Happy NAIDOC Week! Message from the CEO

The NAIDOC 2021 theme, Heal Country, has made me pause and reflect in a different way.

What does Heal Country truly mean for me as an Aboriginal woman, as a mother and a grandmother and as a leader? What is my responsibility here and where should I direct my efforts and support?

For me, NAIDOC Week has always been a time to celebrate our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, our achievements, and successes. I particularly like that I get to stop the busyness of doing and just reflect, and really think about how deadly we are!

I read the message on the NAIDOC website which reinforces the theme… that call to all of us to ‘continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration and destruction’.

I pledge to do my part; to actively protect Country, to share this message. I will embrace my responsibility to support the learning of other people about what Country means to us, that it is more than a geographical place. It is intrinsic to our identity and sustains us at every level, spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally.  

I will stand up and be counted on this.

Join me. Value, embrace and understand our cultures and values.

Care for Country.

It doesn’t just sustain me as an Aboriginal woman, it is the lifeblood, the heart beat that nurtures and supports us all.

Stephanie Harvey, CEO Community First Development.