National Reconciliation Week doesn’t start until Sunday but about 200 Illawarra public school students and teachers kicked off the celebrations early on Thursday.
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Aboriginal students invited a non-Aboriginal or Torres Islander friend along to the special reconciliation event held at the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach.
Peter Hewitt, the Department of Education Aboriginal education and wellbeing advisor for the Illawarra region, said the event allowed students to share stories, hear from community members and create new stories in and around Aboriginal education.
“The event really captured that shared journey of all students having a strong understanding of Aboriginal education,” he said.
“Essentially our students working with a non-Aboriginal friend are able to carry on some of these values and legacies of respect and looking after country, into the future.”
Aboriginal elder Aunty Barbara Nicholson did the welcome to country.
Many other elders also attended the event, which also featured representatives from the Northern Illawarra Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, including president Julie Street-Smith.
The Novotel was intrinsically involved in this year’s event because they wanted a way to celebrate their indigenous staff members and include them in an event about reconciliation.
St George Illawarra Dragons players and Jason Gillard from the Australian Indigenous Mentor Experience (AIME) also talked to kids about reconciliation.
“Don’t Keep History A Mystery: Learn. Share. Grow” is the theme of this year’s National Reconciliation Week (May 27 to June 3).