Photo competition to acknowledge National Sorry Day

Published on 24 April 2020

Mildura Rural City Council has launched a new photo competition to raise awareness and understanding about National Sorry Day and Australia's Stolen Generations.

The competition is open until 5pm, Wednesday 20 May and free to enter.

Councillor for Community Development and Gender Equality Helen Healy said the competition was a way to increase understanding and acknowledgment of National Sorry Day and the Stolen Generations through photography.

The Stolen Generations are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who as children were forcibly taken from their families and communities under the direction of government policies of the time.

"This practice started from the early days of Australian settlement and continued well into the 1970s, shattering cultural and family ties, which has had lasting impacts on these families right up until the present day," Cr Healy said.

National Sorry Day has been held on 26 May since 1998, marking the day the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in the Australian Parliament in 1997.

Bringing Them Home was the final report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families.

The National Sorry Day photo competition is open to photographers of all backgrounds and nationalities, however photo subjects must be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.

Entries are open in the following categories:

Our Elders Paying homage to Stolen Generations children and survivors, photographs in this category must be of Elders aged 60 and over. Prizes will be offered to both the subject and photographer in this category.

Generations Our history books record a sad time when there were Stolen Generations. Photographs in this category are to display the survival of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their continued generations. This could include family portraits showing grandparents, grandchildren, children or parents.

Nyorn Nyorns Nyorn Nyorns is an Aboriginal term for 'cutest' or 'cuteness'. Photographs in this category must be of an individual child aged from birth to seven years.

Muurpa Muurpa means 'young one'. Photographs must be of an individual child aged eight to 13.

Deadly Mob The Deadly Mob are our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teenagers, future leaders and role models. Photographs in this category must be of an individual young person aged 14 to 17.

  The winning photographer in each category will receive a Coles Group and Myers Gift Card. The subject in the winning Our Elders category will receive a package including a fruit and vegetable hamper and meat pack.

All entrants must live, work or study in the Council municipality and must adhere to current restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, including how to enter, visit www.mildura.vic.gov.au/sorrydaycomp

Media enquiries  Ben Piscioneri p) (03) 5018 8689  e) [email protected]