For Our Elders
National NAIDOC Week is from 2 July to 9 July 2023. This year’s theme is For Our Elders.
NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to come together to celebrate the rich history, diverse cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the oldest continuing cultures on the planet.
We share the National NAIDOC Committee Co-Chair’s statement about this year’s theme.
"The Elders are the ones that hold on to the culture and the lore, they are the most important aspect of healing our people. They have the enormous task of maintaining and passing on traditional knowledge, values and customary practices, while helping us find balance as we navigate between two very different worlds."
“They have laid the foundations for us to be successful across multiple sectors like health, education, the arts, politics and everything in between.
"The inspiration they spark in us as Anangu (Aboriginal) people allows us to dream of futures that are bigger, brighter and blacker and that’s what we are celebrating this NAIDOC Week."
Unison is striving to continually learn more about our First Nations peoples and the traditional lands on which we build our affordable homes, where our offices are located, and where we work and provide our services – the Wurundjeri, the Boon Wurrung/Bunurong, the Wathaurong (also known as Wadda Wurrung) people and the people who make up the Kulin Nation.
In creating communities that thrive, Unison recognises the wisdom of First Nations and can learn from their healthy, respectful communities and their stewardship of the land.
To celebrate NAIDOC Week, Unison is activating learning tools for our team to gain more of an understanding of the Traditional Custodians’ cultures and histories of the lands where we work.
This greater understanding will broaden our team’s perspectives and give more meaning to each time we pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and Elders, and where we work each day. For example, in Werribee we have our Market Street property in Bunurong Country, just metres away across the Werribee River from our Cottrell Street property in Wadawurrung Country.
Traditional Lands where we work
For more information about National NAIDOC Week and the activities, head to https://www.naidoc.org.au/
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