Gandu Jarjum Committee member Margi Malezer (left) with NITV 's Natalie Ahmet and celebration MC and former Gandu Jarjum member Wayne Costelloe.

NAIDOC Week is a celebration held in the first week of July every year. This year, after 10 years, the celebration returned to Cairns.

Between 2 and 9 July, the Cairns celebration incorporated a range of events to encourage all community members to come together and share in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Starting with the opening and flag raising, events included a trivia night, community health day, the launch of the Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation, NAIDOC march, and Cairns Elders’ luncheon.

NAIDOC celebrations in Brisbane took place at Musgrave Park with a Family Fun Day. Held on Friday, 7 July this year, this event was not only for those in the Indigenous community - all Australians were encouraged to attend and enjoy the activities. The day had a bit of something for everyone, with live music and dance performances, free kids rides, traditional foods, and art and craft stalls. The Queensland Council of Unions hosted a stall which the QTU supported through donations of merchandise to be given away.

NAIDOC Week (named after the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) is an opportunity to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to recognise the contributions that Indigenous Australians make to our society.

This year’s theme was “Our Languages Matter”. As stated on the NAIDOC website, the theme emphasises the “unique and essential role that Indigenous languages play in cultural identity, linking people to their land and water and in the transmission of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, spirituality and rites, through story and song”.

Committee Co-Chair Benjamin Mitchell further explains that it is the hope of the Committee that the theme will help to “shine a spotlight on the programs and community groups working to preserve, revitalise or record Indigenous languages, and encourage all Australians to notice the use of Indigenous languages in their community”.