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Tarwangin - Talking To Me - 9 November 2007
Welcome to Tarwangin, a regular newsletter produced by the Department of Indigenous Affairs to provide the latest news and information on issues associated with Indigenous communities.
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The Wardarnji Aboriginal Cultural Celebration
Invitations are extended to attend the Wardarnji Aboriginal Cultural Celebration on Saturday 17 November 2007 at the Fremantle Esplanade from 2pm to 9pm. Wardarnji showcases the local Indigenous culture and talent through music, dance, stage performances and stall displays and is enjoyed by more than 5,500 people each year. The Festival has activities to cater for all ages and highlights include performances by Kev Carmody, Djiva, Phil Moncrieff and the AbMusic set. Additionally, guests can enjoy cultural workshops and stalls featuring bush tucker foods, sports, and art. The Department of Indigenous Affairs is a proud sponsor of the festival's finale, the Twilight Corroboree and the State's Reconciliation Awards through its PALS program. For more information contact Public Affairs at the Department of Indigenous Affairs here.
Child Protection Seminar
Curtin University of Technology invites you and your colleagues to a research seminar on child protection by Dr Dawn Bessarab, titled, "Reconsidering Child Protection Practice in Aboriginal Contexts," on Thursday 15 November 2007 at the Bank West Theatre - Building 200 (adjacent to the John Curtin Gallery at Curtin University) from 4pm onwards. Parking can be accessed in Car Park P3 via entering Kent Street. RSVPs are essential by Tuesday 13 November 2007 via email or calling 9266 2563.
Employment opportunity with National Disability Services NDS WA
The National Disability Services NDS WA (formerly ACROD) is seeking expressions of interest for an experienced Indigenous person to assist disability agencies to develop culturally secure services for Indigenous people with disabilities, their families and carers. The successful applicant will work alongside the Senior Aboriginal Policy Officer in the Disability Services Commission (DSC) and disability funded agencies to achieve a range of culturally secure outcomes. This Expression of Interest closes at 4.30pm on 23 November 2007. For further information please contact Carlo Calogero, state manager for NDS WA on 9208 9805 or via email.
The 2007 PALS Schools Reconciliation Awards ceremony
The Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA) and BHP Billiton Iron Ore (BHPBIO) congratulates more than sixty schools that participated in the 2007 PALS Awards. School participants are commended for their commitment, effort and dedication to advance reconciliation through their projects. Fourteen schools will be awarded with a certificate and a piece of Indigenous artwork for excellence in the PALS Awards categories, to be officially presented by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Michelle Roberts MLA, at the Wardarnji Festival (Fremantle Esplanade) on Saturday, 17 November 2007. All are welcome to attend the PALS awards presentation at centre stage from 4pm - 5pm with highlights including dance and singing performances by students from Riverlands School and Baldivis Primary School. Join us afterwards at the PALS marquee to view a display of some of the PALS projects for 2007, take part in cultural workshops and sample some tasty bush tucker meals. For more information visit the PALS website here or contact Public Affairs on 9235 8000.
DIA's Murchison Gascoyne Office rewarded for community involvement
The Murchison-Gascoyne Regional Office of the Department of Indigenous Affairs was recently presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by the Geraldton Regional Community Education Centre Asssociation Inc, in recogntion of their consistent support of school students with workplace opportunities as part of the Aboriginal School Based Traineeships Program. The trainees are provided with support, training and mentoring to assist them attain a Certificate II in Business and provide an opportunity for youth to gain valuable skills, knowledge and understanding of workplace environments. Furthermore, the traineeships enable trainees to attain a range of skills that will assist with their career transition following completion of their formal schooling. Past trainees have gone on to forge successful positions, including Samara Boyd who gained a full time position with the Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service and Jordyn Merritt who is now undertaking a traineeship with DIA to gain a certificate III in Business. For more information contact Public Affairs at DIA.
The Australian Health Promotion Association Scholarships
The Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA), with continued funding support from Healthway, is offering 6 six-month health promotion scholarships in 2008. The two areas of scholarships are, graduate scholarships (for newly graduated health promotion students) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholarships (for Indigenous people wanting to further their health promotion skills/experience). For more information please contact Janet Gethin on 9382 5921 or visit the website here.
Stirling Range Symposium
Invitations are extended to attend the Stirling Range Symposium on Natural Resource Management and Cultural Heritage on Tuesday 20 November 2007 from 9am to 5pm at the Stirling Range Retreat. The Symposium underlines the importance of restoring connections and going beyond boundaries in preserving the area's unique heritage and conservation values for future generations. Sessions will include history, heritage and cultural landscapes, connecting with the broader landscape, walks and visits of significant cultural and natural places in the Stirling Range with Elders and experts, storytelling and bush tucker and paper collar activities. Speakers will include traditional Noongar custodians, local landowners and community members and representatives from agencies working on projects in or around the Stirling Range. Registrations are essential to the South Coast NRM Inc. on 9892 8537 or via email.
New Scheme to tackle SIDS in Indigenous WA Children
The high rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in Western Australian Indigenous communities will be addressed with a new education program being launched in the Pilbara town of Newman. SIDS and kids WA has joined forces with mining company BHP Billiton to offer training and support to health professionals working in the region. The program hopes to raise awareness in Indigenous communities about how to reduce the risks. SIDS is the second most common cause of death among Indigenous babies, accounting for 27 per cent of the number of deaths among infants. Group chief executive, Angela Doyle, says while the rate of SIDS has dropped by 85 per cent in the non-Indigenous population, the same trend has not been seen across Aboriginal communities. "Unfortunately the risk of SIDS is eight times that in Aboriginal communities compared to non-Aboriginal communities, so we really want to focus on that area," she said. For more information visit the website here.
Plumbers Licence Board Takes a Leading Role
The WA State Government's Plumbers Licensing Board has appointed Garry Dunbar, a full time plumbing expert to assist Indigenous communities throughout the state. Mr Dunbar will work as the Senior Compliance Officer Indigenous Communities and assist remote communities and disadvantaged people in all matters to do with plumbing. The health and wellbeing of our communities and their environment relies on plumbing work to supply clean drinking water and to safely remove any waste water. Mr Dunbar has over 30 years plumbing experience that includes knowledge of the conditions in the Western Desert and Kimberley regions. Part of the service that Mr Dunbar will provide includes technical support and advice to the licensed plumbers and ensure that all plumbing works in Indigenous communities comply with plumbing standards. For more information and to contact Mr Dunbar call 9282 0478.
Call for Grant Applications
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is calling for applications for the Research Grants Program 2008. The Program will fund research into a wide range of areas in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies such as history (including family and community history), politics, law, public policy, health, Indigenous knowledge systems, the arts and many more. Applications in the special emphasis categories of 'Relations with Government,' 'Indigenous Knowledge Systems' and 'Knowledge About and Caring for Country,' are particularly invited. Applications close 11 January 2008. For more information and to obtain an application form visit the website here.
Importance of Building Strong Cultural Ties
Social workers, health professionals and social planners from around Australia have been told Indigenous children need close ties to their traditional cultures. The chairwoman of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), Muriel Bamblett, is a keynote speaker at a national child abuse conference on the Gold Coast. Ms Bamblett commented that foster parents should ensure Indigenous children have strong cultural ties from an early age. "What we try to do is make sure that the carer understands the cultural needs of the child and that the carer is prepared to involve the child in cultural activities in the community," she said. "Making sure the child attends Aboriginal events in the community, because connection to the culture is the one thing that will grow the child up to be strong and resilient," Ms Bamblett added. For more information visit the SNAICC's website here.
Record Sale Price for WA's Indigenous Artist
One of Mowanjum Art and Culture Centre's best known artists has achieved a record sale price from an Indigenous artist from the centre in Derby. Wallungunda Lailai by Sandra Munguku was sold to a US collector for US$21, 000 through Broome 6 Gallery. The work depicts major dreaming stories of the Lailai, or creation time. Mowanjum Art and Culture Centre Manager, Jenny Wright, commented that Sandra is an extremely talented artist and that it is gratifying to see her paintings achieving the prices they deserve. Ms Wright went to say that artists from Mowanjum are starting to achieve excellent prices and good recognition. Another such success story for Mowanjum artists include the auction of a 1.8m by 4.5m collaborative work, titled Wandjina Ungud Spirits, executed by senior artists, which will feature in a Sydney auction of Aboriginal art with international art auctioneers, Sotherby's. The artwork depicts all of the major stories of the Worrora, Wunumbul and Ngarinyin peoples who make up the Mowanjum community. For more information visit the following website.
Computer Generated Characters Deliver Healthy Messages
An animated computer program is reportedly revolutionising the way critical health messages are delivered to remote communities in the Northern Territory. Using funding from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework), 'marvin' features animated three dimensional characters which resemble community members and can speak in their own language. This initiative was created in 2003 to tackle substance abuse in remote communities and designed with an aim to overcome cultural and language barriers in information and education campaigns. The 'marvin' computer program will enable users to generate computer animated movies in their native language with culturally relevant characters. Creative Director of 'marvin,' Mr Easterby-Wood commented that an added bonus of the computer-generated characters was that they could be used to discuss uncomfortable topics. "Because the characters are not 'real people', they are great for discussing topics that are culturally embarrassing or taboo," he said. This trademarked computer program has received interest from more than 120 countries and is regarded as a very sophisticated community engagement tool. For more information visit the website here.
Report Reveals Dementia Danger for Indigenous People
Indigenous people are four to five times more likely to suffer dementia than other Australians, according to a new report by Alzheimer's Australia, titled Dementia: A Major Health Problem for Indigenous People. The report was prepared for the Parliamentary Friends of Dementia and is based on recent research in the Kimberley region by the University of Western Australia. Researchers found that 12.4 per cent of Indigenous people aged over 45 had dementia, compared with a rate of 2.6 per cent in the general Australian population of the same age. National Executive Director of Alzheimer's Australia, said that a National Indigenous Dementia Strategy had been developed on the basis of a National Indigenous Forum funded by the Australian Government and organized by Alzheimer's Australia. "This strategy gives priority to the promotion of awareness of dementia among Indigenous people, an expansion of care services and recognises the importance of more research and the training of Indigenous health workers in dementia care," commented Mr Ress. To access the parliamentary brief of the report, visit the Alzheimer's Australia website here.
UWA's School of Indigenous Studies
Information open days have been scheduled by the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia (UWA) for any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who require assistance with entry to degree courses at UWA. In Perth the open day will be held on 4 -5 December and another one is organized for Albany on 10 - 11 December 2007. Courses offered at UWA include studies in arts, dentistry, medicine, education, social work, law, marine science and many more. The open days will also provide information with alternative entry into the University via provisional entry scheme, pre-law programme and many others. For more information and to obtain an application form, contact The School of Indigenous Studies on 6488 3428 or via email.
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