The Office of Indigenous Engagement, in collaboration with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, have created this diverse Spotify playlist for NAIDOC Week.
The playlist captures different genres of music. Music that has been produced and performed by our talented Indigenous artists from far and wide across our beautiful country.
Songs like ‘Island home’ and ‘River boy’ will have you reflecting and listening to the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their connection to Country. This playlist, and other events at CSIRO, continue to provide a deeper perspective on how rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is to Australia. It also highlights how important it is to continue to pass this knowledge through the generations to come.
The importance of NAIDOC Week
In July of each year, NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture, and achievement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The week provides the opportunity for everyone across Australia to join in reflecting upon the important history and ongoing contributions of Indigenous Australians. In particular, one of their many ongoing contributors is being Australia’s first scientists.
As your national science agency, we are in a special position to work with Australia’s first scientists. Our partnerships, collaborations, education programs, scholarships, and career opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people help achieve this. Following this, we work respectfully to realise the full potential of Indigenous knowledge systems. Additionally, we work closely with our collaborators to make STEM careers more accessible.
During this NAIDOC Week, we also had the opportunity to engage in some special activities across our organisation. These activities brought people together to explore this year’s theme: Heal Country!
A delight on the palate
Cedric painting his mural at our Waite Campus (Kaurna Country). Image credit: Henry Stentiford.
A small team from our Waite campus are working closely with Ngarrindjeri and Narangga artist, Cedric Varcoe. They are creating a mural that illustrates a story at our Waite Campus in Adelaide (Kaurna Country).
Using various bright and bold colours, Cedric paints creation stories of his Ngarrindjeri lands and waters. This area covers from the lower River Murray and the Lower Lakes to the Coorong, the South Coast to Kangaroo Island.
The mural is centred upon a large wall where the main artwork sits. Cedric’s feature stems from this central artwork, the design flows out and across like a river along smaller adjoining walls.
Our people are contributing to his original design with their own artwork. They’re adding paintings that represent their research areas and connection to the local area. Stay tuned across our channels to see the full mural when it is completed.
