Sorry Day marked at all campuses

Southern Cross University will mark Sorry Day across its three campuses this week ahead of the National Day celebration on May 26.

The Gold Coast campus will host Sorry Day activities on Tuesday May 21; the Lismore campus on Wednesday May 22; and the Coffs Harbour campus on Thursday May 23.

National Sorry Day offers the community an opportunity to acknowledge the impact of the policies spanning more than 150 years of forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.

The theme for Sorry Day this year is 'SORRY. Still living on borrowed time!' Stolen Generations survivors are the living history of the results of forced removal policies of past governments. The majority are now over the age of 45. They are grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents. Five years since they heard the word ’Sorry’, they still wait for justice.

Guest speaker at the Gold Coast and Lismore events will be Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson. Professor Atkinson is on the board of directors of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation and a member of the Scientific Research Advisory Committee for Closing the Gap Clearinghouse. She is also a member of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Oxfam Australia and the Harvard Global Mental Health Science Alliance. She is also a patron of the We Al-li Trust.

A number of elders and community members will share their stories at each campus. The events at Lismore and Gold Coast start from 11am and conclude at 1pm, the Coffs Harbour event commences with a morning tea at 10:30am and concludes at 1pm. Sorry Day events are hosted by the Southern Cross University Indigenous Events and Coordinating Committee (SCUIECC), a reconciliation-in-action collaboration of Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff, students and community members who provide guidance and focus to the University’s acknowledgement of and engagement in significant national Indigenous events.

Gold Coast campus
May 21, from 11am to 1pm at Building A. Guest speaker Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson.

Lismore campus
May 22, from 11am to 1pm at the Zest Function Centre. Guest speaker Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson.

Coffs Harbour campus
May 23, from 10:30am to 1pm, at the D Block Theatre.

Photo: Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson.