NAIDOC Week Guide

NAIDOC Week Ebook. 12 Meaningful ways to take action at work

Table of Contents What is NAIDOC Week and why is it important?

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How can companies celebrate NAIDOC Week?

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12 Ways to celebrate NAIDOC Week in the workplace

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How to kick off a campaign internally

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What is NAIDOC Week and why is it important?

NAIDOC Week is a time for all Australians to come together to share, celebrate, and understand the impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, heritage, and culture. It’s a month to elevate diverse voices and celebrate the community for their contributions to society—both historically and now.

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What is the history of NAIDOC Week?

Before the 1920s, Aboriginal rights groups stood up in protest against the racist history of Australia Day (January 26th), objecting the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.

On the 26th of January, 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney, marking one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world, known as the Day of Mourning.

From 1940 until 1955, the Day of Mourning was held annually on the Sunday before Australia Day, also known as Aborigines Day. But by 1955, it was clear the day should not just be a day of protest - but a celebration of Aboriginal culture. That was when Aborigines Day was shifted to July, around the same time that the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC) was formed.

With a growing awareness of the distinct cultural histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, NADOC was expanded to recognise Torres Strait Islander people and culture. That was when the committee was renamed as the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC).

This new name has become a movement and the inspiration for a whole week of celebration. It also represents the opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories, while participating in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

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Why is NAIDOC Week important?

NAIDOC Week is a time to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture. It’s a time to champion Indigenous Australian achievements, celebrate their lives, and empower their voices.

It’s also a time to listen to Indigenous Australian stories and unlearn ingrained prejudice, while acknowledging the role we all play in creating an equal, just world.

NAIDOC Week is important because racism still prevails in society. It still prevails in institutions. It still prevails in the day-to-day lives of Indigenous Australians, including in the workplace.

In fact, research found that Indigenous workers have higher unemployment, lower wages, and worse prospects than other workers.

They’re overrepresented in low-wage occupations, and underrepresented in high-wage occupations.

Education, along with institutional reform, is key for stamping out racism —and NAIDOC Week highlights the injustice and creates space for people to learn and grow all year round.

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How can companies celebrate?

There are many ways in which your organization can celebrate NAIDOC Week and there’s definitely a right and a wrong way to go about it. Here are some tips on how to make sure your approach reflects the importance of participating in NAIDOC Week.

Leave time to plan your involvement There have been times where we’ve advised you that something lastminute is better than nothing at all.

This isn’t one of those times.

It’s essential to ensure your NAIDOC celebrations don’t feel rushed— your involvement in racial justice should never be an afterthought.

Take the time to plan how your organisation wants to get involved and make sure you have ample time to pull the plan together.

Get involved in whatever way you can—be that a worldwide campaign or local volunteering. Different organisations are able to support in different ways—identify how your team can best create a positive impact.

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Celebrate internally and externally Support for NAIDOC Week shouldn’t be performative. It’s not about a favourable public image; it’s about using your influence and budget for good. Only supporting NAIDOC Week sends a concerning message to your Indigenous employees—that you only care when people are watching.

Ensure your efforts include internal participation, not just social media campaigns and other public-facing involvement. Marginalised groups know when they’re being exploited for positive press.

Find out what your Indigenous team members need from your organisation—both internally and externally—and involve them in the process of making it happen.

Not just for Indigenous employees A huge mistake that organizations make is thinking that NAIDOC Week is for Indigenous employees only.

Of course, there may be events and opportunities specifically for your Aboriginal team members to engage with their history and culture.

However, it’s also a really key time to start important conversations around what it’s like to be Indigenous in Australia. It makes space for people to highlight their experiences and be heard by their nonIndigenous colleagues.

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12 Ways to celebrate NAIDOC Week in the workplace There are plenty of ways to support Indigenous health, education, rights, and community development this NAIDOC Week. Here’s how you can get involved.

Take action Getting involved and creating impact in your immediate community is a great way to support Indigenous lives and growth. There are ample initiatives to get involved in across the country, and many ways your organisation can take immediate action within your community.

Whether you’re giving time or money, NAIDOC Week is a great time to start taking part in these initiatives. Here’s where you can start.

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1. Volunteer for a First Nationsowned nonprofit All over the country, nonprofits are working day in and day out to lead and support the fight against racial injustice. They work with First Nations communities to support healthcare, education, employment, and more.

Here are some examples of nonprofits that support First Nation communities in Australia: BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation Minus18 Foundation ACON The Twenty-Ten Association Incorporated The Pinnacle Foundation Aboriginal Legal Service ANTaR Organise a charity day to get people involved, and encourage employees by offering paid time off to go and volunteer.

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2. Attend a march Another great way to support NAIDOC Week is to support peaceful rallies and protests. Numbers are essential for impactful rallies, and encouraging safe participation sends the message that you’re not happy to sit around and let things continue as they are.

But of course it’s essential to ensure that your employees are safe when attending events outside of work. Encourage caution and make sure everyone knows both the risks of attending and safe ways that they can show their support. This way, your team can take action to avoid any possible dangerous situations, including potential exposure or spread of COVID-19, while still showing up for the cause.

3. Donate to a nonprofit Monetary donations are part of what keeps these organisations doing the important work they do. Without funding, many of the organisations wouldn’t exist and continued monetary support is essential for staying afloat.

In order for these nonprofits to support Indigenous individuals, they must exist. Encourage employees to donate to First Nations-run nonprofits and further support the cause by matching donations. It’s an effective way to boost donations for the nonprofit and a simple way to support change.

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Elevate Indigenous voices NAIDOC Week is about making space for Indigenous voices and experiences to be heard. So next up are actions that amplify Indigenous voices and bring their stories to center stage.

Organisations often have a platform they can use to reach a large audience—this platform can and should be used for good. Alongside this, there are also opportunities to hear from First Nations speakers and activists on how to continue supporting the community once NAIDOC Week is over.

Here are some of the ways you can amplify the Aboriginal voices in your community, and encourage further learning from your team.

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4. Host a speaker Invite a First Nations speaker to come and talk to your organisation about topics that are relevant to your workplace. This could be a panel discussion on improving DE&I hiring practices, or maybe a speech on stamping out discrimination in the workplace.

There are ample topics your speakers can cover, and many ways in which they can educate your workforce. It’s also essential to ensure speakers are paid fairly for their work—POC speakers are often paid less than their white counterparts.

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5. Ask an Indigenous influencer to host a social media takeover Your online presence is a powerful tool for elevating First Nations profiles—use it. Invite an influencer to host a ‘takeover’ of your channels to discuss Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture with your followers.

Sharing anti-racist content to your page is a great start, but inviting individuals to share their experiences is much more impactful. It also provides your speaker with a place to share any important information or initiatives regarding further action.

For example, a speaker may have further materials or opportunities for anti-racist action that they can push during their social media takeover.

This is useful for your audience and the speaker—a great way to support Indigenous success.

Here are some influencers you could pay to take over your socials: Allira Potter Narelda Jacobs Felicia Foxx Niah Mcleod Brooke Boney Akala Newman

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6. Create partnerships with First Nations-owned businesses Partnering with First Nations-owned businesses creates a lasting commitment between both organisations. Look for organisations that share your values and align with your goals so you can continually support each other.

A few ways you can partner are: Provide mutually discounted prices Work with First Nations-owned businesses Pay for First Nations-run workshops for your employees Whatever you choose to do, ensure you’re supporting First Nationsowned business growth.

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Champion Indigenous employees Supporting NAIDOC Week publically should be backed up by internal support for Indigenous employees. Our advice is always to think global but act local—in this instance, that includes supporting your Indigneous employees.

It’s also essential to acknowledge intersectionality when considering the Aboriginal employees in your workforce. Intersectionality, as coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, refers to the way in which social identities—such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and class—create overlapping systems of discrimination and disadvantage.

For example, women of color earn less for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men—and this isn’t driven by educational differences alone. In fact, women of color with advanced degrees earn less on average each week than white men with only a bachelor’s degree.

This intersectional discrimination isn’t just something that’s faced in the workplace. Women of color live the intersection between race and gender in every aspect of their lives. The same goes for LGBTQ+ people, and POC who face class and disability-related disadvantages.

Ignoring how skin color intersects with other aspects of an individual’s identity doesn’t make space for adequately supporting and celebrating them. It instead provides a limited approach to creating a more equitable workplace and society, so addressing intersectionality in your anti-racist efforts is key.

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7. Share your DE&I report and efforts DE&I should be an integral part of your hiring process and organisational culture. NAIDOC Week is a great opportunity to update your team on how you’re supporting Indigenous talent in your workforce.

It’s also an opportunity to commit to new goals moving forward— supporting Indigenous lives doesn’t end after NAIDOC Week is up. Here are some goals you could look to set: X% of management identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander X% of new partners being First Nations-owned businesses X% increase in mentorship programs for Indigenous employees These are just an example of a couple of DE&I goals you can look to set, but don’t limit yourself to these. There are plenty of ways you can support your Indigenous employees in the workplace.

You can also provide a more equitable environment by requiring all management to undertake diversity and inclusion management courses.

It’s then important to ensure that the necessary actions are taken following any DE&I course. This could look like an intent, implementation, and impact strategy to measure and improve knowledge application.

This ensures your top leadership and team heads know how to support your Indigenous employees in the workplace and how to remove the barriers that stop them from growing.

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8. Growth opportunities Adequate opportunities for growth and mentorship are key aspects in supporting your Indigenous team members. According to a study conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Indigenous Australians were over-represented in labouring, community and personal service occupations, and under-represented as professionals and managers relative to the working age non-Indigenous population.

Show your support for First Nations people by putting a focus on providing more opportunities and resources for professional growth for these marginalised groups.

In order to ensure transparency and accountability, it’s also essential to establish and communicate a measure of career progression within an organisation. It’s a roadmap that details the stages of career progression that employees can expect from your organisation. This allows them to better understand the stages of career development in your organisation, and holds businesses accountable to the development promises made.

You can also offer growth opportunities alongside efforts to find sponsors. Company-sponsored education encourages employees to continue their learning and grow their skillset. Offer your Indigenous employees the chance to enroll in courses that support their growth not only in your organisation but also as individuals.

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9. Support learning Another key part of supporting Indigenous people and stamping out racism is education. It’s essential to understand history and how it continues to affect life for First Nation people nowadays.

It’s not just about learning, but it’s also essential to unlearn. The society in which we’ve been raised is systemically racist, and a racist society breeds everyday racism—racism that many white people don’t even notice.

It’s just not good enough—here’s how you can support the change.

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10. Educational reading Providing your workforce with resources to learn about Aboriginal history, culture, and life is essential for creating a more conscious society. During NAIDOC Week there’s a boom of resources to help with continued learning—take advantage of this.

Support your employee’s learning by buying books by First nations authors—any way you can think to support your team’s learning. You also support First nations creatives when buying their content, so it’s a win-win.

Here are some books to get you started: The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke Growing up Aboriginal in Australia by Anita Heiss Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy Australia Day by Stan Grant

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11. Show movies written, directed, and acted by Aboriginal creatives Another great resource for appreciating Indigenous art is through movies that depict Indigenous culture. It’s a mistake to think these movies must depict the struggles and pains of First Nations communities —there are plenty that depict joy, growth, and excellence.

Here are some movies, documentaries, and TV shows that you can watch to prompt discussion: Sapphires Top End Wedding Satellite Boys Toomela Sweet Country Samson and Delilah Beneath Clouds The Nightingale Storm Boy These movies bring Indigenous stories forward and address issues faced by different intersections of the Aboriginal community. If you're looking for more resources, check out the Educational Resources on the official NAIDOC Week website.

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12. Educational excursions Take your team on excursions that improve their understanding of Aboriginal history and culture. This could be to a museum or a monument, or even an exhibition—there’s sure to be ample opportunities during NAIDOC Week You could also consider partnering with a school to ensure students are aware of the opportunities available to them. It’s essential to support the next generation, and your organisation is in a unique position to highlight some of the career pathways available to them.

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How to kick off a campaign internally Ok, so, you know you want to celebrate NAIDOC Week but you’re unsure about how to go about it. No worries, here’s a step-by-step outline for how to do just that.

1. Define the campaign and create a plan You need to know what it is you’re looking to achieve and how you’re going to get there. The first step is to define your mission. For example:

“This July we’re supporting NAIDOC Week through a number of initiatives. We’ve prepared a calendar of events designed to help you take action, and we’ll be providing opportunities for employees to donate to nonprofits that support the Aboriginal community.”

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A timetable is a great way to get all your plans across in a simple schedule.

As we mentioned before, it’s essential to include your Indigenous employees in your preparations. Ask what they’d like from your NAIDOC celebrations and do your best to make it happen.

Take a look at an example:

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Expert speaker

Volunteer Day

Day Trip

Socials Takeover

Movie Night

On Tuesday, we’re volunteering with a local, First Nationsrun nonprofit to support Indigenous people in the community.

On Wednesday, we’re taking a trip to the museum of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history.

On Monday, we’ve got an expert coming to speak to us about the racial pay gap.

On Thursday, our social media is being taken over by a nonprofit focused on improving Indigenous people’s access to healthcare.

On Friday, we’re hosting a movie night focused on sharing diverse stories through film.

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2. Get buy-in from stakeholders Here’s where you run your team through the ins and outs of the proposed NAIDOC celebrations. You want to convey the importance of taking part and of supporting Indigenous employees in the workplace.

Make sure you prepare a comprehensive proposal that outlines exactly what you plan to do and what you need to achieve it. You also want to outline how you plan to implement the plan and what your desired outcomes are.

3. Communicate the plans internally and externally Now it’s time to share what you’re doing with the rest of your team and the wider world. As this is two different audiences that you're reaching, make sure to constantly communicate your efforts so that everyone knows how to get involved.

But keep in mind that you’re not looking for praise; you’re looking to raise awareness of the cause. If you’re able to, consider matching customer donations made through your organisation to maximise impact.

Once everyone knows what’s going on, all that remains is getting the ball rolling.

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4. Kick-off your campaign Kicking off your campaign is super important, and it’s a great way to get everyone excited from the word go. There are a number of ways you can kick off your campaign, so here are a few to consider: A launch party: You could hire a First Nations-owned catering company that specialises in making traditional food from their heritage.

A launch call: To get the whole organisation involved no matter where they are.

A keynote speech: From an Indigenous speaker on their thoughts of NAIDOC Week to frame the conversation in the best way possible.

Whatever you choose to do, make a big deal of it and get people excited.

Keep updating posters and ensuring everyone knows what’s up next. If that means email reminders, calendar invites, and verbal prompts, then so be it!

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5. Track your impact The last step is to track the progress and impact you’ve made. Doing this manually is quite a hefty task, but here are some metrics to look out for: Number of employees participating Amount raised in donations Number of employees engaging for the first time Most engaged team eg HR, Marketing, etc You can also gather feedback on the campaign by sending out an internal pulse survey once everything’s come to a close. This will help you understand what your employees thought of the campaign, and how they’d improve it next time.

If you’re looking for a succinct way to track your impact and progress, consider using an employee engagement tool like Benevity.

Benevity helps not only with the reporting side of your campaign, but also with the planning and execution. You can look through their catalog of 1.5million+ organizations and set up simple donation matching to lessen the load on your finance team.

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From there, you can create activities for your employees to take part in during your campaign, and allow them to access their events calendar from anywhere. You can also easily collect pictures and notes from your events to share afterwards.

All of this is done on one platform, so you can focus on what really matters—creating positive impact in your community and organization.

Lastly, don’t limit yourself to celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and lives only during July—it’s key to remain engaged with anti-racism all year round.

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Benevity, a certified B Corporation, is a leader in global corporate purpose software, providing the only integrated suite of community investment and employee, customer and nonprofit engagement solutions. A finalist in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards, Benevity’s cloud solutions power purpose for many iconic brands in ways that better attract, retain and engage today’s diverse workforce, embed social action into their customer experiences and positively impact their communities. With software that is available in 22 languages, Benevity has processed nearly $8 billion in donations and 43 million hours of volunteering time to support 326,000 nonprofits worldwide. The company’s solutions also facilitated 530,000 positive actions and awarded 1.2 million grants worth $12 billion. For more information, visit benevity.com.