Indigenous Literacy Day to feature three bilingual children’s books

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) will showcase three bilingual children’s books in three different First Nations languages this Indigenous Literacy Day, which will take place on Wednesday 6 September, and will be livestreamed—for the first time—from the Sydney Opera House website.

Shordi Krik (Shorty Creek) is a children’s songbook, written and illustrated by children from Barunga Remote Community School and published by ILF, with ILF Lifetime Ambassador Justine Clarke helping transform it into a song. Children from Barunga Remote Community School will perform on stage with Clarke at the Sydney Opera House on Indigenous Literacy Day.

Shordi Krik, alongside Country Tells Us When… (Yawuru edition) (Tsheena Cooper, Mary Dann, Dalisa Pigram-Ross & Sheree Ford, ILF)—about the ways Yawuru people read the seasons—and We Look, We Find, which was created by Napranum women and children from the Napranum Early Childhood Centre, will feature in a free 15-minute film online, offering viewers the opportunity to learn some new words in Kriol, Yawuru and Thaynakwith. The film will be followed by a livestreamed performance at the Sydney Opera House with co-hosts Clarke and Gregg Dreise and special guests Jessica Mauboy, Josh Pyke and children from Barunga Remote Community School.

Said Mauboy, an ILF Ambassador: ‘For me, literacy is enhanced through the power of music. I communicate, share stories and emotions through my music, and this has been reinforced throughout my life—it was very much part of my childhood. I love that the ILF supports remote Communities to share their stories in ways they want, including in songbooks, and I can’t wait to celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day again this year with more songs and more languages!’

‘Literacy through song and music plays an integral role for learning about Stories, Cultures and Languages,’ said ILF CEO Ben Bowen. ‘With Jessica Mauboy singing a song in Kriol, and Justine Clarke, Josh Pyke and the Busking For Change Ambassadors, Aodhan, Tilly Thomas and others singing “Words Make the World Go Around” with the chorus in Kriol, I guarantee at the end of the performance, audiences will be singing words in language too!’

To register for the ILD livestream, see the website here. For more information on ways to be involved on the day, visit the ILF website.

Category: Local news