Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) plays an integral role in the University’s cultural life. It is in this week that we raise awareness of the importance of coming together to acknowledge and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures across the institution.
The 2020 theme for National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is In This Together. This theme reinforces our shared role of building mutual respect and understanding in the spirit of reconciliation.
National Reconciliation Week is celebrated every year from 27 May - 3 June. These dates represent two significant milestones in our country’s reconciliation journey – the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision, respectively.
2020 events
Learn Kaurna Language
Listen to Uncle Rod O’Brien, Cultural Advisor, explain the importance of maintaining Indigenous languages and teaching a few common phrases in Kaurna language along the way.
Virtual Sea of Hands
Virtual Sea of Hands
Artwork by Mai-sie Crawford-Owers
This year, National Reconciliation Week celebrations were a little different as we weren’t able to come together. Instead, it gave us all an opportunity to reflect on what reconciliation really means and what it might look like at the University of Adelaide. This artwork is a representation of these reflections and includes all of the responses submitted by staff and students as part of national reconciliation week. The hands are a nod to the “sea of hands” hosted during NRW 2019, and the different colours represent the different people and language groups who are part of our university community and the Kaurna land it occupies.
Past events
2019 event
The theme for 2019 was "Grounded in Truth: Walk Together With Courage”. In celebration of this important event and national theme, the University hosted a series of reconciliation activities.
Sea of Hands
For the first time in 2019, the University of Adelaide participated in a Sea of Hands installation.