The 2020 National NAIDOC Poster, Shape of Land, was designed by Tyrown Waigana, a Noongar and Saibai Islander man.

Tyrown’s artwork tells the story of how the Rainbow Serpent came out of the Dreamtime to create this land. It is represented by the snake and it forms the shape of Australia, which symbolises how it created our lands. The colour from the Rainbow Serpent is reflected on to the figure to display our connection to the Rainbow Serpent, thus our connection to country. The overlapping colours on the outside is the Dreamtime. The figure inside the shape of Australia is a representation of Indigenous Australians showing that this country – since the dawn of time – Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land.

What is NAIDOC week?

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’. This committee was once responsible for organising national activities during NAIDOC Week and its acronym has since become the name of the week itself. Find out more about the origins and history of NAIDOC Week. Please visit the NAIDOC Week website for more about the history of NAIDOC week as well as events in your area.

How is AIYA celebrating NAIDOC week:

AIYA National is the most significant voice for youth in the Australia-Indonesia relationship. We are involved in promoting the cultures and connections between Australia and Indonesia in the fields of education, academia, travel, language and culture. However we have not yet engaged in an in-depth manner in the indigenous culture in both Australia and Indonesia previously. AIYA will run four events, and complete a series of social media posts on Indigenous Australia and Indonesia.

 

Yarn Event: 

To yarn” – an expression in Aboriginal Australian slang which means to have a chat, a discussion, generally very informal. For NAIDOC week, AIYA has partnered with YARN Australia to run a workshop that will help participants build cross-cultural relationships, overcome cultural barriers, and to give people the tools to handle challenging conversations. This is a great opportunity to learn about Australian Indigenous history, as well as reflecting upon your own cultural background and those around you. AIYA is accepting applicants (AIYA members-only – Indonesian or Australian) for this program from the 6th November – 13th November 2020. The cost for successful applicants for the two-hour session is free. The workshop will be on all the 19th November, 6.30 – 8.30pm AEST in English. Applicants are to send their applicants to [email protected] with answers to the following 2 questions (100 words each):

  • “Why do you want to join the AIYA YARN event and what are your expectations?
  • How will you use these connections and knowledge of indigenous culture after the event to contribute back to your community?”

Trivia Night: