News from the ILF
July 2023
Broome, 2022. Image by Wayne Quilliam
Yamandhu marang Friend,
There is a lot to be thankful for this month. And I turn that thanks to you, our valued supporters.
This month we celebrated NAIDOC week, a time to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Thank you to all of our Sydney based supporters who joined our NAIDOC event at the International Towers, Barangaroo. I hope you enjoyed hearing from ILF Ambassador, Wayne Quilliam and 'I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here' star Bianca Hunt on the importance of this year's NAIDOC theme, For Our Elders.
A big thank you to those who supported us through book sales and by participating in our special raffle prize, as a result we raised over $4000 which will allow us to gift over 400 culturally relevant books to kids in remote Communities. I would also like to thank Freshwater Farm, Ethical Brand Co, Leif Products, Mr Smith and Wayne Quilliam for your generous contributions to our prize packs.
A big thank you to those who supported our end of financial year fundraising. We simply couldn't continue our work without your support. You are an integral part of our journey as we grow our reach and build long term relationships with Elders and residents in remote Communities to provide access to culturally relevant books.
This Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD) on 6 September we are collaborating with Sydney Opera House and are proud to present a 15-minute FILM celebrating stories and songs from remote Communities followed by a 45 minute LIVESTREAM from the Sydney Opera House. All ILF eNewsletter subscribers will receive a link to register on 9 August. It's a fun, FREE learning adventure! Registrations open for schools, organisations, social groups and individuals on 9 August.
This year's ILD FILM will showcase three beautiful bilingual children's books - Shordi Krik, We Look We Find and Country Tells Us When... Make sure to grab yourself a copy of each book and join us in celebrating First Nations peoples’ stories, cultures and languages. Books must be purchased before 17 August.
Mandaang guwu,
Ben Bowen
Chief Executive Officer
To celebrate UNESCO's second year of the Decade of Indigenous Languages, each month we encourage readers to learn a new word in either an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language.
Kangaroo illustration from Mirriji, published by ILF 2021
This month's word is male grey kangaroo in
Bundjalung language!
male grey kangaroo = guruman
Phonetics: goo-roo-marn
Download the audio version here.
Bundjalung Country is in the far North East Coast of NSW and the Southern Eastern coast of Queensland.
For Our Elders
The 2023 NAIDOC theme ‘For Our Elders’ acknowledges the incredible role that Elders play in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Communities. Hear from Kamilaroi and Dunghutti woman, Jolene (ILF's Book Buzz Manager) and Jingili, Mudburra and Mangarrayi woman Cindy (ILF’s Publishing Projects Editor) about what this years NAIDOC theme means to theme here.
National Indigenous Art Fair
For the first time ever, the ILF attended the National Indigenous Art Fair on Gadigal Country. Thank you to Tranby College for supporting us in attending this event. It was so great to spread awareness of the ILF and connect with the general public.
PULiiMA
We are pleased to announce that we will be attending the PULiiMA Indigenous Language and Technology Conference. We are looking forward to connecting inspirational people share a common ambition of conserving and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
Publishing Co‑ordinator
We are hiring a Publishing Coordinator! If you are passionate about publishing and interested in working in a dynamic workplace, check out this opportunity.
Applicants require no publishing experience, remote and/or office work, and there are opportunities to travel. Please note: This is an identified role for an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person. More information here.
Byron Writers Festival
We are pleased to be the charity of choice at this year's Byron Writers Festival (11-13 August). We are looking forward to three days of books, reading and fundraising at the Festival! Please make sure to visit the ILF tent and say hello. We are currently sourcing volunteers, if you would like to volunteer please reply to this email with your interest.
136 Schools are Busking For Change!
We've had an incredible response! 136 schools across Australia are Busking For Change, in 2023! Please if you can, support a school to meet their fundraising goal. Click here and scroll to the bottom to find your local school. Congratulations St Catherine's School for raising $2,300 at their Busking For Change choral showcase. Read more here.
Northern Territory Workshops
This month, our team travelled out to Bulla Camp Primary School and Amanbidji School in remote NT with ILF Ambassador Ann James, illustrator Ann Haddon and designer Lee Burgemeestre to run workshops for the students there. These workshops were aimed at creating some new books with the schools featuring Ngarinyman language!
Book Supply 2024 Submissions
Thank you to the many publishers who have sent in book submissions for consideration for Book Supply 2024. Our Review Committee will be meeting early August to determine the packs for the four age groups. Learn more about this year's Book Supply packs by browsing the catalogues for each age group here.
Dr Jared Thomas
Congratulations to ILF Ambassador Dr Jared Thomas who was awarded NAIDOC SA Person of the Year 2023. Best wishes to Jared on such a well-deserved accolade!
Deb Dank
Congratulations to ILF Ambassador Deb Dank who won the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal 2023 for outstanding literary work in the preceding calendar year for her book We Come With This Place.
A big thank you to UnLtd and NOVA Entertainment who are both supporting the publication of two of our forthcoming bilingual titles to be published later in 2023. This is wonderful support for our publishing program.
We would like to thank the International Towers at Barangaroo for their generous support in letting us hold our special NAIDOC event at Tower 3 where we had the opportunity to spread the work of the ILF with the general public
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.
A big thank you to Freshwater Farm who are donating a percentage of sales to the ILF from their limited-edition body bars, body wash and hand washes. The limited-edition products are designed in collaboration with Worimi Indigenous artist, Brittney Paulson. The products will be available on their website from early August or at Woolworths from mid-August.
A big thank you to LEIF who in addition to kindly contributing to our NAIDOC raffle prizes, they also donated an additional $5,000 from their online sales during NAIDOC Week. We are very grateful for this relationship with LEIF!
We would like to thank Yarra Plenty Regional Library (YPRL) who raised over $2,000 for the ILF through book sales held in the last year. YPRL are pleased that not only did over 2000 books find new homes, but that they are able to contribute to supplying over 200 culturally relevant books to children in remote Communities.
