Auspire acknowledges National Reconciliation Week 2019
As we progress in the movement towards our countries reconciliation, Auspire continues to acknowledge its importance, not only within this one week of the year, but throughout the year. Through Auspire’s partnerships with various organisations Auspire is able to support the acknowledgement and recognition of our First Nations People to ensure its significance in our progress as a collective nation.
Running annually from 27 May to 3 June, this year’s theme Grounded in Truth: Walk Together with Courage, Auspire saw Sorry Day on May 26 as an important moment to remember the past policies of forced child removal aligning with this year’s theme. To therefore reflect on the sad and painful history of the Stolen Generations and recognise moments of resilience, healing and the power of saying Sorry.
Throughout the week, the Auspire Team attended several Reconciliation Week Events as a significant partner supporting our states Reconciliation. The importance for Auspire to support such projects assists senior leaders across the State, to explore the current state of Reconciliation in WA and to promote collaborative opportunities through shared values and collective aspirations to advance reconciliation.
Some of the Reconciliation Week events that Auspire supports:
National Reconciliation Week Breakfast
Auspire’s partnership with Reconciliation WA in partnership with Rio Tinto, BHP, Woodside and Crown Perth are holding a Reconciliation Breakfast on Friday 31 May 2019.
This year’s theme welcomes opportunities for truth-telling, justice and healing; the imperatives for progressing the journey of reconciliation, meaningfully.
Walk for Reconciliation
The Walk symbolises a united Western Australia and the respectful relations that are being driven between our First People and all other Australians through the reconciliation movement. It is a public show of leadership, support and solidarity to reconcile our State and achieve parity and equity of our First People whilst celebrating the culture and contribution of our First People as a collective Western Australian community.
The Walk for Reconciliation will begin with a Welcome to Country at the Wardang Gardens, Milligan St and Telethon Avenue – next to RAC Arena and conclude in Yagan Square.
The event is open to the public and will run from between 12pm-2pm.
There will be cultural activation along the route and at the finish location.
Street Banner Project
This project has been running since 2011 with the support of a growing number of organisations and local governments.
This project offers a positive contribution towards reconciliation and provides the opportunity for organisations to recognise the significant place of Aboriginal people and culture within our community.
This year, 120 organisations were involved in sponsoring over 415 reconciliation banners and Auspire was extremely proud to be apart of this amazing project.
Sorry Day
The forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children began as early as the mid-1800s and continued until the 1970s.
Exactly one year after the Bringing Them Home Report was presented to the Parliament, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised and held the first Sorry Day on 26th May 1998.
The Bringing Them Home Report was the result of an inquiry into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, and recommends both an apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and reparations. The term “Stolen Generations” refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who were forcibly removed, as children, from their families by government, welfare or church authorities and placed into institutional care or with non-Indigenous foster families, which is still, and will forever be present in Aboriginal culture.
“We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians…For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, 13 February 2008
Auspire – The Australia Day Council (WA), acknowledges our First Australians, the traditional custodians of country throughout Western Australia. We recognise their continuing culture, their contribution and connection to land, waters and community, and we pay our respect to their elders past, present and emerging.