Theme 1: Support for the revitalisation and maintenance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages

Theme 1: Support for the revitalisation and maintenance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages

Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are facing critical risks contributing to the loss of knowledge and use. Many communities are racing against time to record and preserve languages with very few, or in some cases no, speakers left to pass on the knowledge.

Such efforts require specialist attention, particularly when reviving and reconstructing a language. Languages that have reached a point of strength also require sustained support to ensure they are passed on through the generations. The UNESCO Action Plan gives examples of measures seen as necessary for all nations to consider in revitalising and maintaining languages, including support for materials that strengthen language use, a wider range of services, using technology to improve everyday use of language, and encouraging best practice in the use of languages.

The Australian Government has in place strong networks and frameworks to support these international goals. These include initiatives and programs administered through AIATSIS, the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy. They also include funding for Indigenous Languages Centres and projects through the Indigenous Languages and Arts (ILA) grant program, and projects being undertaken by, or funded by, government agencies around the country. Languages cannot be separated from their complex and interrelated relationships to culture, connection to country, community and family. Therefore, broader government support for the social and emotional well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is also considered as part of these networks and frameworks supporting languages.

During the international year and beyond 2019 we will continue to provide support and services for activities including archives, recordings, online portals, dictionaries, teaching materials, mapping songs, creating interactive games and interpreter services. We will also continue targeted support through the ILA program for innovative digital projects that protect, preserve and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. We will undertake continuous reviews and monitoring of dedicated funding programs, such as ILA and IAS, to reflect the investment and support needs of communities working to revive and maintain their languages. We will also continue to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander broadcasters through the IAS to continue delivering locally relevant and culturally appropriate programming, often in language.

Under the UNESCO framework for the IY2019 the Australian Government will aim to:

Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- The Australian Indigenous Languages Online Project conducted by AIATSIS will provide online access to the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Collection that was inscribed to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2009. The Online Project will build on the digitisation of this Collection to progressively publish individual items and expand a project that provides online access.
- A new AUSTLANG platform will be launched: a database of information including documentation, speaker numbers and language surveys, about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages with links to other catalogues, community organisations and language centres.
- Provide funding through the IAS for the Indigenous Language Preservation: Dictionaries project. The project, conducted by AIATSIS, is aiming to publish approximately 20 dictionaries in 2019.
- Provide over $20 million annually through the ILA program, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to express, preserve and maintain their cultures through both language and art programs, including funding projects that capture, revitalise and maintain Indigenous languages.
- Continue to support Australia's national archives and cultural collecting institutions to preserve materials and work with communities to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- Continue to support Australia's primary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language infrastructure: a network of 22 Indigenous Language Centres, each one receiving operational funding annually from the Australian Government's ILA program. The centres play a critical role in preserving, revitalising and maintaining languages, by recording people speaking language and developing resources such as: dictionaries and databases; facilitating training for community based language workers; conducting community workshops, maintaining collections of language materials; acting as a central repository for resources and language data; and the establishment and maintenance of partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and other key organisations, such as local schools.
- AIATSIS works as a hub that supports language maintenance and revitalisation programs and linguists, and develops and maintains language resources and archiving.
- Work with the library network, both nationally and in state and territories, to connect and collaborate on their collections of archival and resource material.
Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- Continue to support joint national collaboration in relation to the Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages, developed to support the teaching and learning of Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages across Australia, allowing for flexibility in guiding schools and teachers in developing programs for any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language.
- Continue to support education avenues outside of schools, such as the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) through its dedication to telling stories about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and contemporary cultures, to enable shared understanding with the wider Australian population.
- Find opportunities to share, develop and implement innovative teaching and learning platforms through existing networks, such as education bodies, the ILA program and programs run by state and territory agencies.
- Provide platforms for showcasing how teachers embed the local language into teaching digital technologies.
Some specific work to support this aim includes:
- Continue support for a national peak body for first languages, to facilitate and promote communication and collaboration between community, government and key non-government organisations to strategically support the revival and maintenance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
- Continue to build strong relationships and support ILA program funding recipients, including through the network of regional program staff.
- Continue to support language events/forums/activities and promote successful language projects through appropriate government and community networks.