NAIDOC Awards facts for kids
The NAIDOC Awards are special Australian awards given out every year. They celebrate the amazing history, culture, and achievements of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These awards are part of NAIDOC Week, a big national celebration. The name NAIDOC comes from the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.
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About the NAIDOC Committee
The awards are named after the group that first started NAIDOC Week. This group is called the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Every year, a different Australian city hosts the big NAIDOC Awards Ceremony. The National NAIDOC Committee chooses the host city, picks the winning poster design, and decides who gets the awards. The awards are given out at a special ceremony and ball each year.
Award Categories
The names of the award categories have changed a bit over the years. In 1985, they started awards for "Aboriginal of the Year" and for young Aboriginal people aged 12 to 25.
As of 2022, the awards are given in these categories:
- Person of the Year
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Female Elder Award
- Male Elder Award
- Sportsperson Award
- Youth Award
- Creative Talent Award
- Caring for Country and Culture Award
- Education Award
- Innovation Award
The NAIDOC Poster
The very first NAIDOC poster was made in 1972. It was created to promote "Aborigines Day." This day was part of a bigger effort to get better rights for Aboriginal people. Until 1977, the posters often showed a spirit of protest, with messages like "Self Determination."
In 1978, the poster changed. It showed a shift from just one day of protest to a week-long celebration in July. This happened after the new NAIDOC committee was formed. The 1988 poster, called "Recognise and Share the Survival of the Oldest Culture in the World," showed that Torres Strait Islander people were now formally included in the event. In the 1990s, a competition began for people to design the annual poster.
Recent Award Winners (2021-2023)
Here are some of the people and groups who have won NAIDOC Awards recently.
2023 Winners
- Lifetime Achievement - Aunty Dr Naomi Mayers OAM
- Person of the Year - Professor Kelvin Kong
- Female Elder of the Year Award - Aunty Dr Matilda House-Williams
- Male Elder of the Year - William Tilmouth
- Sportsperson of the Year - Donnell Wallam
- Youth of the Year - Courtney Burns
- Creative Talent - Rachel Perkins
- Caring for Country and Culture - Lala Gutchen
- Education Award - Bubup Wilam Aboriginal Child and Family Centre
- Innovation Award - Daniel Motlop
2022 Winners
The awards ceremony was held in Melbourne on July 2, 2022. The winners were:
- Person of the Year — Ash Barty AO
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Stan Grant Snr AM
- Female Elder Award – Lois Peeler AM
- Male Elder Award – Uncle Jack Charles
- Sportsperson Award – Buddy Franklin
- Youth Award – Elijah Manis
- Creative Talent Award – Lowell Hunter
- Caring for Country and Culture Award – Walter Jackson
- Education Award – Bronwyn Fredericks
- Innovation Award – The Koori Mail team and volunteers. They were recognized for helping people after the big floods in Lismore in March 2022.
2021 Winners
The 2021 awards ceremony in Alice Springs (Mparntwe) was canceled. This was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An event was planned for July 3, 2021, in Sydney. However, it was postponed because Sydney went into a lockdown. This meant most people could not travel without a long quarantine. The winners were announced later, on December 1, 2021.
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Pat O'Shane AM
- Person of the Year – Keri Tamwoy
- Female Elder of the Year – Christobel Swan
- Male Elder of the Year – Ernest Hoolihan
- Caring for Country – Gadrian Hoosan for the Borroloola Community
- Youth of the Year – Samara Fernandez-Brown
- Artist of the Year – Bobbi Lockyer
- Scholar of the Year – Sasha Purcell
- Apprentice of the Year – Jarron Andy
- Sportsperson of the Year – Clarence "CJ" McCarthy-Grogan
See also
