Guide for reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language communities, peoples and projects

In the coming months, First Languages Australia will be working on a guide to help educate journalists on how to better report on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and language issues. The guide will build on the comprehensive information in the Handbook for Reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and Issues released by Media Diversity Australia in July this year.

FLA is collating ideas from the network and media partners to improve language news stories into the future. As part of this process, we are interested in [receiving examples](mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) of:
* reporting that has concerned you and the specific changes you would make to improve the reporting, and
* stories written by journalists that you feel demonstrate exceptional reporting on language activities and issues.

First Languages Australia and QILAC a combined voice for Queensland policy

Members of First Languages Australia and the Queensland Indigenous Languages Advisory Committee (QILAC) presented to a meeting attended by nearly all departments in the Queensland Government to help shape the content of the Queensland Indigenous Languages Policy.

Read more: First Languages Australia and QILAC a combined voice for Queensland policy

Yaale – Tools for language work

In July 2018, Annalee Pope and Carolyn Barker from First Languages Australia, together with Steven Bird from Charles Darwin University, visited the Mobile Language Team in Adelaide to look at the various tools they are using in their work with language groups across South Australia. The Mobile Language Team have many innovative activities underway, primarily focused on creating environments where community members can talk with each other in language. Of particular interest, were their processes of collaboratively creating learning materials to support weekly community classes held at great distances from each other.

Read more: Yaale – Tools for language work

This Place

Are you heading back to country over the summer holidays? Maybe that will be a good time to think about the stories you would like to contribute to this years special project with the ABC -  This Place.

Read more: This Place

International Year of Indigenous Languages

"Language is pivotal in the areas of human rights protection, good governance, peace building, reconciliation, and sustainable development...It is for these reasons and others that the United Nations chose to dedicate a whole year to indigenous languages, to encourage urgent action to preserve, revitalize and promote them." UNHCR

2019 will be a huge year for language centres and programs across Australia as the call is made for action from government, partners and our communities to see our languages taking their rightful place in the social, cultural and political structure of this country into the future. First Languages Australia is looking forward to coordinating a number of major activities and actions to coincide with the international events, with Manager Faith Baisden taking a role on the stakeholder group for the United Nations 2019 

(IY2019).

You can participate in the international movement by adding your local events and activities to the UNHCR event site.

2019-20 Indigenous Languages and Arts (ILA) program

The Department of Communications and the Arts is pleased to announce that the 2019-20 Indigenous Languages and Arts (ILA) program grant opportunity is now open.

The ILA program provides funding for projects and organisations that support participation in, and maintenance of, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and arts. Further information can be found on the Department of Communications website at: [https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/indigenous-languages-and-arts-program](https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/indigenous-languages-and-arts-program)

WANALA FORUM 2018 The Language of Art & The Art of Language

The 2018 Western and Northern Aboriginal Languages Alliance Forum was held at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education’s Batchelor Campus and the Wadeye Community from the 15th to the 19th October 2018. The theme for this year’s forum was ‘The Language of Art & The Art of Language’.

The Forum was co-hosted by Kungarakan and Wadeye communities with the program taking place over the two locations and five workshop streams:
* Communication: traditional and new communication methods
* Documenting language on-country: mapping and stories using drones
* The language of art: cultural and political voices in our art
* Telling our stories: narration with visual resources
* Managing language centres: managing and sustaining language centres and language archives.

In addition to the workshops, the gathering was an opportunity to celebrate a number of events including, the launch of Koongarakun language resources, opening a Wadeye Men's Shed exhibition, and the repatriation of a WWII diary to Wadeye.

It was a jam packed program enjoyed by all.

Collections Management Meeting

First Languages Australia was pleased to work in collaboration with the organisers of the WANALA Forum to hold a one and a half day meeting on the management of the significant collections of language materials held by regional language centres, language programs, literature production centres, language workers and communities.

Meeting participants included the managers of a number of major regional language centres, language workers, academic partners, literature production centre staff, NT Library and First Nations Media; with presentations from around the country via video for those unable to attend in person.

Together the group explored the issues shared by organisations managing collections, and ways to work together to ensure their sustainability into the future.

Detailed notes from the event are available here.

The National Indigenous Language Report

First Languages Australia is collaborating with AIATSIS, the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) and the commissioning body, the Indigenous Languages and Arts Program, on the drafting of the National Indigenous Language Report (NILR).

FLA Manager Faith Baisden has taken a role on the Indigenous Reference Group which is contributing to the shaping of the survey format and content.

Nintiringanyi: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Teaching and Employment Strategy

Since early 2017, First Languages Australia has been working with state and territory education department partners on the development of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Teaching and Employment Strategy.

This followed a national forum in November 2016, which brought together 100 people from state and territory education authorities, schools, language centres and training providers, to work toward a coordinated approach to the training and employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language teachers.

Building on the the outcomes of the forum, the FLA steering group has worked with state and territory education representatives to identify the implementable strategies that would see first languages sustainably taught in those schools that have the support of the local language community.

In August, First Languages Australia hosted a meeting to review and finalise the document which will be soon ready for publication. It will be distributed free to language centres and community programs and will be available on the FLA website.

Priority Languages Support Program

Service Agreements have been signed with eight communities for this year’s Priority Languages Support Project which sees support given to communities to undertake crucial documentation of current speakers where no or little previous documentation has happened through a project administered by First Languages Australia, with funding provided by theIndigenous Languages and the Arts.

Read more: Priority Languages Support Program

First Languages Australia and the Sydney Policy Lab

The Sydney Policy Lab is a new strategic project of the University of Sydney which looks to address complex local and global policy challenges. The lab aims to bring researchers, community and industry together to spark new ideas, reframe issues and transform the policy options on the table, working toward a society that works for everyone.

First Languages Australia was delighted to receive one of seven inaugural Sydney Policy Lab Fellowships.

The fellowship has focused on making knowledge relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages policy more accessible across our network. An outcome of the project is Jarrak: Our languages journey a public knowledge bank which captures key milestones in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages advocacy from the 1970s until now. 

Working with Indigenous Community Television (ICTV)

Over the past two years, you may have seen hundreds of our Language Legends films broadcast on ICTV. Maybe you have even see yourself. First Languages Australia would like to congratulate all the Language Legends who have participated in the project and extend our thanks to the team at ICTV for their ongoing work to ensure our voices are broadcast loud and clear.

Tune in to ICTV or check out ICTV play for lots of excellent language programming. 

Exciting language centre leadership opportunities

Wanga Maya Pilbara Language Centre, the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages and Ngukurr Language Centre are each on the lookout for new staff to support the language activities happening in their regions. Go to their websites to find out more, or check the news section of our website, or our Facebook page.

Gambay: Interactive language map featured at Google media presentations

First Languages Australia Language Centres meeting, February 2018

First Languages Australia was pleased to host a national meeting to coincide with people travelling to Queensland for the National Indigenous Languages Convention in February.

The meeting was an opportunity to feedback activities underway since the Cairns meeting November, with the report from that meeting distributed and discussed. From this meeting, there was discussion of a renewed call to Canberra for national legislation to support language into the future within the structure of government. There was also a call from language centres for FLA to produce a series of contracts and protocol documents that can be accessed by all project teams and adapted to the specifics of local projects. FLA is in discussions with Arts Law to see this project underway.

Read more: First Languages Australia Language Centres meeting, February 2018