Facebook and Instagram launches new features for Australians to celebrate NAIDOC Week 2020

Facebook Australia has partnered with NAIDOC to launch new tools and initiatives to celebrate Indigenous people, stories, and businesses for NAIDOC Week 2020. Starting 8th November across Facebook and Instagram, Australians will be empowered to connect with this year’s ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ theme and with Indigenous-designed tools, creators, and businesses.

Exclusively in Australia, Facebook will launch three new Instagram Stories stickers designed by Tyrown Waigana, the Noongar and Saibai Islander artist behind this year’s NAIDOC Week poster. When users create an Instagram Story, they’ll see the three NAIDOC Week stickers at the top of their Stories tray.

Other features set to launch in partnership with NAIDOC include:
– Four Stories templates designed by Nungala Creative, led by proud Warumungu / Wombaya woman Jessica Johnson. These templates encourage Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to connect with the Country they live on, and share the people and organisations that inspire them during NAIDOC Week.
– A new interactive Indigenous music library within the Facebook and Instagram music stickers called ‘Blak Australia’ to highlight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.
– Top Indigenous creators will develop and share Instagram Guides focused on well-being and connecting to country. Guides are an upcoming feature currently testing with select creators around the world.

As NAIDOC Week closes on Saturday 14th November, tune in to the NAIDOC, NITV and Facebook Australia pages to watch NAIDOC LIVE: Celebrating Blak Excellence. This Social For Good Facebook livestream will feature performances and appearances from some of Australia’s top Indigenous talent including Archie Roach, Ash Barty, Kate (Konstantina) Constantine, Wayne Quilliam and many more including ILF ambassador Jessica Mauboy in a Facebook world first XR video production that reimagines her song Butterfly. Hosted by acclaimed First Nations entertainer Mitch Tambo, the show will air live from 6:00pm AEDT, and use Facebook’s live donation tools to raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, who gift and publish books in language for children in remote Australia.

In welcoming the partnership, National NAIDOC co cchair, John Paul Janke said it was an exciting opportunity to expand the reach and footprint of NAIDOC Week like never before: “Millions of Australians can now join in the celebrations via their social media, sharing this stunning content to their networks and thus engaging a whole new audience to our culture, achievement, history, aspirations and voices.”

The official NAIDOC Week hashtags are #NAIDOC2020 #NAIDOCWeek and #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe

Says Will Easton, vice president of Facebook Australia: “Facebook is committed to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to celebrate culture, access education, and embrace their economic potential. Our platforms can elevate community voices and share stories in unprecedented ways, and this partnership with NAIDOC will harness that power to bring Indigenous achievements and culture to Australians everywhere.

“Building on our investments to date supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, we have committed to publishing a Reconciliation Action Plan in 2021, focused on elevating opportunities to celebrate culture, build career pathways and create further opportunities for education and economic prosperity. Our Reconciliation Action Plan will be guided by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group that represents the diversity of the Indigenous Australian community.”

For more information on Facebook Australia’s commitment to Reconciliation, please visit australia.fb.com/reconciliation

Facebook is also developing the first Instagram Creator Fellowship program, in partnership with Screen Australia. The program will identify up-and-coming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander digital creators, and provide them training, mentoring, career connections and content funding over a period of six months. The aim of the program is to empower young Indigenous talent, amplify their voices and help create long-term career prospects for First Nations creators in social media and digital content creation. Information on how to apply and further details will be announced in January 2021.