SBS and NITV mark National Reconciliation Week with compelling premieres recognising the strength and resilience of First Nations peoples
National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June), a time for all Australians to learn more about the nation’s shared histories, cultures and achievements, will be recognised by the SBS network, with National Indigenous Television (NITV) at its heart, in the coming weeks. SBS continues to celebrate the world’s oldest continuous cultures. reflecting on the strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with a curated collection of First Nations content premiering from Sunday 25 May on NITV, SBS and SBS on Demand.
This special Reconciliation Week line-up includes extensive multiplatform and multilingual coverage, exploring the 2025 National Reconciliation Week theme, Bridging Now to Next. Highlights include a live event for all Australians from Reconciliation WA and the ‘Father of Reconciliation’, Uncle Patrick Dodson, timely documentaries such as Our Medicine and Namatjira Project and a Living Black special, which commemorates the iconic Corroboree 2000 reconciliation event in Sydney.
Broadcast live from Walyalup (Fremantle), National Reconciliation Week featuring Patrick Dodson is a reconciliation breakfast featuring the prominent Indigenous rights activist and former WA senator. Premiering on Tuesday 27 May at 11am (AEST), truth-telling, leadership, and connection will take centre stage in Dodson’s address.
Also premiering on NITV, SBS and SBS on Demand is the groundbreaking observational documentary series, Our Medicine. With unique access to First Nations doctors, nurses, paramedics, traditional healers and other medical professionals around Australia, Our Medicine takes viewers behind the frontline of Australia’s strained medical services and joins patients on their journeys through the system. The timely six-part series, narrated by screen icon Leah Purcell AM, premieres on Thursday 29 May at 7.30pm.
Powerful and personal documentary, Namatjira Project, premieres on Sunday 25 May at 8.30pm about Albert Namatjira, one of the most revered names in Australian art history. From the remote Australian desert to the opulence of Buckingham Palace – this is the iconic story of the Namatjira family, tracing their quest for justice. Namatjira was a man caught between cultures – paraded as a great Australian, whilst treated with contempt. He was the first Indigenous person to be made a citizen by the Australian Government and the founder of the Indigenous art movement in Australia.
Living Black, the longest-running Indigenous news and current affairs program on Australian television, marks National Reconciliation Week with a special episode on Monday 26 May at 8.30pm. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Walk for Reconciliation/Corroboree 2000, the episode charts the impact of the largest political demonstration in Australia’s history, which had 250,000 people marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of reconciliation. SBS covered the event at the time with ICAM, the network’s premier Indigenous news and current affairs program before Living Black. Episode guests include Former Minister for Indigenous Australians, Hon. Linda Burney and CEO of Reconciliation Australia, Karen Mundine.
Tanya Denning-Orman, a proud Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman and Director, First Nations, for SBS, said: “This year, National Reconciliation Week is an important opportunity to engage all Australians in the way forward for national reconciliation, and this year’s theme –Bridging Now to Next – provides a platform to explore the moments and voices instrumental to Australia’s reconciliation journey, and share stories of those forging a path for the future.
“Twenty-five years ago, SBS was the network on the ground covering Corroboree 2000 and the iconic walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge which brought Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians together in a powerful call for action. Twenty-five years later, we were continuing to ensure all Australians could see and hear First Nations perspectives in the national debate during a Federal Election campaign. We’re proud to continue our commitment as a network to elevating First Nations stories to inform, inspire and bring Australia’s diverse communities together.
“Join us this National Reconciliation Week for a line-up of programming and coverage giving every Australian the opportunity to reflect, connect with and celebrate the 65,000 years of history and culture we share in this country.”
Nolan Hunter and Debra Zanella, Reconciliation WA Co-Chairs, said: “Reconciliation is not a straight line. It’s a journey shaped by both progress and setbacks. Bridging Now to Next calls on us to walk this path together, learning from history and building on it to create a more united and fair Australia. It’s about committing to real action and bringing people along on this journey of truth, justice, and respect.”
Highlights of the multiplatform offering across the SBS network include:
Namatjira Project
Sunday 25 May at 8.30pm on NITV and SBS On Demand
In one of Australia’s most potent stories, Namatjira Project traces the life and works of Albert Namatjira, a renowned Arrernte painter from the MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia. He gave many Australians their first glimpses into the outback heart of the country and was widely celebrated, exhibited globally, and introduced to Queen Elizabeth. However, in 1957 he was imprisoned for something he didn’t do, and in 1959 he died. By 1983 the Government sold the copyright to his artworks to an art dealer, and today, Namatjira’s family fight for survival, justice and to regain their grandfather’s copyright. Namatjira Project illuminates the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people today, in Australia and globally.
Living Black
Monday 26 May at 8.30pm on NITV and SBS On Demand
25 years on from the remarkable Corroboree 2000 Bridge Walk, Western Arrernte woman, Walkley Award-winning journalist, Executive Producer and host of Living Black, Karla Grant, interviews attendees from the momentous event to hear how they felt at the time and if they believe reconciliation still stands a chance in Australia.
National Reconciliation Week featuring Patrick Dodson
Tuesday 27 May at 11am (AEST) on NITV and SBS On Demand
Live from Fremantle Passenger Terminal, WA, Yawuru elder, Patrick Dodson, also known as the Father of Reconciliation’, along with next-generation leader Tremane Baxter-Edwards, deliver a Reconciliation keynote. At a time when Australia faces uncertainty in its reconciliation journey, this keynote calls on all Australians to step forward together to build a more united and respectful nation. Together, Dodson and Baxter-Edwards embody cross-generational First Nations leadership, with their voices reflecting the strength, wisdom and hope to carry the reconciliation movement forward, following the theme ‘Bridging Now to Next’.
Our Medicine
Thursday 29 May at 7.30pm on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand
Taking viewers behind the frontline of Australia’s strained medical services, Our Medicine shines an important light on First Nations professionals working to achieve better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and communities. Narrated by popular actress Leah Purcell AM, Our Medicine follows First Nations doctors, nurses, paramedics, traditional healers and other medical professionals in their day-to-day challenges as they support patients on their journey through the system. Watch the trailer here.
As part of National Reconciliation Week, SBS will deliver multilingual and multiplatform coverage in 60 languages through SBS Audio, sharing First Nations perspectives and celebrating the cultures, knowledges and history of Australia’s Indigenous peoples. This initiative highlights SBS’s unique role in connecting new Australians with the world’s oldest continuing culture. Coverage will include a special Australia Explained podcast and an article titled The Stolen Generations: Understanding their history and impact, which will be published ahead of National Sorry Day (26 May) across all the language services of the network.
SBS Food will air episodes of Kriol Kitchen, blending food, culture and family stories, daily at 4.30pm, from 2 May to 20 June.
SBS World Movies will host a curated collection of acclaimed Australian cinema telling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ stories from Monday 26 to Thursday 29 May at 7.30pm. This includes The Furnace and We Are Still Here, Australian Rules, Ten Canoes and The Tracker.
SBS On Demand will feature a hub dedicated to Reconciliation Week, showcasing all of the network’s content, including documentaries, movies, news and current affairs and more.
Students around Australia can discover more through SBS Learn’s free Australian Curriculum aligned digital learning resources for teachers and educators. Printable and downloadable lesson plans are available for primary and secondary students, specialising in multicultural and First Nations educational content.
SBS’s Reconciliation Week project proudly continues the work set out in SBS’s Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan 2022-2026. This Plan outlines SBS’s commitment to reflecting, exploring and embedding First Nations stories, knowledges, cultures and languages across the network, and to connecting the oldest continuous culture on Earth with the newest Australians.
Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok using #ReconciliationWeek2025
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