring ways of meeting these challenges in our communities. Events are also held for Sorry Day, which precedes Reconciliation Week on the 26th May, to commemorate the day the Bringing them Home Report on the Stolen Generations was presented to Parliament.

Reconciliation Week 2011

The theme for Reconciliation Week 2011 is Let's Talk Recognition: You, Me, Us. Reconciliation Week provides an opportunity for all Australians to continue the dialogue around what we share and the disparities that we need to rectify.

Recognition is about acknowledging validity and this can happen on all levels. The proposition of changes to the Constitution is an important acknowledgement of the First Australians and the unique relationship that they have to this land. The tagline 'You, Me, Us' which is specific to NSW, refers to Reconciliation being a peoples movement and centred around building understanding at an individual level.

This Reconciliation Week we ask you to think about who deserves recognition in your community and why 'Us' is stronger than 'You and Me'.

More information about this years theme is available here.

There's plenty of exciting things happening for Reconciliation Week this year. We will be showcasing and awarding the best entries from this years Schools Reconciliation Challenge and Tuned In will be happening again this year. More details to come.