Reconciliation Week 2023

It’s Reconciliation Week between Saturday 27 May and Saturday 3 June. In celebration of our First Nations community, Council is presenting events, activities and artworks in partnership with Maroondah Movement for Reconciliation and Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place (MMIGP).

MMGIP are a valued part of our Ringwood East community. The organisation supports and facilitates a variety of cultural activities and programs that incorporate art, music, language and storytelling, providing a culturally safe and inclusive space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to feel connected and empowered.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2023 is: Be a Voice for Generations,

It encourages all Australians to be a voice for Reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise – to create a better, more just Australia for everyone.

Mayor of Maroondah, Councillor Rob Steane, encouraged the Maroondah community to learn more about the importance of Reconciliation and how we can all make a difference.

“Reconciliation Week is a time for people of all ages and backgrounds to get together and strengthen relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community.

“By continuing to work together to build mutual respect, unity and shared understanding, we can shape a better future for all Australians,” Cr Steane said.

“I encourage everyone in our community to take part in Reconciliation Week to learn more about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and how everyone can help achieve Reconciliation in Australia through our everyday actions.”

From National Sorry Day on Friday 26 May until the end of NAIDOC Week on Sunday 9 July, two major new arts projects will be presented in Realm, Ringwood,

From our Elders is a video installation created by Narungga/Kaurna and Trawoolwaway multimedia artist Daen Sansbury-Smith and his production company Blak Crow.

Daen has created a video installation from a series of interviews with Elders from Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, including five Elders from Ringwood’s Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place (MMIGP). The installation includes video footage of the Country where the Elders are from and cultural displays of tools and weaving presented by MMIGP.

On the windows of Realm, Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place artist Amanda Wright has created a series of artworks including depictions of Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place Elders Aunty Irene Norman and Aunty Daphne Milward.

Join us on Friday 2 June from 10am to 12noon for Maroondah Celebrates Reconciliation, featuring a Smoking Ceremony, Welcome to Country and performances by award-winning singer/songwriter and proud Mutti Mutti man Kutcha Edwards, the Eastwood Primary School Choir and local music group Yeng Gali Mullum, who will launch their new CD Cultural Synergy.

First celebrated in 1996, Reconciliation Week runs from 27 May to 3 June each year. The week is timed to commemorate two significant milestones in the Reconciliation journey: the 1967 Referendum and the High Court Mabo decision.

Saturday 27 May is the anniversary of the successful 1967 Referendum, in which more than 90 per cent of Australians voted to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census.

On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia delivered its landmark Mabo decision. This decision paved the way for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights called Native Title, as it legally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had a special relationship to the land, that this relationship existed prior to colonisation and that it still exists today.

For further information on any of these events, contact Council on 1300 88 22 33.