NAIDOC Week: For Our Elders

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land and pay respect to Elders and leaders past and present. Lakeside Joondalup is located on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Peoples.

Each year during the first week of July, national NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia. This year, NAIDOC Week runs from the 2nd until the 9th of July.

NAIDOC Week is a time for all Australians to learn about and celebrate the oldest continuing cultures on earth: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It’s an opportunity to connect with and give recognition to the histories, cultures, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the important role they play in Australia’s story.

Exciting activities happen during NAIDOC Week, including the National NAIDOC Week Awards Ceremony, which celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander excellence, and the NAIDOC Week Poster Competition, featuring work from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists aged 13 years and up.

Each year, a theme is chosen by the National NAIDOC Committee to represent and recognise important issues relevant to the time. The theme for NAIDOC Week in 2023 is "For Our Elders".

The theme highlights that across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in our communities and families. They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and our loved ones. Everyday we all have a part to play in creating environments where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are valued, respected, and empowered, and drawing strength from our Elders knowledge and experience will help set the course that follows.

This NAIDOC Week there are many ways you can connect with and give recognition to the histories, cultures, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the important role they play in Australia’s story. This could mean attending a NAIDOC Week event near you as a show of support and unity. It can mean celebrating those who have already driven and led change over generations. And it can mean being a champion for institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative change in your workplace, university, school, and social environments.

Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians, and you are encouraged to show your support this NAIDOC Week and get to know your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities by attending activities and events near you.

To find out more abot how we are celebrating NAIDOC week and the 2023 theme, click here.

For more information about national NAIDOC Week, the 2023 theme, and for additional ideas on how to celebrate the week, check out the NAIDOC website.

To see a map of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia visit the AIATSIS website.