It is NAIDOC week, from 2-9th of July 2023 and this year’s theme is ‘For Our Elders’.
“Across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in our communities and families. They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and our loved ones.”
During a team lunch last week Murawin staff members shared what resonates with them about NAIDOC 2023 theme.
Our team shared their memories of learning from Elders through the organic day-to-day activities, watching Nana cook her ugari fritters, or the first times watching Elders fish. The gentle but strategically focused and authentic passing down of cultural knowledge, traditions and ways of life from which we learn and employ intuitively.
The team agreed there was a beautiful juxtaposition present as Our Elders’ guidance and nurturing us on our journeys, while simultaneously we are standing on their shoulders.
Our CEO, Carol Vale, is a Dunghutti woman who works tirelessly to guide and nurture not only her family, but Indigenous and non-Indigenous people around her. Carol ensures any non-Indigenous Murawin team and clients lean in to Indigenous allyship.
“NAIDOC week is such a special week that celebrates the strength, resilience, uniqueness and specialness of Indigenous Australians and we share this with our non-Indigenous family, colleagues and friends who continue to show up and journey with us every day.”
We remember Murawin’s co-founder and COO Greg McKenzie and the importance he placed on ensuring the wisdom and cultural ways of our Old People are woven into the operations of Murawin. Both Carol and Greg’s guidance continually reminds us that if we face situations of others we cannot understand, we can acknowledge the absence of shared experience and can listen. They have both provided the workplace platform that empowers us to bring our truths to the table, be genuine, and to feel comfortable to speak up and support Indigenous issues, as allies.
This NAIDOC week, we invite all Australians to remember, recognise and celebrate 60,000 years of the accumulative knowledge of Elders and ancestors of this country, while also looking forward to coming together later this year to vote YES for an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament. Together we can all lean into this invitation to strengthen our Nation. We can together combine the robust strengths of our two worlds, the past worlds of different ancestors which we can now bring together and heal our Nation’s gap.
Murawin, is a Dunghutti word which means “to be educated, and to be responsible with that education.”
It is about not only having the knowledge but knowing what to do with it and passing it on when the time is right. Education has always been a passion for both our co-founders and is at the heart of Murawin’s work facilitating intercultural learning, respect & collaboration.
Our logo is also steeped in meaning and symbolism,
merging professionalism with a contemporary flair while staying rooted in Country through stylised elements of waterways and river rocks. These elements, symbolising life, healing, and reconciliation in Indigenous culture, resonate with Murawin’s client-focused approach.
Originating from river Country in regional NSW, Murawin’s founders’ childhood experiences shaped the logo’s significance, reflecting their deep ties to family and Country. The river rocks signify Murawin’s enduring connection to Country and culture, chosen for their symbolism of strength and resilience akin to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. They also represent Murawin’s commitment to positive impact and intergenerational change. Notably, the eight rocks symbolise cofounder Carol Vale’s immediate family members, while the two lines in the logo signify the intertwining of cultures by our two co-founders, Carol and Greg.
What we wanted to do was to better reflect Murawin’s story, goals, mission and values through a supporting look and feel that elevated our branding and centred Country, our story and our values.
To do this we started with an updated colour palette.
We wanted a natural colour palette that reflects Country
and gives people a calm and clear perspective just like when time is spent on Country. Simultaneously we wanted it to reflect the professional, rigorous and forward-thinking nature of our work.
Each colour had to be meaningful and tied to Murawin’s story, so we pulled the colours directly from images of Country in areas important to Murawin and its co-founders.
Another key piece we have woven throughout this new visual identity is the contrasting black and white to visually represent the intercultural nature of our work and our story.
This duality is an important feature in Murawin’s story and in our work as the conduit between clients and communities.
This colour palette intertwined with artistic elements and the Country-centric imagery that you see throughout our website, reinforces that Country, community and culture are at the heart of everything we do at Murawin.
We are proud to present this new visual identity to the public, our clients, and the communities we work with to better reflect our story, the work we do, and our vision for the future.
