Reconciliation Day

In 2018, the nation's capital became the first Australian jurisdiction to dedicate a public holiday to Reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In the Territory, Reconciliation Day is an annual ACT public holiday and is held each year on the first Monday on or after the 1967 Referendum anniversary date of 27 May – the start of the National Reconciliation Week.

In 2020, National Reconciliation Week runs from 27 May to 3 June with the theme of In This Together and the ACT Reconciliation Day public holiday will be on Monday 1 June.

Reconciliation Day is a time for all Canberrans to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Spend your ACT Reconciliation Day public holiday with us as we bring you a range of free activities for all members of your household to engage with. Our activities are designed to promote conversation and foster a deeper understanding of our national story and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Please visit this website for more information: http://www.events.act.gov.au/reconciliation-day

Learn more about reconciliation by visiting the Reconciliation Australia website at: http://nrw.reconcilation.org.au and join the Reconciliation Film Club screenings at: http://sbs .co m.au/learn/reconciliationfilmclub

You can see the traditional owners of lands across Australia on the map here: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/aiatsis-map-indigenous-australia

Pledge & Share

We are all on our own personal journey toward reconciliation, but we are asking you to make a pledge and show us your commitment this Reconciliation Day.

Download a pledge postcard here:http://events.act.gov.au/reconciliation-day/pledgeSimply follow the instructions and examples on the postcard on how you can make your personal pledge.

Make it creative and share your pledge using #ReconciliationDayCBR and #InThisTogether2020

……………………….………………..We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the ACT, the Ngunnawal people. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.

Create & ConnectShare with us your creative side and connect with the 2020 National Reconciliation Week theme, In This Together. Reflect on your experience and what you see in the community around you, particularly now during the current Covid-19 health environment. How will you express your creativity to show that we are in this together?

Here are some examples on how you can get your creative juices flowing:

• Photography – take some photos of items you feel connects you to reconciliation

• Visual art – paint, draw or create sculptures to express what reconciliation means to you

• Writing – pen a letter, write a poem or short story that describes the way you connect with reconciliation and the theme, “In This Together”

• Reading – film a short video where you are reading aloud your favourite poem or short story or article that relates to the theme

You can email your submission to reconciliation.event@act.gov.au

Learn & GrowThis Reconciliation Day, watch some fabulous videos at: https://events.act.gov.au/ reconciliation-day/learn

Caring for Country: Richie Allan, a local Ngunnawal man will take us on a journey as we learn the cultural history of the Molonglo, Murrumbidgee and Yass Rivers. We will also learn to identify artefacts and where they can be found in our backyard or bushland.

You will also learn from Kristi Lee, a Githabul Bundjalung woman about native plant and animal species specific to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and why it is important to care for the land and its animals.

Bush Tucker: Richie Allan returns with Adam Shipp, a Wiradjuri man who shares with the community how they cook ‘Buru’, a Ngunnawal word for Kangaroo. They will share how to cook this delicious dish and discuss how this would have been made traditionally and how it has been adapted to fit into our current way of living.

They will include local Ngunnawal herbs to enhance the flavour of the dish and discuss where the herbs can be sourced and their use.

Uncle Benny Hodges, a well-respected Torres Strait Islander Elder will also discuss traditional flavours used in cultural dishes and how they have since been adapted to fit in with modern living as he cooks a family favourite recipe,‘Awa Benny’s Subbi Subbi Fish and Fried Scone’.

Free NRW resourcesFree resources are available to help our community connect, share and learn such as the National Reconciliation Week 2020 poster and activity book. Request your free pack from: https://nrw.reconciliation.org.au/request-poster/

Resources may be limited. For more information about National Reconciliation Week 2020, visit https://nrw.reconciliation.org.au #InThisTogether2020

Reconciliation ArtworkLynnice Church

In March 2019, EventsACT commissioned local artist Lynnice Church to create an artwork about reconciliation, a piece that could be used to unite our communication and discussion about reconciliation in Canberra

Lynnice is named after her grandmother Letty Little nee Bell, a beautiful Ngunnawal woman who inspires Lynnice every time she paints. Her connections extend across Ngunnawal country (Canberra, Yass, Pudmans and Blakeney Creek), Wiradjuri Country (Tumut, Brungle Mission, Wagga, Cowra, and Narrandera to Gilgandra) and Kamilaroi Country (Walgett).

Lynnice has created a painting that embodies the essence of reconciliation, equity and understanding. The painting titled ‘Reconciliation’ represents the Ngunnawal people of Canberra, Queanbeyan and surrounding region and the coming together of people on Ngunnawal Country as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Why not try adding your own colours to the Reconciliation colouring in sheet? Send us a photo at reconciliation.event@act.gov.au

ReconciliationArtwork by Lynnice Church (Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi)