NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK MARKS TWO MAJOR EVENTS
Key facts about the week, beginning May 27 and ending June 3:
* May 27 marks the successful 1967 referendum, which resulted in Indigenous people being considered part of the general population
* June 3 is Mabo Day, commemorating the High Court’s 1992 decision overturning terra nullius and paving the way for the native title system
* Every year National Reconciliation Week has a theme and this year it’s ‘Be a Voice for Generations’, which is a call for all Australians to use their power, words and actions to create a better, more just Australia for everyone
* National Reconciliation Week has its origins in 1993 (the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples) as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation, supported by Australia’s major faith communities
* National Sorry Day on May 26 is held the day before National Reconciliation Week begins. It was first marked in Sydney in 1998 and is now commemorated nationally to remember and honour the Stolen Generations
* National Reconciliation Week is organised by Reconciliation Australia, an independent, not-for-profit organisation responsible for building and promoting reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians
* Thousands of workplaces, schools, early learning services, universities, councils, and other organisations arrange activities for National Reconciliation Week which can be found on the Reconciliation Australia website
Australian Associated Press