RUBY PASCOE.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games will have a Reconciliation Action Plan which will include indigenous culture at the forefront of the games next year.
The plan to have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture included in the Commonwealth Games is an addition that will enrich the games.
A local Yugambeh Elder Patricia Leavy says this will definitely be a benefit to the games next year.
‘It’s a great idea to include our culture and language in the games, because it is so rich,’ Mrs Leavy said.
This week Griffith University is celebrating Naidoc Week with a range of different activities on the Gold Coast Campus.
Naidoc week is a celebration across Australia of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture each year in July.
This year’s theme of Our Languages Matter hopes to highlight the importance and richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
‘[Our Language] is the language of the land that we stand on,’ Mrs Leavy said.
Naidoc week has seen Griffith University students engage in activities such as johnny-cake making, weaving, while they also got to experience traditional native foods and drinks.
A Griffith University student, Courtney Turns participated in a number of the activities on campus this week.
‘It’s great to be able to learn more about Aboriginal culture. It’s good that we are able to celebrate it here on campus,’ Mrs Turns said.
Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures has always been an important part of Australian history, and next year at the 2018 Commonwealth Games it will be on a much larger scale.