ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/15/2004 8 July 2004
Australian High Commission celebrates NAIDOC Week and Indigenous Australia
This is the week when communities across Australia come together to celebrate the contributions Indigenous Australians have made to their nation and to mark the continuation of Aboriginal culture. In Australia it is called NAIDOC -- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ -- Week.
“NAIDOC Week provides the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the cultural heriatge of indigenous Australians, promoting a greater understanding of Australia’s indigenous peoples,” said the Australian High Commissioner to India, Ms Penny Wensley AO. “The celebrations enable us to display the richness of our indigenous culture and heritage to the rest of the Australian community and the world,” Ms Wensley added.
Australian diplomatic missions worldwide mark the week by flying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the national flag and by staging activities and events to bring indigenous issues to the attention of their host communities. In New Delhi, the Australian High Commissioner will hold a special reception to pay tribute to the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - through the screening of films about exceptional Aboriginal Australians.
“The High Commission has chosen to highlight the lives of two extraordinary Aboriginal Australians to illustrate the contribution Indigenous Australians have made to their people and to Australia,” said Ms Wensley.
One film is a biographical documentary about celebrated Aboriginal poet and civil rights activist Kath Walker (her tribal name was Oodgeroo Noonuccal) who championed the cause for recognition of Aboriginal land rights, the right to vote, the right to an education, and to health care and equality with their white Australian counterparts. The other film traces the life of David Gulpilil, one of Australia’s most respected contemporary actors.
He starred in the film “Rabbit-proof Fence” which was featured as the closing film at this year’s Delhi International Film Festival.
Each year NAIDOC Week has a theme. The themes have represented issues important to indigenous people. This year’s theme is Self-Determination - Our Community - Our Future - Our Responsibility.
For additional information, contact: Ms Clare Duffield, Second Secretary, on 51399900, ext. 219.