Other Useful Links
Peak bodies and advocacy organisations
First Languages Australia
First Languages Australia promotes communication both among its Indigenous community members and also between those communities and other government and non-government agencies who may influence the survival of languages. It works to ensure the wishes of Indigenous community members are voiced in key decision-making processes at all levels that impact on the current and future management of their languages. It also supports the sharing of community experience, resources and expertise and encourages sustainable partnerships that support the broad spectrum of language endeavours. firstlanguagesaustralia.com.au www.facebook.com/firstlanguagesaustralia
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples is a national voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. As a company the Congress is owned and controlled by its membership and is independent of Government. It seeks to unite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as leaders and advocates for recognition of the status and rights of First Nations Peoples in Australia. The Congress develops and advocates for more effective policy relating to language and Country, as well as health, justice, education, constitutional recognition, racism and development of and adherence to international human rights standards.
nationalcongress.com.au
The Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity
The Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity is an international non-profit organisation which was founded in 2004 to advance the sustainability of the world’s Indigenous languages. RNLD (Inc.) runs a wide range of activities in Australia and internationally.
RNLD aims to increase the capacity of Indigenous community members across Australia to document and revitalise their languages through the Documenting and Revitalising Indigenous Languages (DRIL) training program.
The RNLD web site hosts a wide range of resources about methods and technologies used to document, archive, revitalise and maintain Indigenous languages. RNLD builds strategic relationships and acts as an advocate to increase public awareness of and respect for Indigenous languages. RNLD also facilitates international networking through its Facebook group, Twitter profile and email discussion list. www.rnld.org
Government Departments and Agencies
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is the national research and collecting institution for information and research about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, past and present. It undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical community-based research. It has its own publishing house, Aboriginal Studies Press. It holds a priceless collection of films, photographs, video and audio recordings and the world’s largest collections of printed and other resource materials for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Its activities affirm and raise awareness of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories. www.aiatsis.gov.au
Department of Education (Western Australia)
The Aboriginal Languages Teacher Training course is a two-year, in-school traineeship for Aboriginal staff who speak an Aboriginal language. The course requires speakers to work with fluent speakers in their community to develop their language knowledge. It incorporates language revival/maintenance strategies, language teaching methodology and current resources for the teaching of Aboriginal languages. det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/detcms/school-support-programs/curriculum-support/news-items/expressions-of-interest-for-2017-aboriginal-languages-teacher-training.en
Department of Aboriginal Affairs (Western Australia)
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs (formerly Indigenous Affairs) engages with Aboriginal Western Australians and all levels of Government to improve the delivery of services, to facilitate the development of policy and programs which deliver sustainable economic, environmental and social benefits to Aboriginal communities. www.daa.wa.gov.au
Ministry of the Arts
The Ministry of the Arts is the Australian Government department which administers programs and policies that encourage participation in and access to Australia’s arts and culture through developing and supporting cultural expressions, including Indigenous culture, languages and visual arts. See also ‘Funding’ below. The Ministry’s website includes information about the link between strong culture and Aboriginal well-being. arts.gov.au/indigenous
State Library of WA
The State Library of Western Australia collects, preserves and makes accessible the culture and heritage of all Western Australians, through collection of published and other materials such as personal papers, diaries and manuscripts, photographs and websites. This includes a significant and growing collection of information about West Australian Indigenous history culture and heritage, as well as information about a collection of Indigenous books,magazines and newspapers. www.slwa.wa.gov.au
Other supporting organisations
ABC Open Mother Tongue Project
ABC Open’s Mother Tongue project celebrates the incredible richness and diversity of Australia’s first languages. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are invited to share a video postcard (or work together with their local ABC Open producer to help create one) about their local language and stories of their country. The project ends on Jun 30 2015. open.abc.net.au/create/new?project_id=95
Cultural Survival
For 40 years Cultural Survival has partnered with Indigenous communities around the world to defend their lands, languages, and cultures. Cultural Survival publicises Indigenous Peoples’ issues, undertakes letter-writing campaigns and other advocacy efforts to stop environmental destruction and abuses of Native Peoples’ rights, and works on the ground in Indigenous communities, always at their invitation. Cultural Survival has consultative status with the United Nations. It is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with satellite offices in Guatemala and Colorado. www.culturalsurvival.org
Friends of Bilingual Learning (FOBL)
Formed in 2008, Friends of Bilingual Learning are a network of interested citizens who recognise the importance of language for learning, human development, identity and wellbeing. FOBL supports the development of the NT as a multilingual society which acknowledges the place of communication through Indigenous languages and English. www.fobl.net.au/ and www.facebook.com/NT.Bilingual.Education
Indigenous Literature Foundation
The ILF aims to raise literacy levels and improve the lives and opportunities of Indigenous children living in remote and isolated regions, through the delivery of books and literacy resources, publishing and visits to remote communities. The ILF assists with the writing and publishing of books in the child’s first language as well as English, recognising the benefits of learning in home languages. www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au
The National Trust (WA)
The National Trust of Australia (WA) takes an holistic approach to heritage and gives equal consideration to natural, Aboriginal and historic heritage as well as moveable and maritime heritage. The Trust supports Aboriginal Heritage principally by working with Aboriginal communities to establish foundations with the Trust to pursue community based conservation programs.
The Trust works closely with each foundation to oversee a range of activities including connecting Aboriginal people with the land; rock art restoration, invasive species assessments, archaeological studies, language preservation, interpretation programs, as well as training and development. www.nationaltrust.org.au/wa/aboriginal-heritage
Our Languages
The Our Languages website is a place to share and collaborate on activities to support Australia’s 250 plus Aboriginal languages. From learning to commence a language program, to finding out what tools and resources exist to help, even to actually learning a language – the site aims to make all of these things and more available. The websites great News page also follows media coverage about Aboriginal languages in WA, across the nation and internationally. www.ourlanguages.net.au
Funding
The Christensen Fund
The Christensen Fund focuses on supporting biocultural diversity – the rich but neglected adaptive interweave of people and place, culture and ecology. Under this complex, holistic approach, the Fund seeks to support the resilience of living diversity at landscape and community level around the world in partnerships with Indigenous peoples and others. The Fund works primarily through grant making, as well as through capacity and network building, knowledge generation, collaboration and mission-related investments, in regions chosen for their potential to withstand and recover from the global erosion of diversity. Unfortunately, the Fund is not currently accepting requests for project funding in Australia. www.christensenfund.org
PALS
PALS is an initiative of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs which encourages Western Australian schools to develop projects that promote reconciliation in their local community. It offers funding for various types of reconciliation projects, including arts and culture and Aboriginal language and history. www.daa.wa.gov.au/community-development/pals
The National Library of Australia
The Community Heritage Grants (CHG) program provides grants of up to $15,000 to community organisations such as libraries, archives, museums, genealogical and historical societies, multicultural and Indigenous groups. The grants are provided to assist with the preservation of locally owned, but nationally significant collections of materials that are publicly accessible including artefacts, letters, diaries, maps, photographs, and audio visual material. www.nla.gov.au
Ministry of the Arts
The Ministry of the Arts is the Australian Government department which administers programs and policies that encourage participation in and access to Australia’s arts and culture through developing and supporting cultural expressions. This includes funding for Indigenous culture, languages and visual arts, through the Indigenous Culture Support (ICS), Indigenous Language Support (ILS) and Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) programs. Funding is provided through an annual competitive funding round on either an annual or triennial basis. arts.gov.au/indigenous
First Peoples Worldwide
Founded in the US in 1997, First Peoples Worldwide is an Indigenous-led organisation focused on funding local development projects in Indigenous communities all over the world while creating bridges between communities and corporations, governments, academics, NGOs and investors in their regions. FPW facilitates the use of traditional Indigenous knowledge in solving today’s challenges, including climate change, food security, medicine, governance and sustainable development. www.firstpeoples.org
Have we missed or incorrectly represented your organisation? Please contact us if you would like your organisation added or amended in this section.
First Languages Australia promotes communication both among its Indigenous community members and also between those communities and other government and non-government agencies who may influence the survival of languages. It works to ensure the wishes of Indigenous community members are voiced in key decision-making processes at all levels that impact on the current and future management of their languages. It also supports the sharing of community experience, resources and expertise and encourages sustainable partnerships that support the broad spectrum of language endeavours. firstlanguagesaustralia.com.au www.facebook.com/firstlanguagesaustralia
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples is a national voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. As a company the Congress is owned and controlled by its membership and is independent of Government. It seeks to unite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as leaders and advocates for recognition of the status and rights of First Nations Peoples in Australia. The Congress develops and advocates for more effective policy relating to language and Country, as well as health, justice, education, constitutional recognition, racism and development of and adherence to international human rights standards.
nationalcongress.com.au
The Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity
The Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity is an international non-profit organisation which was founded in 2004 to advance the sustainability of the world’s Indigenous languages. RNLD (Inc.) runs a wide range of activities in Australia and internationally.
RNLD aims to increase the capacity of Indigenous community members across Australia to document and revitalise their languages through the Documenting and Revitalising Indigenous Languages (DRIL) training program.
The RNLD web site hosts a wide range of resources about methods and technologies used to document, archive, revitalise and maintain Indigenous languages. RNLD builds strategic relationships and acts as an advocate to increase public awareness of and respect for Indigenous languages. RNLD also facilitates international networking through its Facebook group, Twitter profile and email discussion list. www.rnld.org
Government Departments and Agencies
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is the national research and collecting institution for information and research about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, past and present. It undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical community-based research. It has its own publishing house, Aboriginal Studies Press. It holds a priceless collection of films, photographs, video and audio recordings and the world’s largest collections of printed and other resource materials for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Its activities affirm and raise awareness of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories. www.aiatsis.gov.au
Department of Education (Western Australia)
The Aboriginal Languages Teacher Training course is a two-year, in-school traineeship for Aboriginal staff who speak an Aboriginal language. The course requires speakers to work with fluent speakers in their community to develop their langauge knowledge. It incorporates language revival/maintenance strategies, language teaching methodology and current resources for the teaching of Aboriginal languages. det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/detcms/school-support-programs/curriculum-support/news-items/expressions-of-interest-for-2017-aboriginal-languages-teacher-training.en
det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/detcms/school-support-programs/curriculum-support/news-items/expressions-of-interest-for-2017-aboriginal-languages-teacher-training.en
Department of Aboriginal Affairs (Western Australia)
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs (formerly Indigenous Affairs) engages with Aboriginal Western Australians and all levels of Government to improve the delivery of services, to facilitate the development of policy and programs which deliver sustainable economic, environmental and social benefits to Aboriginal communities. www.daa.wa.gov.au
Ministry of the Arts
The Ministry of the Arts is the Australian Government department which administers programs and policies that encourage participation in and access to Australia’s arts and culture through developing and supporting cultural expressions, including Indigenous culture, languages and visual arts. See also ‘Funding’ below. The Ministry’s website includes information about the link between strong culture and Aboriginal well-being. arts.gov.au/indigenous
State Library of WA
The State Library of Western Australia collects, preserves and makes accessible the culture and heritage of all Western Australians, through collection of published and other materials such as personal papers, diaries and manuscripts, photographs and websites. This includes a significant and growing collection of information about West Australian Indigenous history culture and heritage, as well as information about a collection of Indigenous books,magazines and newspapers. www.slwa.wa.gov.au
Other supporting organisations
ABC Open Mother Tongue Project
ABC Open’s Mother Tongue project celebrates the incredible richness and diversity of Australia’s first languages. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are invited to share a video postcard (or work together with their local ABC Open producer to help create one) about their local language and stories of their country. The project ends on Jun 30 2015. open.abc.net.au/create/new?project_id=95
Cultural Survival
For 40 years Cultural Survival has partnered with Indigenous communities around the world to defend their lands, languages, and cultures. Cultural Survival publicises Indigenous Peoples’ issues, undertakes letter-writing campaigns and other advocacy efforts to stop environmental destruction and abuses of Native Peoples’ rights, and works on the ground in Indigenous communities, always at their invitation. Cultural Survival has consultative status with the United Nations. It is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with satellite offices in Guatemala and Colorado. www.culturalsurvival.org
Friends of Bilingual Learning (FOBL)
Formed in 2008, Friends of Bilingual Learning are a network of interested citizens who recognise the importance of language for learning, human development, identity and wellbeing. FOBL supports the development of the NT as a multilingual society which acknowledges the place of communication through Indigenous languages and English. www.fobl.net.au/ and www.facebook.com/NT.Bilingual.Education
Indigenous Literature Foundation
The ILF aims to raise literacy levels and improve the lives and opportunities of Indigenous children living in remote and isolated regions, through the delivery of books and literacy resources, publishing and visits to remote communities. The ILF assists with the writing and publishing of books in the child’s first language as well as English, recognising the benefits of learning in home languages. www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au
The National Trust (WA)
The National Trust of Australia (WA) takes an holistic approach to heritage and gives equal consideration to natural, Aboriginal and historic heritage as well as moveable and maritime heritage. The Trust supports Aboriginal Heritage principally by working with Aboriginal communities to establish foundations with the Trust to pursue community based conservation programs.
The Trust works closely with each foundation to oversee a range of activities including connecting Aboriginal people with the land; rock art restoration, invasive species assessments, archaeological studies, language preservation, interpretation programs, as well as training and development. www.nationaltrust.org.au/wa/aboriginal-heritage
Our Languages
The Our Languages website is a place to share and collaborate on activities to support Australia’s 250 plus Aboriginal languages. From learning to commence a language program, to finding out what tools and resources exist to help, even to actually learning a language – the site aims to make all of these things and more available. The websites great News page also follows media coverage about Aboriginal languages in WA, across the nation and internationally. www.ourlanguages.net.au
Funding
The Christensen Fund
The Christensen Fund focuses on supporting biocultural diversity – the rich but neglected adaptive interweave of people and place, culture and ecology. Under this complex, holistic approach, the Fund seeks to support the resilience of living diversity at landscape and community level around the world in partnerships with Indigenous peoples and others. The Fund works primarily through grant making, as well as through capacity and network building, knowledge generation, collaboration and mission-related investments, in regions chosen for their potential to withstand and recover from the global erosion of diversity. Unfortunately, the Fund is not currently accepting requests for project funding in Australia. www.christensenfund.org
PALS
PALS is an initiative of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs which encourages Western Australian schools to develop projects that promote reconciliation in their local community. It offers funding for various types of reconciliation projects, including arts and culture and Aboriginal language and history. www.daa.wa.gov.au/community-development/pals
The National Library of Australia
The Community Heritage Grants (CHG) program provides grants of up to $15,000 to community organisations such as libraries, archives, museums, genealogical and historical societies, multicultural and Indigenous groups. The grants are provided to assist with the preservation of locally owned, but nationally significant collections of materials that are publicly accessible including artefacts, letters, diaries, maps, photographs, and audio visual material. www.nla.gov.au
Ministry of the Arts
The Ministry of the Arts is the Australian Government department which administers programs and policies that encourage participation in and access to Australia’s arts and culture through developing and supporting cultural expressions. This includes funding for Indigenous culture, languages and visual arts, through the Indigenous Culture Support (ICS), Indigenous Language Support (ILS) and Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) programs. Funding is provided through an annual competitive funding round on either an annual or triennial basis. arts.gov.au/indigenous
First Peoples Worldwide
Founded in the US in 1997, First Peoples Worldwide is an Indigenous-led organisation focused on funding local development projects in Indigenous communities all over the world while creating bridges between communities and corporations, governments, academics, NGOs and investors in their regions. FPW facilitates the use of traditional Indigenous knowledge in solving today’s challenges, including climate change, food security, medicine, governance and sustainable development. www.firstpeoples.org
Have we missed or incorrectly represented your organisation? Please contact us if you would like your organisation added or amended in this section.