Arabic version: تكريم رودا روبرتس في جوائز ناييدوك لعام 2026

According to ABC News, Aunty Rhoda Roberts AO was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 National NAIDOC Week Awards in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), where Indigenous leaders, individuals and groups were recognised.

The Widjabul Wieybal woman was honoured for elevating First Nations voices through storytelling, performance, creative direction and cultural leadership. Judges cited her work guiding festivals including Garma and Parrtjima, describing her as a visionary cultural leader whose influence transformed Australia’s artistic landscape.

Aunty Pat Turner AO received Person of the Year for what organisers called her lifelong service. They said her career of more than 50 years has advanced the rights, wellbeing and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Turner became the first Aboriginal person and first woman to lead the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in the 1990s.

Other individual winners were Christine Corby AM as Female Elder of the Year, Dr Stephen Hagan as Male Elder of the Year, Caitlyn Costello as Sportsperson of the Year, Tyson Neal-Edwards as Youth of the Year and Kaylene Whiskey for Creative Talent.

Southern Aboriginal Corporation Ltd won the Caring for Country and Culture Award. The Aboriginal & Islander Independent Community School, known as The Murri School, received the Education Award, while Young Indigenous Women’s STEM Academy won the Innovation Award. The ceremony’s theme was 50 Years of Deadly.