National Reconciliation Week 2025 sees City of Albany host free events in line with Bridging Now to Next theme

National Reconciliation Week will begin next week with Albany joining the annual call for all Australians to move forward together while reflecting on the nation’s complicated history.

The City of Albany and local Aboriginal corporations will support the 2025 NRW, under the theme Bridging Now to Next, by hosting a series of free community events from May 27 to June 3.

A Sorry Day Symposium held by the Southern Aboriginal Corporation and Great Southern Aboriginal Health Service will kick off the week a day early on Monday.

Held at the Albany Entertainment Centre from 9am to 1pm, the event will include a panel session consisting of Menang Noongar elders directly affected by the Stolen Generation.

A special screening of the Genocide in the Wildflower State documentary will also be shown and light refreshments provided.

Albany public library will offer free lunchtime film screenings, including In My Blood It Runs on Tuesday and The Habits of New Norcia on Wednesday, followed by a question and answer session with survivor Mary Wynne.

On Thursday there will be cultural learning activities, storytelling and traditional food at a special Reconciliation Week Playgroup at the Child and Parent Centre, open to families from across the Great Southern.

City of Albany chief executive Andrew Sharpe said the theme calls for Albany to take meaningful action now, and look ahead together.

“Reconciliation is an ongoing journey, and this year’s theme reminds us that meaningful change relies on collective action,” he said.

“Supporting these events is one way we can help create spaces for truth-telling, cultural sharing and community healing.”

Reconciliation banners showcasing the artwork of Noongar artist Darryl Dempster will also be displayed on Stirling Terrace and York Street throughout the week.

The week-long event first began as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993, before being officially rebranded to its current iteration in 1996 by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.