For posterity: Australia Day Council chief executive Jeremy Lasek, left, Twitter Australia’s director of public policy Julie Inman-Grant and National Museum director Mathew Trinca inspect the Australia Day time capsule. Photo: Jamila Toderas. Source: The Canberra Times.

Henry Belot, ‘National Museum hopes to trend on Twitter this Australia Day’ The Canberra Times, 16 January 2015

The National Museum of Australia has joined forces with Twitter to document how Canberrans celebrate Australia Day, with special moments forming a curated digital exhibition.

National Australia Day Council chief executive Jeremy Lasek said social media was an ideal way for Canberrans to share what the day meant to them.

“Australia Day means something different to everyone and it’s important that all Australians participate in a way that is right for them,” he said.

“We encourage all Australians to share their Australia Day traditions by publishing an image to #AustraliaDay so that we are able to showcase the rich diversity of our nation and what makes us proud to be Australian through this exhibition.”

This Australia Day Your Way initiative was first launched in 2014, when more than 78,000 Tweets and 30,000 images – including posts from Hugh Jackman, Kylie Minogue and Megan Gale –  were received by #AustraliaDay.

This year’s campaign was launched on Friday morning by singer Ricki-Lee.

“Australia Day is a great time to be mindful and grateful of what we have in this country – it’s about taking a moment to stop and think how lucky we are,” she said.

“Australia is a place where so many people come and fall in love with not just the country but also the people.”

National Museum of Australia director Mathew Trinca said the Twitter experiment proved popular in 2014 and  provided an illustration of how people celebrated the day differently.

“The National Museum was delighted by last year’s response to its call for Australians to tweet images on Australia Day and we encourage everyone to make 2015 even bigger and better by sending images of their Australia Day tradition for our curators to share with the country – however they choose to mark the day,” he said.

Julie Inman-Grant, director of public policy for Twitter Australia, said the social media platform was perfectly suited to sharing traditions and celebrations on Australia Day.

“Today, we’re pleased to hand over the time capsule on behalf of Twitter to the National Museum of Australia as a permanent record of how Aussies celebrated one of the most special days on the Australian calendar,” she said.

“We are proud to again be a partner of the National Australia Day Council, to help them to make Australia Day an even bigger and better event this year and add another digital chapter to how Aussies celebrate the day their way.