Indigenous Literacy Day goes live around Australia!

In previous years, this celebration has taken place at the Sydney Opera House with children from remote communities, local schools and ILF ambassadors and supporters. This year, due to COVID-19, it is open, for the first time, to everyone – Australia-wide.

There are two live-streamed events on Indigenous Literacy Day and you are invited to join in the fun.

12.30pm Premiere Event for all Australians:  Indigenous Literacy Foundation Ambassador Jessica Mauboy and long-time supporter Archie Roach invite all Australians to join their national, virtual Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD) celebration. Tune in to the ILF YouTube channel for 45 mins of entertainment and information.

2pm A celebration designed for primary and early learners – for children three to eleven years of age. Live on the Sydney Opera House YouTube channel. This session is 30 mins duration.

Which celebration should I tune into?

12.30pm Premiere Event: The production is designed to be a highly visual event to inspire broader Australia about the value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s first languages and why learning in language is important. Kids and community members from Tiwi Islands and Jilkminggan in the Northern Territory and Bidyadanga in Western Australia share their stories and the value of language, and Cheryl Lardy reads Yu sabi densdensbad? (Can You Dance?) in Kriol.

ILF Ambassadors including Andy Griffiths, Shelley Ware, Alison Lester, Josh Pyke, Natalie Ahmat, Jared Thomas and Anita Heiss, co-patron June Oscar AO and long-time ILF supporter, Archie Roach, will also share their insights and stories of community engagement. And Jessica Mauboy will sing a stunning rendition of an 80s Australian favourite.

2pm Kids celebration: Ambassador Jessica Mauboy will sing The Barramundi Song in two Indigenous languages – Tiwi and Mangarrayi, as well as English. Hosted by Indigenous author and performer Gregg Dreise and NITV presenter Natalie Ahmat, this event gives younger audiences a celebratory experience of Indigenous language and literacy. Kids will be up on their feet singing and dancing. There is even a sneaky, cheeky visit by children’s author Andy Griffiths!

The Foundation’s Indigenous Literacy Day YouTube events provide an opportunity to share and enlighten others of how positive, community-led engagement makes a difference. The ILF is a charity of the book industry and focuses on 3 programs for remote children and their families:

• Book Buzz supports early literacy;
• Book Supply provides culturally relevant books and books translated in language; and
• Community Literacy Projects engages communities to write and illustrate their own books in their first language.

“At ILF we understand that early literacy is the cornerstone of success in education,’ says Karen Williams, Executive Director of ILF, “We understand that encouraging early literacy requires children and their parents to have access to books and that children need to see themselves in the stories they read. They need to see that their culture is cherished and their stories are celebrated by all Australians. We welcome everyone to join us for what we believe is an incredibly positive story, and one that all Australians should be part of.”

Donations to the Foundation fund these programs to communities that need them most. The Foundation is encouraging everyone to donate to the Foundation. Every $10 puts a book into the hands of a child in remote Australia. To donate click here

You can also support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation by purchasing Sally Morgan’s new book Can You Dance?

A Special Event From the Comfort of Home

One of our favourite bookshops Gertrude and Alice in Bondi is holding a special book club with Tara June Winch. The Bondi Literary Salon has an Online September Book Club get-together to raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF).

On Friday, September 4 from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM AEST they’ll be discussing Tara June Winch’s novel, The Yield, with Tara June Winch joining in for a Q&A.

TICKETS: $5.00. All ticket proceeds will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF).

Book tickets here.