ABC has been named the Official Broadcast and Education Partner of National NAIDOC Week 2023.
The NAIDOC National Committee recognizes ABC’s longstanding support for NAIDOC National Week which, this year, runs from Sunday, July 2 through Sunday, July 9.
ABC will broadcast the NAIDOC Awards Ceremony live from Meanjin Brisbane from 7.30pm (AEST) on Saturday 1st July. The awards will be hosted by Nyikina’s proud man, actor, writer and producer, Mark Coles Smith (Mystery Road: Origin) and proud Gumbaynggirr/Dunghutti Woman songwriter, Casey Donovan.
Steven Satour, co-chair of the NAIDOC National Committee, said: “There is no other week – or celebration – as meaningful as NAIDOC National Week for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The National NAIDOC Week Awards Ceremony is the flagship event of National NAIDOC Week and provides an opportunity for all Australians to come together to celebrate the rich history, diverse culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the oldest continuing cultures on this planet. The NAIDOC National Committee is proud to share this celebration with the ABC audience.”
ABC Chief Executive Officer, David Anderson, “NAIDOC Week is a wonderful opportunity to get involved, learn and celebrate the continuing history, culture, excellence and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country.
“We are delighted to be the official broadcast and education partner of NAIDOC 2023 and want to ensure that National NAIDOC Week is not just part of the national conversation, but a universally celebrated part of this country’s identity.”
ABC Indigenous will lead ABC’s National NAIDOC Week 2023 campaign, with content splits across all platforms.
ABC Indigenous Chief Kelrick Martin said, “Our Indigenous content creators will lead the conversations and work with their ABC colleagues across the country to produce our largest NAIDOC program of the week which includes specially commissioned content for ABC TV, ABC Radio, ABC iview digital and ABC.”
The partnership comes as ABC announced a review of racial and discrimination complaints filed against ABC management, with D+R host Stan Grant said he felt unsupported by management amid criticisms of his Coronation coverage.
ABC will release the full schedule of NAIDOC Weekly content in the coming weeks.
ABC Education will also produce a downloadable resource for teachers, created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait educators at Culture is Life in collaboration with NAIDOC National Committee Co-Chair and highly respected educator, Dr Lynette Riley. This resource will focus on this year’s NAIDOC National Week theme, For Our Seniors, and will also be distributed as a printed resource by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA).
“I have been involved in the development of these educational resources for many years and this year we have a unique opportunity to educate the wider community about the role of our seniors,” said Dr. Riley. “The theme For Our Elders is particularly pertinent as our elders have guided us to this day and continue to play a very important role in our communities. These educational resources will not only provide exemplary lessons, but will also develop the skills of students and teachers to continue their lifelong learning and create change in the Australian community.”
In addition to the thematic resource, teachers will have access to ABC Kids Listen range of resources, Behind the News and the educational collection on ABC iview.
