The Copyright Council’s Reading Australia project has launched a National Reconciliation Week (NRW) colouring competition to encourage children to be active participants in reconciliation.
Indigenous children’s book author and illustrator, Dub Leffler, has created a colouring sheet exclusively for the 2020 NRW colouring competition, which closes on July 22. The colouring sheet was inspired by his book, Once There Was a Boy, a whimsical story about friendship, reconciliation and forgiveness.
NRW is commemorated each year from 27 May to 3 June, giving Australians the opportunity to acknowledge the traditional owners of this country, to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture, and to celebrate Indigenous culture.
Its organisers said this year’s NRW theme, ‘In This Together’, resonated “in ways we could not have foreseen when we announced it last year, but it reminds us whether in a crisis or in reconciliation we are all #InThisTogether”.
There are two categories in the competition: Foundation (kindergarten/preparatory/pre-school) to Year 3, and Year 4 to Year 6. There will be one winner in each category who will win Booktopia book vouchers for themselves and their school library.
Students can start by downloading the Once There Was a Boy colouring sheet (PDF) and convincing their teacher to get their whole class involved.
Reading Australia’s teacher notes for the book encourage students to talk about the term reconciliation and what it means in Australia. They also ask them to reflect on Dub Leffler’s Aboriginal ancestry and what may have motivated him to write this book with its friendship and reconciliation themes.
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#NRW2020 #InThisTogether2020
