Published: 8 July 2025
It's NAIDOC Week this week and the Cardinia Shire community is invited to celebrate by connecting with Country and community at the Cardinia Cultural Centre in Pakenham.
NAIDOC Week, celebrated across the nation from 6–13 July 2025, is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about and come together to celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of First Nations peoples.
This year marks 50 years of NAIDOC, honouring the enduring strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the vision for an empowered, valued and equitable community.
This year's theme 'The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy' focuses on creating a vision for and with young people for a better, more inclusive and inspired future for our First Nations peoples, imparting wisdom and lessons learnt through our shared history and fostering courage and strength, to build a future of self-determination, equity and mutual respect.
Cardinia Shire Mayor Councillor Jack Kowarzik said Council proudly celebrates NAIDOC Week as part of its commitment to reconciliation and fostering an inclusive and welcoming community for all.
"As we prepare our next Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2025-2027, which recently underwent the initial stages of community consultation, we're reflecting on what it means for all Australians to embrace NAIDOC Week, to be curious, learn about and join together to celebrate our First Nations peoples, and the oldest, continuous living cultures in the world," Mayor Kowarzik said.
"This NAIDOC Week theme invites everyone to empower and guide the next generation young people who will shape the future policies, cultures, beliefs, attitudes, and actions of our nation.
"As proud Australians, we all have the opportunity to learn from the fresh perspectives and energy of our young people, to acknowledge and learn from our ancestors shared past, and to inspire the creation of our shared future, one that is equitable and where our First Nations people and their cultures are remembered, respected, and celebrated."
Engaging community through art and experience is a positive and powerful way to help raise awareness about reconciliation, NAIDOC, and the value of Cardinia Shire's rich indigenous cultural heritage.
Visit Cardinia Cultural Centre this NAIDOC Week and throughout the school holidays to learn about our First Nations cultures, try your hand at creating through art, and immerse yourself in the captivating curved wall mural artwork.
Book your FREE tickets now: 'Journey of the Bogong Moth' workshop
Cardinia Cultural Centre is hosting many wonderful activities over the winter school holidays through its Winterfest program, including this free art workshop with multidisciplinary Taungurung artist Sammy Trist.
Celebrate NAIDOC Week 2025 by meeting the artist, immersing yourself in stories and traditional art practices, and designing your own moth on paper using fine tip pens and ochre paint.
Suitable for ages 7+ years. The workshop is free, but as spaces are limited, bookings are essential.
Workshop details
- Date and time: Monday 14 July, from 10am–12pm
- Venue: The Zone, Cardinia Cultural Centre, 40 Lakeside Boulevard, Pakenham
- Cost: Free
- Bookings (essential): www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/Journey-of-the-Bogong-Moth-Workshop
Visit now to experience 'Coloured in Country', a mural artwork
Commissioned for Reconciliation Week and opening in May 2025, this inspiring mural artwork by First Nations artist Robert Michael Young sits proudly on Cardinia Cultural Centre's Curved Wall.
Robert is a Gunnai, Waradjurie, Gunditjumara, Yorta Yorta, Bunorong man, whose heart, and spirit are for his Culture and People.
"This mural is the story of the Elder wombat taking the younger wombat for them to discover their colour and markings. It is about the idea that when you walk with someone and are led, you will find wisdom," Mr Robert Michael Young says.
Exhibition details
- Exhibition Dates: Daily from 9am–4pm until May 2026
- Venue: Curved Wall Mural, Cardinia Cultural Centre, 40 Lakeside Boulevard, Pakenham
- Cost: Free
