 |
Be a Voice for Generations
This is not just a reference to the Voice to Parliament, but refers to the fact that all Australians can be a voice for reconciliation in our day-to-day lives. What we say to each other today helps build the world we live in tomorrow, and speaking up for reconciliation helps to build a better world for future generations.
Reconciliation Week at JCU
Here at JCU we're very excited to be able to welcome our first Indigenous chancellor, Professor Ngiare Brown. There will be several events throughout the week, including the Chancellor Investiture Ceremony on Thursday 1st of June and the Voice to Parliament Community Event - both held on the lawns in front of the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library.This year also sees the 2023 Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture being delivered by Professor Tom Calma AO (you can see or read past EKM Lectures on NQHeritage). And the QPAC Mabo Oration being held in Townsville for the first time, with Professor Megan Davis and Professor Henry Reynolds speaking.
To coincide with the events happening around the building during National Reconciliation Week, we will be offering tours of the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library for staff and students showcasing significant works of art, building architecture, history, and special collection displays are available on Wednesday, 31 May at 11am and 2pm.
Please note that the Library carparks will be closed from 2:00am to 4:00pm on Thursday 1st June and 2.00am to
12:00pm on Friday 2nd June (PW5 and PW6).
The Library and Eddie Koiki Mabo
The Library has a long and proud association with Eddie Koiki Mabo, who often visited the library when he worked at JCU as a gardener (you can still see some of the trees he planted on the grounds near the creek).
Our building on the Townsville (Bebegu Yumba) campus was named in his honour in 2008. In 2020, to celebrate JCU's 50th Anniversary, we installed the Mabo Interpretive Wall on the ground floor of the library (which also celebrated the Bindal lands on which the library is situated), and in 2022 we released the free eBook, Eddie Koiki Mabo: History in the Making, to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Mabo Decision. We also regularly host the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library Art Exhibition, which is next due to be held in 2024.
During the events held near the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library in Reconciliation Week 2023, we will be showing a display of photographs taken by Trevor Graham during the filming of the seminal documentary of Koiki's struggle for the rights of his people, Life of an Island Man. You can see these images on the second floor of the library.
Plenty of events are happening around the country, check out the Reconciliation Week calendar to see if anything is happening near you!
Comments