NAIDOC week organisers push for solidarity
Our future begins with solidarity…that’s the theme of this year’s NAIDOC week celebrations. NAIDOC, stands for the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee. It’s a week that provides an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to honour their community with awards for outstanding achievements and community service. The week’s celebrations, being hosted in the city of Adelaide, will culminate with a march on Friday, an awards ceremony and a ball. Separate events will also be taking place across the country. NAIDOC week comes as the community is still coming to terms with the events of the past 12 months, which have seen their abolition of their peak elected body, ATSIC. The past year has also seen the draining of funds from key services, as part of the Federal Government policy of mainstreaming services originally designated just for indigenous people. The National Chairman of NAIDOC week, is Tauto Sansbury. He outlined the week’s aims to The Wire’s Erica Vowles.