CDC Victoria celebrated NAIDOC Week with a Smoking Ceremony at our Wyndham depot along with beautiful cultural stories retold about the traditional land on which Wyndham depot operates on.
Our guests were Adam, Shane, and Aunty Faye from the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, which is a Traditional Owner organisation representing the Bunurong people of the South-Eastern Kulin Nation.
Shane, who is an emerging young leader shared his learnings about the rich history, culture, and past achievements of the Bunurong people, whose aim was to preserve and protect the sacred lands and waterways of their ancestors, their places, traditional cultural practices, and stories.
CDC Victoria’s NAIDOC celebrations will continue to expand in scale and participation year on year in preparation for the launch of its national Reconciliation Action Plan, scheduled to be released later this year.
Quote from Jeff, CDC Victoria CEO:
It was a pleasure to welcome elders from the Bunurong Land Council and Aboriginal Corporation to CDC Wyndham.
We gained knowledge and appreciation for Aboriginal culture thanks to Adam, Shane and Aunty Faye gathering with us.
It provided a greater awareness on why we celebrate and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples as the traditional owners of this great land. CDC will continue to develop our NAIDOC celebrations and our learnings in all of the communities we serve.
Quote from Yvonne Davies, Trainer/Assessor:
I thoroughly enjoyed the smoking ceremony. I got so much out of it.
It was my first time being involved in one, and I felt very privileged.
I have a deep fondness for aboriginal culture and art. Having the Traditional owners here and explaining the meaning of the ceremony and other aspects of Aboriginal culture, I felt very Lucky.
I found it a deep spiritual experience, just like I did when I visited Uluru.
There are currently eleven Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) that cover approximately 75% of Victoria. CDC Victoria’s operational areas fall under four RAPs which makes it crucial for us to establish and maintain regional connections more effectively.
CDC has taken the next step in its commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan to cover the reconciliation activities of the entire company. This gives us the opportunity to establish meaningful connections and learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islanders’ histories and cultures and the state of reconciliation.
We are committed to the reconciliation journey, linking our people and our communities; by continuing to build genuine relationships and longstanding partnerships with stakeholders and community groups representing Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander peoples.
