Lowitja Institute congratulates the acknowledgement of the Uluru Statement from The Heart

Lowitja Institute has urged the Australian Government to embrace the Uluru Statement from The Heart, which marked its fourth anniversary and was honoured with the 2021 Sydney Peace Prize on the eve of National Reconciliation Week.

Lowitja Institute Dr Janine Mohamed congratulated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders Professor Megan Davis, Professor Noel Pearson and Pat Anderson AO, who accepted the award on Sorry Day on behalf of the many individuals and communities involved in bringing to life the Uluru Statement from The Heart in May 2017.

The Sydney Peace Prize was awarded to the Uluru Statement ‘for bringing together Australia’s First Nations Peoples around a clear and comprehensive agenda; for healing and peace within our Nation and delivering self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, that enables Australia to move into the future united and confident.’

“We congratulate all who were involved in the Uluru Statement and who have kept its call strong over the past four years, despite the dreadful failure of the Federal Government to embrace this gift for the nation,” Dr Mohamed said.

“Of course we have special congratulations for Pat Anderson, the long-standing chair of Lowitja Institute, who works tirelessly to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and for a stronger, more just Australia,” she said.

Like so many Indigenous and non-Indigenous organisations, the Lowitja Institute urges Australian governments to commit, this National Reconciliation Week, to fully implementing the calls for Voice, Truth and Treaty in the Uluru Statement from The Heart.

“It is important to recognise that reconciliation is a journey, not a destination, and it requires both courage and humility from leaders in all sectors,” Dr Mohamed said.