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National Reconciliation Week: "Bridging Now to Next"
National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
It's a time to celebrate and build on the respectful relationships shared by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Isalnder people and other Australians.
Preceded by National Sorry Day (26th May), National Reconciliation Week is framed by 2 key events in Australians history, which provide strong symbols for reconciliation:
- 27 May 1967 – After 10yrs of campaigning, a referendum on Indigenous recognition in the Australian constitution was held. The lead-up to the poll focused public attention on the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were treated as second-class citizens.
- 3 June 1992 – the historic Mabo decision. Eddie “Koiki” Mabo’s name is synonymous with native title rights. His story began in May 1982 when he and fellow Murray Islanders instituted a claim in the High Court for native title to the Murray Islands in the Torres Strait. The decision overturned a legal fiction that Australia was terra nullius (a land belonging to no one) at the time of British colonisation.
The National Reconciliation Week 2025 theme, Bridging Now to Next, reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future.
At a time when Australia faces uncertainty in its reconciliation journey, this theme calls on all Australians to step forward together.
Bridging Now to Next urges us to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us.
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