50 years of NAIDOC: Passing torches and honouring our Elders

The 2025 NAIDOC week theme 'The Next Generation: Strength, Vision, & Legacy', will celebrate achievements of Elders and elevate new voices.

This year will mark the powerful milestone of 50 years of NAIDOC.

The 2025 NAIDOC theme "The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy," recognises the strength of young First Nations leaders and the legacy of ancestors.

2025 marks an especially powerful milestone: 50 years of NAIDOC, elevating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, culture, resistance and resilience.

New exhibition weaves together the old and the new

The NAIDOC journey began as a movement for recognition and rights, sparked by Indigenous communities who saw a future built on justice and equality.

The national awards ceremony will be held in Perth this year.

Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman Professor Lynette Riley, National NAIDOC Committee co-chair, said over the past decades NAIDOC Week has grown into a powerful national celebration.

“As we celebrate this milestone, we look toward the next 50 years of NAIDOC Week celebrations with excitement and confidence, while ensuring that NAIDOC remains a movement grounded in community-led vision and integrity," she said.

National NAIDOC Committee co-chair and Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Pertame man Steven Satour said this year's theme highlights the importance of unity.

A look back on 50 years of the NAIDOC Committee

“Together, we walk forward, honouring where we've come from and looking boldly to the next generation who will carry NAIDOC and their communities into the future," he said.

“This NAIDOC Week, we celebrate not just a milestone but a movement that endures, grows, and evolves - driven by the unwavering strength of our communities, the shared vision of our people, and the enduring legacy we pass on to those who will shape our future."

Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy wants communities to be loud and proud in their milestone celebrations for NAIDOC Week, July 6-13, and is encouraging applications to a $3 million

federal government grant pool

National NAIDOC Awards Ceremony 2014. Source: AAP

“National NAIDOC Week continues to be Australia’s largest celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and this year we celebrate a milestone 50 years of honouring and elevating Indigenous voices, culture and resilience, through a week of activities," she said.

The National NAIDOC Committee says with every story shared, every act of resilience remembered and every cultural practice celebrated, we honour a legacy that reaches far into the past and extends into the future.

“Guided by the wisdom of our Elders and the groundwork laid by our forebears, each NAIDOC Week reinforces our vision for an Australia where Indigenous voices are not only heard but lead the way," Professor Riley said.