Celebrate First Nations Peoples’ Stories, Cultures and Languages this Indigenous Literacy Day!

Would you cuddle up with a jurru? Do you have a tjikiwan dog at home? And what would you do if you saw a sneaky Kyembal? We have a really exciting event for you!

Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD) is celebrated on the first Wednesday in September, this year on Wednesday 6th September, and is founded by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF), a national charity of the Australian book industry that gives access to and creates books in language for remote Indigenous Communities across Australia.

This year, we will be showcasing three of these beautiful bilingual children’s books created in three remote Communities, in a free 15-minute FILM, followed by a star-studded 45-minute LIVESTREAM celebration with ILF Ambassadors Jessica Mauboy, Justine Clarke, Gregg Dreise, Josh Pyke and more!

THE FILM

Jump on a virtual plane to Barunga in the Northern Territory, Rubibi (Broome) in north Western Australia and Weipa on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.

This is your chance to journey across the country into First Nations storytelling and learn some new words in Kriol, Yawuru and Thaynakwith languages.

You’ll join a group of young, talented songwriters with their ILF mentor Justine Clarke, for a special performance of their song, Shordi Krik, at the Barunga Festival in the Northern Territory. Find out why life is sweet at Shordi Krik.

In Rubibi, your senses will tingle as you discover there are more than four seasons a year, and on the Cape York Peninsula, when you look, you will find… what? You will have to wait and see!

THE LIVESTREAM

After the 15-minute FILM, the event will take you to the Sydney Opera House for a 45‑minute LIVESTREAM celebration of storytelling and songs with ILF super star Ambassadors, Jessica Mauboy, Justine Clarke, Josh Pyke, Gregg Dreise, and more!

This is an action packed, joyful performance, sharing books, stories, music, song, movement, illustrations and language. It’s an engaging learning adventure for early learners, primary students and adults alike. Don’t miss it!

HOW TO WATCH

At 10.30am AEST the 15‑minute free FILM premieres (meaning, it is available online for the first time), followed by a 45‑minute free LIVESTREAM from the Sydney Opera House.

Note: If you are running late or tune in slightly after 10:30 am AEST, you can either continue to watch live from where the stream is at or pull back the timeline to the start at the beginning.

The entire one‑hour stream will be available to watch On Demand from 11.30am AEST on the same link, so you can watch it any time on the same link, at your convenience.

HOW TO REGISTER