(Waskam) Emelda Davis with gratitude.
On behalf of Australian South Sea Islanders – Port Jackson (ASSIPJ), and our board, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our multicultural community supporters for their invaluable contributions to the advancement of Australian South Sea Islander peoples, their history, stories, culture and achievements.
Your collective vision, skills, and courage to reshape the narrative surrounding Australia’s Blackbirding history and its descendants have fostered a global awareness and appreciation for those who came before us, while instilling hope for future generations as we strive for meaningful multicultural inclusion.
Australia’s economy was built, in part, on the tragic loss of lives, as approximately 60,000 Sugar Slaves were forcibly taken from the eighty islands of Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, as well as Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Kiribati, New Caledonia, and Fiji.
To our First Nations communities, families, allies, and knowledge keepers, thank you for welcoming our Pacific ancestors across your traditional lands, documented since the 1700s in Sydney and the 1800s in Queensland. These receiving ports witnessed the arrival of displaced peoples who rebuilt multicultural communities and societies while fighting for survival, equal rights, and social justice.
ASSI-PJ expresses our deep appreciation to our Commonwealth, State, and local governments, agencies, community organisations, leaders, universities, academics, artists, and schools for recognising the importance of self-determination and the truth-telling process initiated by our board and volunteers.
We acknowledge the international and multicultural community, heritage institutions, and volunteers for your commitment to learning, sharing, and embracing the commonalities in our struggles, and for engaging with us through community forums to share knowledge and culture.
Our collective efforts enrich the global memory of social justice and highlight the reality of what it means to be known as ‘the forgotten people’ in Australia
We extend our gratitude to the African Australia Advocacy Council, Alex Greenwich – Independent Member for Sydney, Australian Asia Pacific Media Initiative, Australian Government, Amnesty International, Australian National Maritime Museum, Bankstown Women’s Health, Business in the Peninsula + Pyrmont + Ultimo + Darling Harbour, CAGES Foundation, Caribbean Social Forum – UK, City of Sydney Council, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, DSV Accounting Solutions, Elements Bar and Grill, Fairfield Women’s Health Service, Gilbert + Tobin, Helen Fraser, iComply, Indigenous Peoples Organisation Australia, Inner West Council, International Coalition Sites of Conscience, International Council on Monuments and Sites, International Peace Youth Group, James Cook University, JMC Academy, Khal Torabully – Coolitude, Kokonut Vibe, Lotus Holistic Wellbeing, Minter Ellison, Multicultural NSW, National Australia Day Council, NSW Council for Pacific Communities, NSW Government Legislative Assembly, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, One Land One Spirit Australia, Onyx Management Group, Queensland Government, Scarred Tree Indigenous Ministries, Smile Marketing, St Johns Anglican Church Glebe, Sydney Community Group, The Body Studio, The Christiansen Fund, The Healing Process, Torres Health Indigenous Corporation, Tribal Warrior, Tweed Gold Coast ASSI United Community Inc, UTS Shop Front, University of Queensland, University of Sydney – Chau Chak Wing, University of Technology (UTS) Centre for Social Justice, University of Wollongong, Vanuatu Government and High Commission to Australia, Vanuatu Indigenous Descendants Association, Vanuatu Women’s Handicraft Markets, w3media, Watermark Art & Design, Western Sydney University, Women for Election Australia, Yumi Olgeta-Crafting a More Inclusive Democracy and all our other multicultural community groups and supporters, both local and international. Thank you. Tanku Tumas.
The ASSI-PJ wishes to acknowledge the following Supporters:
