24 August 2022

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from Catholic schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne have come together for Watta Watnanda Day.

Following a two-year hiatus, Watta Watnanda Day returned bigger and better than before with over 150 students coming together to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture through presentations, dialogue and activities. The day was hosted by Luke Murray, Indigenous Community Engagement Manager at Korin Gamadji Institute, and featured presentations by Joel Garner from Port Adelaide Football Club and Linc Yow Yeh from Australian Catholic University.

For Nicholas from Catholic Regional College, Melton, the day was an important opportunity to work with students from other schools and to share what unites us. ‘Today I’m enjoying the cultural experience, getting to mingle with other students who are also Indigenous and it’s bringing me out of my comfort zone’, he said. ‘As a Year 12 student, we’re trying to lead other students to become active in their culture. I’d like all schools to know that we, as Indigenous students, have a diverse culture and we value that diversity and don’t want it taken away from us.’

‘It’s all about our students connecting with culture through having our guest speakers, and going on a cultural walk and then through our activities’, said Leila Gurruwiwi, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Officer at Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS). ‘There are some schools that have a large cohort of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students, but there are some that may have one or two or three, so it’s nice for them to connect with each other as Indigenous students at other schools. We hope that spending time together will mean that friendships will continue beyond this space today.’