Have Your Say: Planning a Canberra Anti-Racism Festival

RAC – Canberra is exploring plans for a major anti-racism festival, organized together with other community groups, and we want members and supporters to weigh in before a final decision is made.

A project team has already met twice to work through the idea, and the response so far has been encouraging. The Canberra Multicultural Community Forum has agreed to co-sponsor the event, along with the ACT branches of the Australian Education Union and the National Tertiary Education Union. The United Workers Union and the ANU Students’ Association are both expected to come on board soon, and Ngunnawal Elder Aunty Violet Sheridan has offered her support and help connecting First Nations groups. Two experienced music event organizers are also part of the planning team.

Read/download the discussion paper below:

The big question now is timing. A date in late February next year was the original plan, but a clash with Rising Tide’s climate blockade in Newcastle has forced a rethink. The options on the table are:

• Move earlier, to 20 February — though this leaves less time to promote the event at ANU and sits close to the Multicultural Festival.
• Move later, to May — after Palm Sunday, but running into worse weather and shorter daylight for an outdoor, early-evening event.
• Combine it with Palm Sunday itself, folding speeches and performances into one event under a shared banner. This would save on costs like printing and promotion, and could help boost Palm Sunday numbers — though it changes the character of both events.
• Push it back to later in 2027 (September–November), giving more time to plan and apply for grants, but risking a loss of momentum and enthusiasm from people involved now.

A final decision will be made at the General Meeting on 25 July — which is also the deadline for applying for ACT Government grant funding, if we choose to go down that path.

If you have thoughts on which option makes the most sense, come along to the meeting or get in touch with the project team beforehand. This is a big undertaking, and we want as many voices as possible shaping how it comes together.