Hi folks and welcome to my Friday Reflection
I write to you from Oxford in the UK. I am here with the Global Atlantic Fellows Annual Convening. I write in the time of NAIDOC Week. I feel compelled to write about the celebration and joy that is part of our lives and our work in communities and organisations.
At home in Australia I am watching through news, social media, and family conversations, the celebration of culture of First Nations. There is a special feeling of pride and joy to see our peoples celebrating. We have not forgotten the tough reality. We have not turned away from the intensity of the work for justice, equity, and systems healing and transformation. We have given attention to honouring one another, serving our communities, celebrating surviving and thriving, noticing our deadliness, lifting our heads, raising our hands, and dancing with joy. We as First Nations of Australia are Blak, Loud and Proud. And we are not alone.
NAIDOC Week serves as a focal point for allies and other Australians to express their appreciation, affection, and affiliation with us. It is the moment that Australia gets to say, the First Peoples are my peoples too. We belong together on this land because we acknowledge their belonging and relationship to land. Remember, Australia has all the cultures of the world and the oldest continuing cultures of the world living together. NAIDOC Week is a platform to celebrate that. We also must remember, that we can’t just take the happy times, we also need the appreciation, affection, and affiliation when we are seeking justice, equity, and systems healing and transformation.
NAIDOC Week helps to give us all a boost to know that we can celebrate Australia’s First Nations together to sustain and maintain our relationships to keep living and working together.
Being here in the Atlantic Fellows community is reminding me that we are not alone globally. There are many people with similar struggles for justice, equity, human rights, and systems healing and transformation. This week we are experiencing community, connection, curiosity and generosity, as well as courageous (and dangerous) ideas and conversations. We are also experiencing joy, love, and hope. In the face of extremes of global tough realities and human suffering, there are so many people who are giving all they have to see change happen in our lifetimes. They bring hope, love, peace, and gritty determination to make the world more fair and just.
It is an honour to be here and to make the connections between NAIDOC celebrations and the Atlantic Convening.
Be encouraged and encourage others.
Mark YP, from Oxford England
