THE SCENIC Rim will join with areas throughout Australia this week to recognise and celebrate National Reconciliation Week (NRW).
The theme this year is Now More Than Ever, which is a reminder to all that the fight for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must continue.
The dates for NRW remain the same each year May 27 to June 3.
These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.
A spokesperson for the organising committee of NRW said it was vital Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians if we were to move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.”
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) started as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993 (the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples) and was supported by Australia’s major faith communities.
In 1996, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation launched Australia’s first National Reconciliation Week.
In 2001 Reconciliation Australia was established to continue to provide national leadership on reconciliation.
In the same year, approximately 300,000 people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of National Reconciliation Week-and subsequently across bridges in cities and towns-to show their support for reconciliation.
This week National Reconciliation Week will be celebrated across the Scenic Rim in workplaces, schools and other venues led by community organisations and by locals.
