An online prayer and reflection service will be held tomorrow, ahead of Saturday’s referendum on constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Source: NATSICC.
Indigenous
Amar is driving from Sydney to Darwin to engage culturally diverse communities with the Yes campaign
Amar Singh says it’s his responsibility as “a human being” to engage multicultural communities with the Yes campaign.
That’s why he’s begun a two-month 25,000 kilometre round-trip journey from Sydney to Darwin.
Mr Singh won the 2023 Australian of the Year Local Hero award for his work with his charity Turbans 4 Australia, a Sikh-led assistance organisation that delivers food and aid to vulnerable people across western Sydney.
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
In order to raise awareness of the needs of Indigenous Peoples, every 9 August commemorates the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This date, adopted in December 1994 by UN General Assembly marks the date of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights held in Geneva in 1982. Here, we examine the role and futures of the Indigenous Youth of Australia.
Dadirri, “deep listening” that the Aboriginal people offer to the Church
Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – In the Aboriginal communities in Australia, every assembly, meeting, ecclesial gathering is lived starting from a style of relationship with others which is typical of the Aboriginal culture: the spirit of “dadirri” (which means “deep listening”). This attitude, which characterizes the relationship with any other person, allows assemblies to proceed fruitfully, is the basis of “walking together” and represents a trait of synodality which has always been lived in these communities.
Recognition and Voice
An Afternoon With Noel Pearson
With the referendum on the way, it’s important to explore and discuss as a community what it will mean to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is hosting an event with Noel Pearson (online) on Monday 31 July 2023 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm AEST.
Walking Together Workshop
For the 1st Nations People, Sovereignty is a spiritual bond between land and its people and that Sovereignty was never ceded. It ios a connection between past present and future. The Migrant Workers Centre, the Islamic Council of Victoria, the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria jointly hosted a Workshop at the Trades Hall, Melbourne. The workshop took participant through the #Uluru #Statement of the #Heart and how best the Multicultural community can walk with the 1st Nations People to achieve recognition of the Voice in the Constitution.
Support for Constitutional Recognition
In 2020, Religions for Peace Australia amended its Constitution to include support appropriate recognition of the spiritualities of the First Peoples of Australia. In this wise, Religions for Peace Australia wrote to the Prime Minister in August 2020 calling for a Voice to Parliament, a Makarrata Treaty and a Truth Telling Commission. On this page, we provide our reasons for support of the Constitutional Recognition Referendum.
For Our Elders: Embracing NAIDOC Week
For our elders, in honor, we stand tall,
Their wisdom echoes, guiding us all.
In gratitude, their legacy we embrace,
Their timeless teachings, a cherished grace.
Observing NAIDOC Week
From 1940 until 1955, the Day of Mourning was held annually on the Sunday before Australia Day and was known as ‘Aborigines Day’. In 1955 ‘Aborigines Day’ was shifted to the first Sunday in July when it was decided that the day should also become a celebration of Aboriginal culture as well as a day of protest. Major Aboriginal organisations, as well as state and federal governments, all supported the formation of the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC).
As awareness of the distinct cultural histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples grew, NADOC was expanded to recognise Torres Strait Islander people and culture. The committee then became known as the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC).
National Reconciliation Week 2023
Religions for Peace Australia supports First Nations, and the Proposal for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. In this 2023 National Reconciliation Week, Reconciliation cannot be confined to individual actions; it must permeate all aspects of society. One avenue for transformative change lies in early childhood education. By embedding reconciliation in the curriculum, we can shape the next generation’s understanding of our shared history, cultures, and achievements.
Aboriginal elder to visit Vatican for Australia’s Reconciliation Week
Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, an Australian aboriginal elder, teacher and artist, will be in the Vatican from the 29th May to the 3rd June. During her stay in the Vatican, Dr Ungunmerr Baumann will meet with senior officials, discussing faith, ecology, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. There will be a meeting with the Pope.
Saying Yes to the Voice will herald a better future for us all
Truth-telling is essential. We cannot fall into the racist trap of dismissing authenticated stories of the past as a ‘black armband’ view of history, that pejorative label cynically employed by former prime minister John Howard, writes Sister Patty Fawkner, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
