News

Nominations for the 2021 National NAIDOC Awards have been extended until 5pm AEDT, Monday 29 March 2021. The National NAIDOC awards recognise the outstanding contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This year’s ceremony will include the 2020 and 2021 awards due to the cancellation of the 2020 awards last year. People are encouraged to nominate individuals and groups who go above and beyond to improve the lives of First Nations people in their communities, promote Indigenous issues in the wider community or show excellence in their chosen field.

The National NAIDOC Committee invites entries from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists for the National NAIDOC Poster Competition reflecting and capturing the 2021 theme: Heal Country!

The NAIDOC 2021 theme – Heal Country! – calls for all of us to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction.

Proud Noongar and Saibai Islander man, Tyrown Waigana is the winner of the prestigious National NAIDOC poster competition for 2020. His artwork, ‘Shape of Land’, illustrates this year’s NAIDOC Week theme, ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ as it shows the Rainbow Serpent coming out of the Dreamtime to create this country.

In an Australian television first, openshop has partnered with National NAIDOC during NAIDOC Week 2020 to promote and celebrate Indigenous businesses. Channel 75’s openshop will host a special NAIDOC Week show at 1.30pm AEDT on Friday 13 November that will feature a range of diverse products from a collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and entrepreneurs.

NAIDOC has partnered with Facebook Australia to launch new tools and initiatives to celebrate Indigenous people, stories, and businesses for NAIDOC Week 2020. Starting 8th November across Facebook and Instagram, Australians will be empowered to connect with this year’s ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ theme and with Indigenous-designed tools, creators, and businesses. In welcoming the partnership, National NAIDOC Co Chair, John Paul Janke said it was an exciting opportunity to expand the reach and footprint of NAIDOC Week like never before.

National NAIDOC has proudly partnered with Netflix to help highlight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content across the streaming service during NAIDOC Week 2020. Across NAIDOC Week, Netflix will 'share the mic' by pointing to Indigenous stories on Netflix, NITV/SBS, and ABC iView. These include a wide variety of award-winning TV shows, movies, documentaries, and exciting new and live content including NITV’s Big Mob Brekky and SBS/NITV’s Stand Up and Be Counted NAIDOC Concert Special.

Statement from the National NAIDOC Committee Regardless of when it is celebrated NAIDOC Week is an event of national importance for all Australians. A week borne from a day of protest, NAIDOC Week each year reminds us of the ongoing aspirations of our communities as they continue the movement towards justice and equality.

The countdown is on to National NAIDOC Week 2020. We have shared some tips on how you can get involved. 

The National NAIDOC Committee has proudly partnered with the Woolworths Group to nationally distribute the 2020 NAIDOC Week poster. The partnership enables the distribution of some 200,000 NAIDOC posters from 1000 Woolworths outlets across the country. NAIDOC Week 2020 will be held from 8-15 November under the theme Always Was Always Will Be. The revised November dates for NAIDOC Week 2020 follow its postponement from the original July dates due to the impacts and uncertainty from the escalating Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The National NAIDOC Committee has made the decision to cancel the 2020 National NAIDOC Awards ceremony. The Awards ceremony was scheduled to be held in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in November. The difficult decision was made considering the changing and widespread impacts of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of travel restrictions, quarantining, and physical distancing requirements. This decision was not taken lightly and was reached in consultations with the Alice Springs NAIDOC Committee and other stakeholders and partners.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 and the postponement of NAIDOC Week to 8-15 November, the local grant round had been put on hold. NAIDOC Local Grants offer an opportunity for community groups to organise activities that celebrate our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, achievements, and our continuing contributions to our country and society. The NAIDOC Local Grants support all activities, big and small. The majority of grants are for amounts of $500 to $1,000.