NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture, and achievements of First Nations people in Australia. The 2023 theme “For Our Elders” urges us to pay our respects to our Elders and honour the role they have played and continue to play in our communities and families.

During NAIDOC Week, we will host a community NAIDOC Celebration event on Wednesday, July 5 to recognise Australia’s shared history and valuable First Nations heritage and promote the unique place First Nations people and their cultures have in Australian society. This National NAIDOC Week Activity is funded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency.

Through our Inclusion Education project, VWA hosted Cultural Awareness sessions in March and May delivered by Moodjar Consultancy and Kalyakoorl to educate our community about First Nations cultures and histories and discuss strategies for the engagement and inclusion of First Nations people in our sport.

The first NAIDOC Round in the WA Volleyball League has been scheduled for Sunday, July 9.  In the spirit of the theme, we would encourage all players to invite their elders (grandparents) to come along and watch their game. We also encourage all clubs and players to get to know their local First Nations communities through activities and events held across the state https://www.naidoc.org.au/local-events/local-naidoc-week-events.

Volleyball WA is pleased to announce that we will be embarking on our Reconciliation journey with the development of our first Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). At its heart, this journey is about developing and strengthening relationships between First Nations people and building a foundation for reconciliation within our sport. We are pleased to now introduce our internal Staff RAP Working Group; Karen Wickham (Participation Manager), Jackie Tamburri (Pathways and Events Manager), Kirsty Eaton (Administration Support Coordinator), and Kirsten Tyson (Club & People Development Coordinator).

Volleyball WA will release an Expression of Interest for the official VWA RAP Working Group in August for individuals in our community wanting to get involved in shaping the direction of the sport toward reconciliation. For more information contact particiopation@volleyballwa.com.au or call on 9228 8522.