Theme 2: Access to education, information and knowledge in and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages
In providing the necessary access to education, information and knowledge in and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, the complex environment for Australia's languages needs to be considered. Specific practices and approaches for language revival and maintenance differ between languages and as such the support provided by government needs to be flexible. There is a wealth of experience in communities and as each community is facing its own set of challenges, sharing these challenges and approaches undertaken can be helpful. The IY2019 offers an opportunity for government to work together to provide a shared and cohesive approach to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
The Australian Government will build on research and data around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
In 2019, we will publish the third iteration of the National Indigenous Languages Report (previously known as the National Indigenous Languages Surveys). In addition, the next iteration of the Implementation Plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-2023 will recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages as an important cultural determinant of health.
Access to services is an important component to the Australian Government's commitment to the IY2019. For some, where English may be the second, third or fourth language spoken (if at all), provision of services in language is essential for daily life. Government offers many services in many languages. This includes interpreting services in some languages for access to Service Centres, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, family and employment services, and the translation of materials into language such as aged care resources or Australian Electoral Commission resources. Through the IAS more than $6 million annually is provided for the delivery of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interpreting in the Kimberley region of WA, legal interpreting in the NT and cross-border interpreting in NT, SA and WA. However, more can be done to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have access to services in their languages.
The Australian Government will enable and facilitate greater access to language resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The teaching of language is significant. The capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to teach their language is a crucial element to providing communities access to the language. The IY2019 provides opportunities for the Australian Government to recognise the significance of career pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language workers, and to determine ways to improve these pathways, including targeted funding through the ILA program. The Government will also consider how to utilise platforms and institutions to better inform Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language organisations of opportunities to improve revenue raising for activities.
Under the UNESCO framework for the IY2019 the Australian Government will aim to:
Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- Fund representative bodies that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, as well as conferences for community and interested stakeholders to discuss support, maintenance and revitalisation efforts for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
- Investigate linkages between AIATSIS's projects and private sector initiatives to better support the outcomes and impacts of IY2019 projects.
- Establish an expert cultural exchange program between AIATSIS and organisations in Mexico and Peru significantly involved in Indigenous matters relating to cultural preservation and collections, Indigenous languages, Indigenous policy making, research and Indigenous community engagement.
- Explore connections with states and territories through Education Council's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Advisory Group.
Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- Update the Australian Government's knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages through the commissioning of the National Indigenous Languages Report. This report will be produced in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, academia and the private sector to articulate the current state of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, as well as articulate how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages link to individuals and communities' social and economic well-being.
- Consider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages in strategies to address the cultural determinants of health in the next iteration of the Implementation Plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-2023.
- Undertake research around additional recognition of Traditional Cultural Expressions and the importance of obtaining the consent of Traditional Owners before using words and images in a commercial context.
- Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language research through the Australian Research Council.
Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- Publicise that eligibility for Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status will be extended to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language organisations as of 1 July 2019, which will mean they are eligible to receive tax-deductible donations, broadening their sources of revenue.
- Create awareness of Creative Partnerships Australia's initiatives that are open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language organisations to assist them to learn how to build their revenue base and find alternative sources of revenue, including through the Australian Cultural Fund.
- Work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander media sector to identify additional revenue raising opportunities for Indigenous media and broadcasting organisations.
Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- Continue to support and encourage the use of interpreting services so that people who speak in language have equal access to government assistance and opportunities.
- Continue to work with the Indigenous media sector when developing media strategies for Australian Government initiatives, particularly when they are targeted at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages in health literacy resources and prevention/education materials (including local materials produced by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services) as appropriate.
- Promote informational videos that illustrate how Government informs communities about environmental impacts of uranium mining.
- Encourage interpreter and translation services to continue working in cooperation, and to work closely together with those providing essential services (such as health, legal, housing and social services), to ensure best practice in service delivery and seek to expand interpreter networks and encourage interpreting as a career choice.
Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- Include a focus on supporting participation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language teaching and learning in the ILA program's 2019-20 funding round.
- Demonstrate how the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Language allows for flexibility in guiding schools and teachers in developing programs for any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language.
- Showcase ACARA's illustrations of practice, which demonstrate how the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority can be implemented in schools.
- Continue to support the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language strategies through key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and experts.
- Continue to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' access and use of the cultural materials cared for by collecting institutions, including providing access to linguists that can help in navigating archival collections and building linguistic and other skills to use the materials discovered to develop language resources.
