Take part in
NAIDOC Week 2020 Events
Always Was, Always Will Be. This is the theme for 2020 NAIDOC Week, held from 8th – 15th November. This year’s theme recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. We are spiritually and culturally connected to this country. This country was criss-crossed by generations of brilliant Nations.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were Australia’s first explorers, first navigators, first engineers, first farmers, first botanists, first scientists, first diplomats, first astronomers and first artists.
Australia has the world’s oldest oral stories. The First Peoples engraved the world’s first maps, made the earliest paintings of ceremony and invented unique technologies. We built and engineered structures – structures on Earth – predating well-known sites such as the Egyptian Pyramids and Stonehenge.
Our adaptation and intimate knowledge of Country enabled us to endure climate change, catastrophic droughts and rising sea levels.
Always Was, Always Will Be. acknowledges that hundreds of Nations and our cultures covered this continent. All were managing the land – the biggest estate on earth – to sustainably provide for their future.
Through ingenious land management systems like fire stick farming we transformed the harshest habitable continent into a land of bounty. NAIDOC Week 2020 acknowledges and celebrates that our nation’s story didn’t begin with documented European contact whether in 1770 or 1606 – with the arrival of the Dutch on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula. The very first footprints on this continent were those belonging to First Nations peoples.
Our coastal Nations watched and interacted with at least 36 contacts made by Europeans prior to 1770. Many of them resulting in the charting of the northern, western and southern coastlines – of our lands and our waters.
For us, this nation’s story began at the dawn of time.
NAIDOC 2020 invites all Australians to embrace the true history of this country – a history which dates back thousands of generations.
It’s about seeing, hearing and learning the First Nations’ 65,000+ year history of this country – which is Australian history. We want all Australians to celebrate that we have the oldest continuing cultures on the planet and to recognise that our sovereignty was never ceded.
Always Was, Always Will Be.
Wherever you live, you can take part in NAIDOC Week celebrations. We have complied a list of NAIDOC week events taking place near to our Queensland and Northern New South Wales offices.
NAIDOC Week Events
| Name of Event | Location | Date / Time | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birrunga Gallery & Dining | NAIDOC 2020 Exhibition | Birrunga Gallery & Dining, Brisbane | Monday, November 9, 2020 – 07:00 to Saturday, November 14, 2020 – 15:00 | aj@birrunga.com.au 07 3705 5742 or email reception@birrunga.com.au for more information. |
| Tukka Time Onling Cooking Classes | Virtual | Monday 9 November – Friday 13 November | https://www.facebook.com/TuckaTime/ |
| Room for Dreaming | Virtual | Monday, 9 November – Sunday, 15 November, 2020 | bwf.org.au/roomfordreaming or info@bwf.org.au |
| NAIDOC Celebration – Promotional Awareness | 8/182 Grafton Street, Cairns | Tuesday, November 10, 2020 / 10:00 to 17:00 | Grass Roots Advisory Services (GRASs) edwardsailor@grassrootsadvisoryservices.com.au |
| Town Hall Meeting: Always Was, Always Will Be | Burnett Room, Wesley House, 140 Ann Street, Brisbane Virtual | Tuesday, November 10 , 2020 /10.30am – 12.30pm | Visit the following link to register your interest to the live stream of this panel event: https://thecooperativehub.com/index.php/events/town-hall-meeting-always-was-always-will-be-online/ |
| Agents of Change in the construction industry. | Online | Tuesday, November 10, 2020 – 10:30 to 11:30 | events@tsamgt.com |
| University of Queensland Great Book Swap | Grassy Knoll, Campbell Place, St Lucia | Wednesday, November 11, 2020 / 10:00 to 14:00 | lynnell.angus@uq.edu.au |
| Namba NAIDOC | Nambour Show Grounds | Friday, November 13, 2020 / 15:30 to 19:00 | kaila.thrivingfamilies@nambourcc.org |
| First Nations Artisan Markets | Birrunga Gallery & Dining, Brisbane | Saturday, November 14, 2020 / 08:00 to 14:00 | aj@birrunga.com.au |
| 2020 NAIDOC WEEK FILM SCREENINGS | Majestic Cinemas Nambour | Saturday, November 14 – Sunday November 15 / 9:00 – 21:00 | marketing@majesticcinemas.com.au |
| Wild Foods & Cultural Festival | Beenleigh Historical Village | Sunday, November 15, 2020 / 10:00 to 16:00 | kerryn@greataustralianexperiences.com |
| Mindle Bygul Aboriginal Corporation NAIDOC 2020 Family Fun Day in the Park | Barujugan ParK, Cnr Endeavour and Captain Cook Parade, Deception Bay QLD 4508 (Behind Deception Bay Library) | Saturday, November 28, 2020 / 09:15 to 15:15 | projectmanager.mindlebygul@gmail.com |
For more information on NAIDOC Week or to find out about other events taking place around Australia or virtually, visit the NAIDOC Committee Website.