You are cordially invited to join a discussion around the implications of the

2020 National Indigenous Languages Report (NILR)

for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, educators, policy-makers, policy implementers and policy evaluators.

The discussion will be led by researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Languages, the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, and First Languages Australia.

Speakers will provide briefings on the research that underpins NILR and the need for a new Indigenous Languages Framework. Then we will facilitate conversations asking participants to work in small groups to discuss the potential of the NILR findings and the new approach to language data for their areas of work (e.g. education, interpreting, policy evaluation) and for the new Closing the Gap targets.

Please register here and you will be sent a Zoom link before the meeting. If you need help using Zoom please contact us. More information is available at the forum website.

Recording: Please note the speaker presentation will be recorded on Zoom, and some may be posted on the CoEDL website. Snippets/stills of speeches may be used for the CoEDL website and annual report. Speaker and attendee approval of the material would be sought before publishing. You are welcome to turn your video off if you prefer not to be recorded.

Image: The artwork by Jordan Lovegrove, a Ngarrindjeri man, of Dreamtime Creative, portrays the vast diversity of different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and the National Indigenous Language Report’s goal to maintain, preserve and celebrate the languages. The different patterned sections of leaves represent all the different languages and language groups including sleeping and new languages. The tree provides a visual representation of the flow, connectivity and joy of the languages; the languages branch out like a tree, connecting individuals, families and communities with their culture and identity.