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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-05-15 Daily Xml
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Aboriginal Literacy Foundation

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (15:21): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the minister please inform the chamber about the work of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and their recent success winning the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children's literature?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:21): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in this area. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation began as the Riverbend Readers' Challenge in 2004 and launched with the goal to raise funds to promote and improve literacy outcomes in remote Australia. In 2007, the Readers' Challenge and the Fred Hollows Foundation partnered to become the Indigenous Literacy Project, which in 2011 became the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation runs programs that focus on encouraging children to read and write in their own language as well as English. The foundation does this through securing access to literature for remote communities, and in doing so they empower the community to take the lead in the process of these programs, promoting leadership and teaching amongst the community. Having the community take carriage of these programs ensures ownership and authenticity is upheld throughout the process with community elders and residents.

Working with many remote communities in South Australia as well as other jurisdictions, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation has, since 2011, provided over 750,000 books, supplied 100 playgroups with resources that promote early literacy—some written in English and some with Aboriginal language translations—and published 109 books highlighting 31 different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.

Earlier this month, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation was awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Created in 2002 by the Swedish government, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is awarded yearly to a person or organisation for their contribution to children's and young adults' literature. The aim of the award is to highlight the importance of reading in younger people and the ability literature has to bridge the gap of understanding and exchange between cultures and people.

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation was one of 245 candidates from 68 countries and regions to be nominated, taking out the top prize, which has a payment of $A725,000, the largest award of its kind in the world. The jury for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award identified the foundation's work in celebrating First Nations culture and language and highlighting the value of all people's own language and stories. To quote the jury:

By spreading books and stimulating reading, storytelling and creativity, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation builds on the desire to read and fosters pride, self-confidence and a sense of belonging. Every child has the right to their language and their stories.

I want to thank the Indigenous Literacy Foundation for the incredibly important work they have carried out in South Australia for over a decade and the way they have amplified the voices and stories that this country was built upon. I would also like to commend the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for using their global platform to shine a light on the incredible work this foundation does, recognising the rich and important history our nation has.

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