Commission celebrates NAIDOC Week

Commissioner Elizabeth Fraser (far right) presents the finished canvas to Musgrave Park Cultural Centre committee members Scott Anderson and Joan Collins.

The Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian was again delighted to participate in the NAIDOC Week Family Fun Day event at Musgrave Park, South Brisbane on Friday 9 July.

The annual event was organised by the Musgrave Park Cultural Centre as part of NAIDOC Week, which celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Around 16,000 people, including families and children of all ages, attended the event which featured a diverse range of information stalls, rides and traditional Indigenous entertainment and foods.

The Commission again participated in the day, which this year was part of a joint interagency display with the Queensland Ombudsman, Commonwealth Ombudsman, Health Quality and Complaints Commission, Anti Discrimination Commission Queensland and the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

The art activity in full swing.

The Commission’s prime location near the main stage led to the display being well positioned to attract many adults and children throughout the day. The day provided a great opportunity for the broader community attending the NAIDOC event to engage and interact with Commission staff and learn more about our role, mandate and activities.

There was heavy demand and interest in information on changes to the blue card system and our complaints function. There was also wide ranging interest in information on the Community Visitor Program and Views publications which were given to people who visited the display, particularly to those people who were carers or worked in the youth justice and residential care systems.

This year, the Commission organised an art activity within the display which was incredibly popular with the children. The Commission engaged two artists, who are currently working with young people in an artwork program at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, to assist with the activity. It involved producing two canvases displaying traditional art and totems. Children gathered to have their hands painted and laid their handprints around the animal totems to mark their contribution to the paintings and signed their names to their hand prints. Both canvases highlighted the key Commission message of ‘speaking up for Queensland kids’.

The Commissioner had the pleasure of presenting one canvas to the Musgrave Park Cultural Centre on the main stage in the afternoon, in recognition of their efforts to stage such a wonderful event and their ongoing promotion of Indigenous culture in Brisbane and also of our continuing partnership with this community. The canvas will be framed and the Commissioner will visit the Cultural Centre in the near future to present the artwork which represents what we all share and strive to achieve – a strengthened and improved future for all children, particularly our most vulnerable and those who are at risk. The other canvas of children’s hand prints and totems will be displayed in the Commission’s office accommodation at 53 Albert Street, Brisbane.

Other highlights from the event were former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd presenting a signed copy of his generation’s apology to the Stolen Generation, a performance from renowned Aboriginal comedian Sean Choolburra and a visit from the ABC’s Bananas in Pyjamas.

The event represents a key stakeholder engagement activity for the Commission and also supports the work currently being done to progress the Commission’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Strategy, which is a whole of agency approach to improving, maintaining and evaluating the cultural competency of Commission policies, programs, operations, administrative practices and advocacy services with respect  to vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

The Commission’s display.

Last Updated: July 27, 2010

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