Cancellation of the 2020 National NAIDOC Awards and the 2020 Awards Ceremony

The National NAIDOC Committee has made the decision to cancel the 2020 National NAIDOC Awards ceremony.

The Awards ceremony was scheduled to be held in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in November.

The difficult decision was made considering the changing and widespread impacts of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of travel restrictions, quarantining, and physical distancing requirements.

This decision was not taken lightly and was reached in consultations with the Alice Springs NAIDOC Committee and other stakeholders and partners.

We all want to continue to protect our elders and our communities from the disastrous impacts of COVID-19.

There will be no national awards announced in 2020 and we will not be replacing the ceremony with an online or virtual Awards event. An important part of recognising our community achievers is to celebrate the Awards in style, by showcasing the winners together and televising the event in partnership with SBS/NITV.  This necessary postponement, however, will allow more time for nominating our deadly achievers in each of the 2021 National NAIDOC award categories.

Please nominate someone today: https://www.naidoc.org.au/awards/nominations

Mparntwe (Alice Springs) will remain the focus city for NAIDOC Week next year and will host the National Awards ceremony in early July.

NAIDOC Week will continue as planned from 8-15 November and we ask that any planned events and public gatherings adhere to physical distancing and hygiene principles to protect our community from the spread of COVID-19.

We know that everyone is working hard to ensure the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities across Australia.

We encourage people to still acknowledge achievers and celebrate excellence through local and regional NAIDOC Awards.