A new season of Going Places with Ernie Dingo, thrilling drama Firebite and the inaugural SBS Elder in Residence Oration lead SBS and NITV’s NAIDOC Week 2023 line-up
- Going Places with Ernie Dingo returns in its fifth season, also starring a suite of much-loved First Nations presenters, premiering 8 July at 7.30pm on NITV and SBS.
- Free-to-air television premiere of gripping drama series Firebite directed by Warwick Thornton and starring Rob Collins, from 6 July at 9.30pm on NITV and SBS On Demand.
- SBS presents its inaugural SBS Elder in Residence Oration from Rhoda Roberts AO, on NITV and SBS On Demand, Sunday 9 July at 7.30pm.
- NITV will simulcast the National NAIDOC Week Award Ceremony with ABC, live on Saturday 1 July at 7.30pm.
- SBS’s multilingual coverage will include news and stories in more than 60 languages through SBS Audio, connecting the newest Australians with the world’s oldest living continuous culture.
- Students around Australia can learn more through SBS Learn’s popular NAIDOC Week education resource, authored by proud Yankunyjatjara and Wirangu woman Shelley Ware.
- NAIDOC Week will be celebrated across the network, including a curated collection of iconic and award-winning series and films available to stream on SBS On Demand.
SBS is celebrating National NAIDOC Week 2023 across the network with a huge programming line-up, along with extensive multiplatform and multilingual coverage, celebrating the history, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. From 2-9 July, stories and moments will bring Australians together, and explore this year’s National NAIDOC Week theme, For Our Elders.
SBS and NITV’s impressive NAIDOC Week offering includes the return of Going Places with Ernie Dingo for a new season of the unique travel series. Premiering on NITV and SBS on Saturday 8 July at 7.30pm, Aaron Fa’Aoso, Network 10’s Narelda Jacobs OAM, Rae Johnston and Bianca Hunt join Ernie Dingo to help explore the continent and dive into the entertaining stories of everyday, passionate locals who call these places home.
During the week, NITV will also premiere the thrilling vampire drama Firebite, directed by Warwick Thornton and starring Rob Collins, in its free-to-air television debut, from Thursday 6 July at 9.30pm, also available on SBS On Demand.
Kicking off the week of celebration, the National NAIDOC Week Awards returns to NITV for the 11th year, with a simulcast of the ABC live broadcast of the ceremony on Saturday July 1 at 7.30pm. Mark Coles Smith and Casey Donovan will host the awards ceremony.
Rounding out the week, SBS is proud to broadcast the first SBS Elder in Residence Oration, presented by Widjabul Wia-bal woman from the Bundjalung Nation, Rhoda Roberts AO, on Sunday 9 July at 7.30pm on NITV and SBS On Demand. Appointed as SBS’s inaugural Elder in Residence in 2020, Roberts is an eminent community and industry leader. revered and celebrated as a pioneer in the arts and creative sector.
SBS’s unique ability to connect the newest Australians with the world’s oldest living culture will also be amplified during NAIDOC Week, with news and stories in more than 60 languages across the SBS Audio network, as well as SBS News in Mandarin and SBS News in Arabic on SBS WorldWatch and SBS On Demand.
There’s also a range of documentaries, movies and news and current affairs across the wider network, and teaching resources available to help students of all ages learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories. The SBS Learn resource will be available for all teachers to download online.
Tanya Denning-Orman, a proud Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman and Director of Indigenous Content at SBS, said: “In a year when putting First Nations voices front and centre is so important, we are inviting all Australians to come and watch, listen, learn and be inspired through our special NAIDOC Week line-up.
“Each year, SBS brings communities together in a celebration of Blak excellence during NAIDOC Week, and in 2023 we’re excited to once again present programming and coverage that champions First Nations stories, and shares the history, knowledges and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in more than 60 languages across the SBS network. We’re also celebrating the trailblazers and cultural knowledge holders that empower and guide us every day, in recognition of this year’s NAIDOC Week theme, ‘For Our Elders’.”
NITV’s week of programming celebrates the theme of Elders and those people that have inspired the next generations. with a selection of Living Black: The Icons, nightly at 5pm. This includes conversations with Archie Roach, Patrick Dodson, Ernie Dingo, Wilma Reading, Pat Anderson, Linda Burney and Ken Wyatt and an episode titled ‘Strong Women’.