Students at the Aboriginal and Islander Independent Community School in Brisbane are among the many who stand to benifit from a stranger focus on the teaching of Indigenous languages, highlighted in "The National Statements for Languages Education in Australian Schools for 2005-2008." Students Taylah, Aden Fewquandie and Samson Page, could see their cultural studies broadened to include languages, should initiative within the national plan be allowed through. Deputy Principal Tanya is also teache of the year 6-7 class.
It's a pretty sad fact, but for most Australians, the name on the green sign they pass every day over the local creek has been their only exposure to an Indigenous language, and that slight contact, not enough to trigger any curiosity about the local people and their language. (Well let's face it, there are still so many who ask "really, is there more than one Aboriginal language?") It's also enormously sad to think that in many places, the street or suburb signs are the only remaining evidence of the language and culture of the traditional owners, with even many of these, distorted versions of the original word. It doesn't bear thinking on whether that will deteriorate in some areas to be the only words that are actually known in any form.
THIS year the FATSIL AGM will be held in Adelaide and will follow a two day Languages Roundtable Conference bringing together representatives from the national network of language centres.The Conference will allow for input from language centres into the development of national strategies to be adopted by FATSIL over the coming three years.
THE World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education - Te toi roa > Indigenous Excellence - will be held in
Hamilton, aotearoa — New Zealand, from the 27th November to the I st December 2005.
DCITA has advised that changes have been made to aspects of the Program Funding Agreement that have caused serious concern for many Indigenous organisations in receipt of the Department's grant funding.
In light of issues raised by FATSIL and many other Indigenous Languages and Arts organisations, DCITA examined the possibility of redrafting the IP clause in the Program Funding Agreement with the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC). The OIPC agreed to a revised version of the IP clauses which are aimed at addressing the communities concerns and clarifying the Commonwealth's intention.
Dr Brendan Nelson, Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training.
A meeting between the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr Brendan Nelson, and a FATSIL delegation has produced excellent outcomes for Indigenous language programs, with the commitment of the Government to explore ways to provide Indigenous language teachers the opportunity to improve their knowledge, skills and understanding of the language and cultures about which they are teaching.
FATSIL has welcomed the publication of The National Statement for Languages Education in Australian Schools 2005-2008, with a new focus on support for Indigenous Language teaching programs.
With the combined National Statement and National Plan produced to guide languages teaching over the next four years, the new guidelines clearly outline the responsibility on each state and territory to allocate and report back to the Commonwealth on the use of funds earmarked for Indigenous Language programs.
At the Arts Law Centre of Australia for the finalization of the Model Agreement for Indigenous Languages Projects were Faith Baisden, Samantha Joseph, Sally Hanson and Susan Poetsch.This document is now available on the FATSIL website. (Photo Hannah Cox)
FATSIL'S international profile continues to grow with presentations at two major overseas language conferences this year. NSW delegate Kevin Lowe accepted an invitation as a keynote speaker at the 12th Stabilising Indigenous Languages Conference in Victoria, Canada in June.The focus of this address was the politics of language reclamation in Australia. Mr Lowe took part in a school curriculum workshop with Canadian teachers, and following the conference, visited a number of communities to research a range of school education and community language programs in Canadian and the US.
Artist Johanna Parker and placenames workshop coordinator Darlene Proberts at a Lightning Ridge workshop. Photo by ANPS
FROM a quiet, sunny room within the Division of Humanities at Macquarie University, a team of dedicated workers have undertaken the mammoth task of researching the myriad of names that cover the map of Australia. With the number of placenames in the country wildly estimated at up to 4 million, it would seem to be a David and Goliath type challenge for this tiny unit, as they dig for information on the origins and meanings of all Indigenous and introduced names attached to geographical features and localities across the land.
A meeting in Brisbane between the Qld Indigenous Languages Advisory Committee and representatives of key Government Departments progressed planning for the development of a languages policy framework for the state.
For those of you who call our office now and then, it's about time we introduced our Bookkeeper/Admin Officer Sone McKendry. Sone does a great job of keeping the office in order and reminding the rest of the team to sign papers and send forms in on time.
Since November 2004, AIATSIS (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies), in collaboration with Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Melbourne, has been developing a Web-enabled Indigenous Languages Database, AUSTLANG.
