National Reconciliation Week: Bridging Now to Next 

This week is National Reconciliation Week and it’s 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.

This year’s theme, Bridging Now to Next, calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead, and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us.

Here at the Asylum Seekers Centre, while we welcome people who have fled persecution and are seeking asylum in this country, we recognise that sovereignty was never ceded, and this land always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

We also acknowledge that for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Australia is not a place of safety and freedom from persecution.

We cannot advocate for a fair and just Australia for people seeking asylum without standing in solidarity with First Nations peoples where we acknowledge the wrongs of the past, address ongoing inequality, and build a better future based on justice and self-determination.

To mark National Reconciliation Week, the Asylum Seekers Centre is creating opportunities for our community to better learn about the importance of reconciliation.

On Wednesday at our Newtown Centre, we’ll share a special lunch made with native ingredients, kindly provided by Alfalfa House and Sydney Pocket Farm, and prepared by our amazing Lunch and Learn volunteers. Music by First Nations artists will fill the space, and we’ll offer educational activities and materials to help community members further understand the significance of Reconciliation Week.

At our Auburn hub, mums and children will take part in various art and craft activities designed to introduce and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and connection to Country.

“It’s important for people seeking asylum to have access to reconciliation activities and resources so they can understand and respect the history, rights, and sovereignty of First Nations people,” shares Kylie Mackie, the Asylum Seekers Centre’s Head of Services and Engagement, and co-chair of our Reconciliation Action Plan working group.

In addition, we’ve made a range of online resources available on the Asylum Seeker Centre’s website — including information about local National Reconciliation Week events and translated materials in 13 languages — so that everyone in our community has the opportunity to understand and engage with the meaning of Reconciliation Week.

Kylie adds, “Reconciliation helps build mutual respect and cultural understanding between newly arrived communities and First Nations people.”

“It creates opportunities for connection and encourages solidarity between groups who have both experienced displacement, trauma, and injustice.”

We commit to continue learning, advocating, and supporting the vision of a reconciled Australia.

Let’s bridge the now to the next, together.