Main purpose of Naidoc Week

Naidoc Week is a great opportunity for the people to take part in a wide range of activities and to join their hands to support the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. There is a particular theme for NAIDOC week every year. The theme for 2022 is ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show up!' This theme calls for strong support and commitment from the Australian people to support the institutional and structural reforms. Getting Up, Standing Up, and Showing Up has many different forms. It is about acknowledgements, showing good intentions, and fulfilling all the promises. It is about getting up and practically narrowing the gap between objectives and reality. For this year, NAIDOC Week will be held from July 3, 2022 to July 10, 2022.

How to celebrate NAIDOC Week with children:

There are several interesting and meaningful ways and activities to celebrate NAIDOC Week together with its true spirit.

1. Try traditional food

One of the most interesting ways to celebrate NAIDOC Week is to try out some traditional food. Children can try different food items and can also arrange a cooking demonstration. Normally, a member is appointed to arrange this activity in different community areas.

If you do not find a suitable resource, you can have a gathering and cooking session by taking all the native ingredients. There are several online recipes that can help you out with some great and easy-to-follow cooking ideas. 

2. Share books

Explore some meaningful books with pictures that can increase racial literacy among children of different backgrounds regarding how it feels to be a first nation person. There are a large number of books written on Indigenous Australians that can help the children learn about valuing and respecting life. 

These books can play an important role in building awareness among early learners about various aspects of history. Check out penguin.com.au where you will find many interesting children's books to read, and thus honour the authors of the First Nation.

3. Make some art

Print out the NAIDOC Week colouring in poster with this year’s theme i.e. ‘Get Up. Stand Up. Show up’. You can find it on this website: naidoc.org.au

Such posters can be used to highlight the importance of visual art as they can be used as a storytelling tool to teach children about the history, culture, and values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Tell the children how various marks were originally made and how they can play a significant role in telling a different story with each artwork. Ask the children to mix up various pigments to come up with their own painting. Encourage them to design their own artwork that can tell a story about what being an Australian means to them and how proud they feel being a part of this nation.

4. Study a famous Indigenous Australian

Encourage the children to study a famous Indigenous Australian this NAIDOC Week. Conduct research on a famous Indigenous Australian, his life, his achievements, and the hurdles he faced along the way.

This activity is powerful to generate positive feelings among the children regarding the celebrations of NAIDOC Week. It will help them understand why they celebrate this week and what its cultural significance is.

5. Hold a flag raising ceremony

You can hold a flag-raising ceremony. Encourage children to create their own Aboriginal flags using various materials, such as crayons, paints, and coloured tissue paper. It will promote a sense of harmony among the people. It will also highlight the importance of celebrating this week in its true spirit.

6. Invite an Indigenous sports person or an artist

You can invite an Indigenous sports person or an artist to visit you. This will make the NAIDOC Week fun filled and full of colours.

There are several ways to celebrate NAIDOC Week. It is essential to celebrate this week with its full glory to make the younger generation aware of the cultural background and to make them realise how lucky they are to be a part of the Australian community. It will make them learn the importance of life and the things around them.