News from the ILF
August 2022
Filming of the ILD National Digital Event, 2022
Image by Josie Lardy
Yamandhu marang Friend,
Please join us in celebrating Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD) on Wednesday 7 September, a day to celebrate the stories, languages and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This year we have produced a National Digital Event featuring Jessica Mauboy, Gregg Dreise and a lively group of children from remote Milikapiti and Jilkminggan.
The ILD National Digital Event is an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate the multilingual and multi-literacy of First Nations children and experience a snippet of life in remote Communities. For all information about ILD please visit the link here. Please register for the event through the Sydney Opera House website. This is a free event and suitable for all ages. For teacher resources and digital
assets please see the 'Our News' section below.
The ILF sends a very sincere thank you to Prof. Tony Dreise who has recently stepped down from his role as ILF's Co-Chair. As an important First Nations leader in Australia, Tony has brought wisdom and a wealth of professional and leadership experience to this role and ILF has benefitted enormously from his guidance and insights. We wish Tony all the very best both in his professional and personal life.
We would also like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome Natalie Ahmat to the role as Co-Chair. Natalie is known to us all through her work with NITV and as a long-time ambassador and champion of the ILF. We are excited to have her join the Board as Co-Chair.
Mandaang guwu,
Ben Bowen
Chief Executive Officer
Check out the ILD National Digital Event Teaser!
To celebrate UNESCO's first year of the Decade of Indigenous Languages, each month we will encourage readers to learn a new word in either an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language.
This month's word is crab in Tiwi language!
crab = kirimpika
Phonetics: kir-im-pika
Download the audio version here.
Illustration from No Way Yirrikipayi.
ILD Teacher Resources
Calling teachers! We invite you to engage students in Indigenous Literacy Day with our Teacher Resources including three art workshops from acclaimed ILF ambassadors, authors and illustrators. Download the resources here.
Share the ILD Resources!
We have digital assets to promote the ILD National Digital Event to your school community, workplace or social group. Click here for banners, posters and social media tiles.
Busking for Change
This year we successfully piloted a new fundraiser, Busking for Change with five Sydney Schools. The outcome has been astounding! Not only have students loved learning to play, sing and dance to a song, they have also learned to sing part of the song in an Indigenous Language and fundraise for a great cause! If you're interested in getting involved in 2023, register now.
Book Supply Review Committee
The Book Supply Review Committee pored over books for two days to long list 275 titles for the 2023 Book Supply packs. For the final selection, the team is working towards choosing around 160 titles with 50% featuring Indigenous authors and/or illustrators. A huge thank you to all the publishers who submitted titles and our Review team!
Meeting Face to Face!
ILF Programs Manager, Zoe, visited Darwin recently for a workshop with Tiwi Islands Regional Coordinators Tictac and Bella, and Katherine Regional Coordinator Josie. It was Zoe's first time meeting the team face to face since starting with ILF in March.
Volunteer at Fish Creek Children's Literature Event
ILF is having a stall at the Fish Creek Children's Literature Event on September 18th! This delightful regional event features some exciting workshops including two with ILF Ambassador Gregg Dreise! If you would like to help us out on the day with volunteering, please reply to this email and let us know.
ILF at Garma Festival
ILF's CEO Ben Bowen, Co-Chair Marnie O'Bryan, Board member Leitha Assan and Regional Coordinator Tictac Moore attended Garma Festival this month! Garma is Australia's Premier Indigenous Cultural Exchange. It's an enriching experience and a great place to listen, learn, engage and yarn.
Byron Writers Festival
ILF had a wonderful time at the Byron Writers Festival last weekend as the festival's Charity of Choice. Thank you to all those who visited our stand, donated, or purchased t-shirts and tote bags. A huge thank you to our volunteers and the Byron Writers Festival for their long term, unwavering support of ILF.
Illustration Workshops in Barunga
This month ILF staff Liz and Cindy, travelled to Barunga to support a series of illustration workshops for a book in the making called Shordi Krik, based on a joyful song about a much loved creek. The song was written by Barunga School students with support from ILF Lifetime Ambassador Justine Clarke. Local artist, Carol Randall, assisted the children with their illustrations. The book is due to launch at the Barunga Festival in 2023.
Five New Advance Copies
Our publishing team has just received advance copies of five non commercial books; Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Say Goodnight, The Very Cranky Bear, Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Hop a Little, Jump a Little, written in Kriol, Garawa, and Mangarrayi. Once the books arrive in our warehouse, they will be sent out to the Communities who translated them to read and enjoy. Click here to check out the books!
We extend our thanks to our Indigenous Literacy Day Major Supporter Lendlease, not only for their financial support but also for their support in promoting the event and the work of the ILF to their extensive networks. Thank you Lendlease for committing to share and celebrate the diversity and richness of our Stories, Cultures and Languages. Read more about Lendlease's contribution to ILD here.
We would not be where we are today without the support of our Lifetime Volunteers, Sonia, Kristin and Janet. These three talented volunteers have been supporting the ILF by volunteering for many years. Read more about their journey with ILF here.
We are indebted to our partner Australia Post for their support with the delivery of Book Supply packs to remote Communities and their ongoing fundraising. Learn more about how they supported ILF in 2021 here.
Thank you to RD Consulting who fundraised through NAIDOC week with a morning tea, and raised more than $2000!
Cardijin College are hosting a book week ILF fundraiser again this year and are aiming to raise $3000! A big thank you to the school.
Thank you to Services Australia - in particular 'The Strengthening Indigenous Capability & Inclusiveness' working group who are running a book drive within the Payments & Integrity Group for the month of August.
