7 Ways To Mark National Reconciliation Week In The Office
National reconciliation week is celebrated to encourage Australian people to know and understand their country’s past shared history, achievements & cultures. In 2022, the national reconciliation week starts from 27 May to 3 June, so we thought it would be perfect to plan how to celebrate it inside your office with your team. The primary aim of celebrating national reconciliation week in the office is to spread awareness about the country and the importance of cultural identity. Making place safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the understanding problems they face, and encouraging discussion on discrimination & its consequences. We have provided a list of 13 simple ways to celebrate National Reconciliation Week in the office.
Organise The Local Culture Tour
Australia has a thousand-year-old history that is integrated with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. So to truly understand their life struggles, scarifies and way of living, your employees need to have some knowledge about history. The easiest way is to organize the local conduct tour to all the important landmarks and make it compulsory for everyone to join. Also, hire a guide who can tell the entire history during the tour. At the end of the tour, establish quiz competitions to see what employees understand during the walk. And to make it more engaging, declare a winning gift while playing. The perfect gift could be the whisky & fine spirits that you can easily order from The Whisky Exchange at a discounted price.
Honour The Food
In every culture and tradition, food plays an important role. Appreciating any festival’s food is one of the ways to accept & respect the culture. You can hold the team lunch or breakfast with traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s food to honour their cooking skills. For lunch, you can contact the local restaurants that serve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s food. You can order fresh, customised, and delicious meals from Hello Fresh & get them delivered safely to your office. It is also the best way to start conversations about the Reconciliation, and employees get unique foods to taste that they never think of.
Ask Aboriginal Leaders Or Employees To Share Their Stories
Stories are a great way of representation, and it helps to cover the gap between a culture that we’ve knowingly created. You can invite local islander leaders & host the reconciliation discussion with your employees. Request the leader to tell about their own experiences and challenges. Always make sure that the conversation is two-way, and employees also ask their doubts and get the answers from the leader.
Donate To NGOs
Most of the time, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders cannot get the required opportunities to succeed in life. Many NGOs are working hard and providing them equal chances to live a better life to give them equal rights. You can help these NGOs by asking your employees to donate some money, hold a donation drive in the town, or even organise an event to collect the donations and send it to the islander’s non-profit organisation.
You can also volunteer in the local community to show your support and solidarity. This is an excellent opportunity for a company to connect with local communities. This will also help your employees to develop empathy.
Advocate On Social Media
The most effective & easiest way to show your support is via social media. You can ask employees to post National Reconciliation Week-related content with the hashtag. Also, employees can share their views about the islanders on social media. It can be holding a big canvas in hand with a message or a small video.
Conduct Webinar
The best way to promote cultural awareness & recognizing social issues is through webinars. To honor National Reconciliation Week in office, call leaders or well-known people from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to create an informative discussion on their struggling lives. It will help employees understand the harsh truth about the world and become more conscious of their life to become better humans.
Giving Rewards To Recognize Employees
Find the opportunities to give rewards to your employees who are actively taking part in work to make a difference & improve the company’s culture. It’s very important to publicly appreciate these superstars who genuinely care about their co-workers and company. The biggest upside is that other employees also grab inspiration by looking at them and start performing well. You can check the employee rewards & recognition guide here.
We believe that honouring Reconciliation should not be only limited to seven days in the year. Instead, as a business owner or team leader make sure you take purposeful actions daily. The primary goal is to seek equal opportunities for all Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.