News from the ILF Early Literacy Manager Linda and Office Administrator Seeba. Photography: Corina Zanatta Dear friend I am proud to announce that our Foundation has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2021 for children’s and young adult literature – for the fourth time! This is an incredible honour, and a testament to the hard work of our staff, ambassadors, Board and members of the communities we work with. October has been an incredibly busy month, as we've been finalising our 2021 Book Supply selections, restocking books and resources for Book Buzz, and finalising a number of new books to send off to the printers. This month we have also been part of the National Early Language and Literacy (NELL) coalition working on a discussion paper addressing early literacy and language strategy in Australia scheduled for national release in November. Throughout the month we've also been working with Professor Joseph Lo Bianco, Emeritus Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Melbourne – who is internationally renowned for his contribution to bilingual education, and Indigenous and minority language maintenance. Joe is undertaking a critical review of our organisation and programs which will inform our major strategic evaluation early in the new year. Within our organisation, our RAP Working Group has been developing our new Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan and this month new members of staff were given a insightful cultural induction with Debra Dank from Batchelor Institute in the NT. Finally, a special thanks to the generous donation from Penguin Random House Australia, whose long term support has been incredible. Stay safe and thank you for your support. Karen Williams Melville Island. Photography: Josie Lardy Books Providing a Break from RealitySt Joseph's School in Wyndham has been receiving Book Supply since 2016. Books are read at school, gifted to take home, and even sent to more remote communities!Program Coordinator Cindy. New books in six languages! Our team is currently finalising new books featuring illustrations from the popular book No Way Yirrikipayi. Members of five communities have created their own stories in six languages, including Garawa, Kriol, Tiwi, Murrinhpatha, Mangarrayi and Dhuwaya. Our Board member, Yalmay Marika-Yunupuyŋu is one of the authors of the Dhuwaya story, along with Rärriwuy Marika and Jake Stockley from Yirrkala School Literature Production Centre. NAIDOC WeekOur team has spent the month preparing for NAIDOC Week, by producing a film montage celebrating Country, interviewing Indigenous people to share their voices, and reading Tara June Winch's The Yield as part of an internal book club of our celebrations. We encourage everyone to get involved with your local First Nations peoples during this week! NAIDOC Week Facebook Live Event Facebook's Social 4 Good and Jessica Mauboy invite you to a NAIDOC Week Facebook Live at 6pm on 14 November. Jessica will perform in her first virtual video clip and Mitch Tambo, Archie Roach and others will share what NAIDOC Week means to them. We'll be sending out an update soon! Jessica Mauboy. Photography: Wayne Quilliam Build your Indigenous Book Collection Register Your Library is a new and exciting initiative to help primary schools build their Indigenous children's book collection plus support the Foundation. Keep an eye out for an email invitation early next month! Great Book Swap (GBS) There's still time to hold a Great Book Swap! The GBS is a fantastic way to celebrate reading locally, and raise much-needed funds for books in remote communities. Register and hold your event before November 30 and go into the draw to win a virtual school visit from Jessica Mauboy, Justine Clarke or Josh Pyke! I Saw, We Saw. Photography: Elizabeth Arrigo Image provided by Literacy for Life Foundation We would like to thank and acknowledge the deep commitment of Penguin Random House Australia and its staff. They are our largest corporate sponsor and this month donated a further $100,000 This incredibly generous donation will go a long way in supporting our programs in remote communities. A big welcome to all our new recurring donors and our thanks to all supporters for being part of our journey. We are grateful for your generosity and belief in our work. Garma Festival, 2019. Photography: Ann James Wanting to fundraise for our Foundation but not sure where to start? Check out our new Fundraising Hub for some great ideas and resources! We're so grateful to all those people who have been giving their time and energy to community fundraising. This month, we are proud to acknowledge library supplier James Bennett, who has created a new Sustainability Project to reduce the number of library books ending up in landfill, and donating to the ILF at the same time. Jabiru Remote Community Support us this Festive Season This festive season, help our Foundation to continue its vital work in remote communities. Your donation helps support critical programs which supply books, promote early learning, help to translate books into first languages, and empower communities to publish their own stories, in the languages they choose. Donate today. Follow us on Social Media! Share the work that the ILF does to support literacy and language in remote Australia with your friends, family and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, or to sign up to this newsletter and stay updated not only with our work but with the good news stories of what is happening in community. Bidyadanga Remote Community. Congratulations David! Congratulations to our talented ambassador David Lawrence, who just received the Queen’s College Wyvern Society Award (University of Melbourne). David was nominated for the award for his outstanding and selfless service to community, and spoke about his involvement with ILF. For the past three years, together with Shelley Ware, David has mentored a group of Tiwi girls to write and illustrate a YA novel. The final novel in the Japarrika series will be published by Penguin Random House in November. Bidyadanga Remote Community. Virtual Concert with Josh Pyke! Our ambassador, Josh Pyke, is holding a live-streamed concert to celebrate the release of his latest album on Thursday 29 October at 6.30pm. This event has been produced for those in lockdown, the immunocompromised, people with accessibility issues, kids under 18, and everyone overseas.
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