“WE’LL work together for a better future with no racism: tolerance and love.”

For Aboriginal educator and speaker Shelley Ware, this year’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round theme is one that strikes a chord.

Carlton will run out against Gold Coast at TIO Stadium donning the 2020 Indigenous guernsey to show its commitment to a future without racism.

“There are many cultures that suffer from racism and discrimination and lately there seems to have been quite a surge in it online,” Ware said of the theme.

“To have a future with no racism is everything I do in my whole entire world.

“My son, for him to not have to put up with people putting him down just for the colour of his skin and for his culture, which is such a beautiful culture that we want everybody to be a part of.”

A teacher herself, Ware believes the key to reducing the prevalence of racism in our society is through shining a light on our country’s past.

Today there is a greater need than ever to self-educate, something that she encourages everyone to undertake.

“As a teacher I obviously think that education is a massive part of ending racism and the sad part about it is that people of my generation, we didn’t really have anything in our schooling life about Aboriginal history and culture,” she said.

“It’s about self-education from our own generation and making sure that we take the time to spend some hours on the internet, grab a few books, watch a few movies, be a part of understanding how aboriginal people are still impacted by these policies.

“When you’re having conversations with people who may not understand, pulling them up and saying, ‘Come on, it might be time for you to self-educate and change some of those stereotypes that you have in your head about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.’”

Ware designed Carlton’s 2019 Indigenous guernsey, something she stills views as a privilege and a feature of her year.

While it was a highlight to see her own design on the big stage, the real joy came in seeing the guernsey worn by supporters in the months following.

“It was just such a special moment to see something that I’d worked on for what was potentially 18 months and see it come into fruition,” she said.

“Then what’s been really special about it is throughout the year to see kids wearing it, or you’re just walking around at the shops and people are actually wearing it as one of their favourite jumpers.”