The Connecting Communities gathering on Walbunja and Brindja-Yuin Country, Moruya on Saturday 23rd March will bring people together for a day of solidarity, unity and acknowledgment of the shared struggles of First Peoples locally and around the globe.

Meet at 9:30am on the north side of the Moruya Bridge, for a 10:00 Unity Walk.

This procession of song and dance will take us across the bridge, through beautiful Riverside Park, ending at the Rotunda at Russ Martin Park (between the bridge and the swimming pool).

Aunty Trisha Ellis (OAM) will welcome us all on Country, followed by a program of music, arts, stories, food and guest speakers sharing culture from Yuin Country, Palestine and Aotearoa. Uncle Ron Callaghan, Val Moogz and Sam Miers will be sharing their music on the day.

We will paint and dance and eat and share, or just sit under a tree and yarn, until 2:00pm. Co-creator for the day of activism, Eliza Cannon, explained that the event arose in response to the challenge of holding our grief and hope for peace in Palestine while living on unceded Aboriginal lands in a society attempting to come to terms with our own First People’s struggle and survival through colonisation.

The group behind the day is completely volunteer led which shows how local grassroots action can be something we all place hope in through these turbulent times.

Walbunja man Jordan Nye, who will lead the Unity Walk, said “These challenges require us to unite with our sisters and brothers here and across the globe. The universal languages of art, music and food bring allies together to share space, to learn and to unlearn, and to work together for peace.

We can come together to share our grief and helplessness about the war on Palestinian people, but also to celebrate the survival and strength of Australian and Aotearoan First Peoples.”

If you are feeling dismayed or disempowered by current events in Palestine, you are not alone. The ongoing impacts of colonisation are felt here and around the world. The Connecting Communities Unity Walk is an opportunity to gather in solidarity to overcome the violence that divides and disconnects the world. ~ Eliza Cannon