CDU joins nation to celebrate NAIDOC Week

Charles Darwin University will join the national celebration of NAIDOC Week with a series of events including the launch of a strategy that acknowledges the contributions of Indigenous peoples to education and addresses gaps that continue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

NAIDOC Week, which celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Indigenous peoples, will kick off with a Yarning Circle, Bush Medicine workshops and live music on CDU’s Alice Springs campus on Monday, 9 November.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Leadership and Regional Outreach Professor Reuben Bolt said the national celebrations, which were usually held in July, had been postponed this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“We are excited to move forward with a week of events that celebrates Indigenous peoples in the NT and to celebrate collaboration within the university, and the broader community,” he said.

Professor Bolt said NAIDOC’s 2020 theme “Always was, Always will be” was an opportunity to promote unity within the university and celebrate its contribution to improving Indigenous educational outcomes. CDU will launch its Indigenous Leadership Strategy during the week.

“The CDU Indigenous Leadership Strategy is a pillar of (CDU’s strategic plan) ‘Connect Discover Grow’,” he said. “It embeds a whole-of-university approach and provides CDU executive staff and management an opportunity to embrace and take responsibility for achieving our Indigenous targets.”

He said the strategy was a significant step forward in ensuring that the improvement of Indigenous outcomes was everyone’s business.

“The collaborative work contributing to the production of this strategy provides opportunities to nurture and build upon our communities, to ensure Indigenous contribution, commitment and needs are part of the very fabric of CDU, in our efforts to close the many educational gaps that continue to exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.”

Other events include an Elders lunch hosted by CDU Larrakia Academic-in-Residence, Billawarra Lee (Aunty B), a film screening of “Black Divaz” hosted by one of the stars of the film Ben Gratez and a Zoom “Making Things Lively” on the Yolŋu art of digital connection presented by Paul Gurrumuruwuy and Jennifer Deger from Gapuwiyak.

For more information visit www.cdu.edu.au/events