Media Release on 9 July 2007

50th Anniversary of NAIDOC Week

From 8 to 15 July 2007, Australia will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of NAIDOC Week, which will be marked with the “deadly” (excellent) theme: 50 years: Looking Forward, Looking Blak.

NAIDOC is a way of celebrating and promoting a greater understanding of the peoples, cultures, histories, and achievements of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The celebration follows on from the 40th Anniversary, in May, of a national referendum that took place on 27 May 1967, in which the Australian people voted overwhelmingly – more than 90% - to officially recognise Indigenous Australians as full citizens.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee and is celebrated around Australia in the first full week in July each year. The highlight of this year’s activities will be the National NAIDOC Awards and Ball to be held in Darwin, the Northern Territory of Australia on Black Friday, 13 July.

The awards recognise the outstanding achievements of Indigenous Australians in such categories as the Elder of the Year, Indigenous Sportsperson of the Year, Indigenous Person of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award, amongst others.

The Australian Embassy in Hanoi and Australia Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh will celebrate the event with several activities.

An Indigenous touring exhibition Gelam Nguzu Kazi- Dugong My Son has been showcased from 15 to 21 June in Ho Chi Minh City and from 28 June to 7 July in Hanoi. It is a striking collection of artistic works from the Kubin community of Mua Island, located in the Torres Strait north of Australia’s mainland.

Flag raising ceremonies will be held at the Australian Embassy in Hanoi and Australia Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh.

The Embassy will also hold a NAIDOC Quiz night for Australian Development Scholarship students, who will travel to Australia for study in 2008. The Quiz will provide the opportunity increase the students’ awareness of Indigenous issues, history, people, and of course of Indigenous cultures.

The Consulate-General will hold an Indigenous Movie Day with selected short films will be screened in RMIT International University Vietnam on 13 July. The first 30 people to entry each movie session will receive a fee copy of “Australia in brief”. Audiences will also have a chance to win many attractive prizes with a short NAIDOC Trivia Quiz before each movie session.

To learn more about NAIDOC Week and trivia quiz answers please visit NAIDOC website www.naidoc.org.au.

For further information about the media release please contact:

Nguyen Thi Thanh An
Public Affairs and Cultural Relations Manager
Tel. 04-8317755 ext. 302 or Mobile 0903423440
Email. [email protected]