Specialist Journalist Hayley McAdam reached out to the Honourable Ingrid Stitt MP, Minister for Workplace Safety and Minister for Early Childhood regarding the announcement of over 160 kindergartens in Victoria taking part in the Andrew’s Labor Government $17.9 million Early Childhood Language Program. The Early Childhood Language Program is enabling over 6,000 children at over 160 kindergartens to learn in a different language. It is the first state funded language program to be rolled out in kindergartens. Early childhood services were selected to deliver the languages program through an expression of interest (EOI) process held in 2018. These were the question that were asked.

Are the Kindergartens that are being funded all around Victoria or is it in a key regional and urban area?
"Three-year old kindergarten is being rolled out in stages, with at least five hours a week at a funded kindergarten program available to children state-wide from 2022. This will increase to up to 15 hours a week by 2029".

Are the languages the languages randomly delegated to demographic areas or is it just the one language that they learn? How does this match self-determination within our communities to choose the languages offered?
"In their expression of interest (EOI), services nominated their preferred language for the program, based on the diversity of their community, the views of parents and families, continuity with language education at nearby primary schools, and the availability of a qualified language teacher".

Which Aboriginal languages are being offered to the children and would you like to see more languages being offered to more Victorian children?
"The department has partnered with the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated to support those services that selected to deliver an Aboriginal language program to ensure protocols are followed in consulting with community and seeking Traditional Owner approval".

Why do you think leaning a language is so important for children to know in their early childhood and building that foundation for their academic achievement?
"Attending a quality kindergarten program has profound, lasting benefits for children’s future learning, wellbeing, and social and emotional development. Research shows that these benefits have an even greater impact when children start at kindergarten at age three instead of four. "

The Victorian Government is also investing almost 5 million to provide three-year old children with access to 15 hours a week of a funded kindergarten program. Is this accessible to everyone?
"Throughout all stages of the reform, children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait families will continue to have access to the Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) program, which guarantees 15 hours of a three-year-old kindergarten program each week at low or no cost to families. All eligible families are encouraged to talk to their local services to make sure they are enrolled through the ESK program so their children receive their full entitlements".

You can find out more about funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten here: https://www.vic.gov.au/kinder

You can find out more about the Early Start Kindergarten program here: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/child-care-kindergarten/Pages/kindergarten-aboriginal.aspx

The Honourable Ingrid Stitt MP Announcement for the Early Childhood Language Program

Aunty Pam Pedersen nee Nicholls is a Yorta Yorta elder who works hard to better her community especially youth. Aunty has been involved in the Koorie Court system, many Aboriginal organisations, education, childcare and healthcare. She has also had some spectacular achievements in sports and continues to reach her goals today as well as her motto “If you can dream it, you can achieve it”.
When not involved in community and social justice matters, she can probably be found in the swimming pool, riding her bike, or pounding the pavement. As a young woman Pam was involved in athletics, but it was later in life that she became serious about health and well-being through sporting activities. At 50 she decided to get active, initially for her own health but then as a way of getting the message out to community members that they needed to take care of their health through regular exercise, healthy diets and community and social interaction. From walking she progressed to fun runs and then to triathlons. She competed in her first triathlon at the age of 59. In 2016 at the age of 73 she completed her nineteenth Mothers’ Day Classic Run and is on track to make it twenty in 2017. This year she completed her 24th Mother's Day Run.
Aunty Pam joins the program On Track with specialist journalist Hayley McAdam to discuss the importance of education for our youth and how she celebrated mother’s day.

Aunty Pam Pedersen Celebrating Mother's Day

Specialist journalist Hayley McAdam is a Larrakia and Arrerntte woman with ties to the Kungarakun, Jawoyn, Warumungu, Yamba, Kija and Gurindji people. Hayley shares her experience with the COVID-19 lockdown and how it affected her not being able to connect with friends, family, country, and culture. She speaks about the positive and negative impacts from being in lockdown. Discussing how she overcame those challenges and what she learnt about herself. Before the COVID-19 pandemic Hayley started to get involved in sports and complete media training however because of isolation many things were postponed or cancelled along with many other things. She talks about how that happened and how she continued to stay connected with the community and family.

Hayley McAdam Shares Her Experience with the COVID-19 Lockdown

ON TRACK is a program that outlines how youth were able to stay on track with their education. In this program specialist journalist Hayley McAdam speaks with Helen Christensen and Leila Gurruwiwi who work as the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education Officers with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS). They work along side each other to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff and also assist schools to become more culturally aware. Helen and Leila talk about how they were able to help students during lockdown with remote learning and their own personal experiences with returning to work post lockdown and how that transition has been for the students.

Leila Gurruwiwi & Helen Christensen Supporting Indigenous Students at MACS

ON TRACK: Angela Ross Working With Children's Ground

Naretha Williams Speech

Lorraine Gorey, Alison Furber, Michael Gorey & Beth Sometimes giving pronunciations of fifty important Arrernte words and their meanings in another language: English.
Words: 
1.	werte!		hello!
2.	mwerre		good, well, proper
3.	ware		not much, just, only
4.	apmere		place, country, camp
5.	kwatye		water
6.	lhere		creek, river
7.	unte		you
8.	ayenge		I, me
9.	iwehne?		what?
10.	ampe		child
11.	artwe		man
12.	arelhe		woman
13.	arratye		true, like that
14.	re			her, him, it, that
15.	lyete		now, today
16.	yaye		big sister
17.	kake		big brother
18.	meye		mother
19.	akngeye		father
20.	merne		food
21.	kere		        meat
22.	alheme		going
23.	alakenhe		like this
24.	uterne		sun, summer, yellow
25.	anwerne		us
26.	arltele		daytime
27.	nhenhe		this, here
28.	yanhe		that, there
29.	nhakwe		that, over there (far)
30.	akweke		small, little bit
31.	akngerre	big, a lot, important
32.	arrangkwe	no, nothing, not
33.	aweme		listening, hearing, understanding
34.	aneme		sitting, being, staying
35.	inteme		lying, being, sleeping over
36.	apurrke		tired
37.	akangkeme	happy, pleased
38.	alhwarrpe	sad, sorry
39.	alhwerrpe	winter
40.	arritnye		name
41.	kweye!		oh! aye! oops!
42.	yekwe		dunno
43.	atweye		family, owner, custodian
44.	ayepe-arenye	tar vine caterpillar
45.	apetyeye!	come!
46.	akutne		ignorant
47.	akaltye		knowledgeable, clever
48.	nthenhe?	where?
49.	akunye		poor thing, dear thing
50.	kele		        OK, alright, finished

50-Arrernte-words-everyone-who-lives-in-mparntwe-should-know

Studio sessions from the late, great David Mills and Val McGinness.

David Mills Snr & Val McGinness - studio sessions

Karen Mundine is from the Bundjalung Nation of northern NSW. As the CEO at Reconciliation Australia, Ms Mundine is about engagement, public advocacy, communications and social marketing campaigns. Karen yarns up on Big Brekkie about this years theme for National Reconciliation Week, “In this Together”. 
Over the course of her career she has been instrumental in some of Australia’s watershed national events including the Apology to the Stolen Generations, Centenary of Federation commemorations, Corroboree 2000 and the 1997 Australian Reconciliation Convention.
Ms Mundine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Technology Sydney and is a Director of the Gondwana Children’s Choir Board.
Previous roles include Mary Mackillop Board Director, Deputy Chief Executive and General Manager Communication and Engagement, Reconciliation Australia; Senior Consultant, CPR Communications; senior public affairs and communications roles with federal government departments including Prime Minister and Cabinet and Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Karen Mundine CEO at Reconciliation Australia

This week the Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt announced Stage Two of the Co-Design process of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament after the group handed down an Interim Report outlining the next stages of the process and calling for feedback from the Australian Community.

https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/wyatt/2021/have-your-say-indigenous-voice-proposals

The Indigenous Voice to Parliament is one of three reforms set down from the Uluru Statement from the Heart and one of the original reforms proposed by the Referendum Council in 2016.

The other reforms are a Makaratta Commission to oversee agreement and Treaty making and a Truth Telling process.

Co-Chair of the Voice to Parliament Dr Marcia Langton joins Kirstyn on the program to explain more about the work of the Co-Design group and why we need to know what the model looks like before we can go to a Referendum to have a National Voice enshrined in the Constitution.

Marcia explains that the Referendum Council’s Joint Select Committee report is the foundation of which this process will be designed.

A concern raised by Labor Minister Linda Burney this week in response to the report is that the process will not be enshrined in the Constitution.

As I raised this question with Dr Langton she explains that once the model is established there will be room for a question to go to the Australian public for a Referendum.
www.lindaburney.com.au

I hope to speak with Minister Burney about her concerns and support for the National Voice in the following weeks for Balit Dhumba.

If you would like to participate in submitting feedback for Stage Two of the consultation process you can go to the NIAA website which is the National Indigenous Australians Agency. 
www.niaa.gov.au

You can download the interim report and use that as a reference for your work. 
#indigenousvoice

Stage Two launched: Co-Design of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

The Hon. Gayle Tierney is the State Member for Western Victoria, Minister for Training and Skills and Minister for Higher Education. Gayle Tierney has a strong connection with rural and regional communities, having completed primary and secondary education at rural schools. Apart from being an advocate for regional infrastructure and employment, Gayle Tierney is also a strong supporter of environmental sustainability, gender representation, social inclusion and community development. The Minister talks to Gman on 3KND.
MORE SUPPORT FOR ABORIGINAL LEARNERS AT ALL TAFES
Three specialist Koorie staff members will be employed at every Victorian TAFE in the biggest expansion of support services for Aboriginal TAFE students in the state’s history.
Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney today announced the allocation of $4.2 million to support up to 18 Koorie Liaison Officers and 32 new Koorie Student Support Officers.
Minister Tierney said it signalled a significant expansion of support staff across the sector which would grow Aboriginal student participation at TAFE, improve their educational outcomes and help create clearer pathways to the workforce.
SuniTAFE has reported an increase in its Koorie student cohort by 100 since a trial of the program began in 2017.
The funding will allow every Victorian TAFE to have a full-time Koorie Liasion Officer and two Koorie Student Support Officers from 2021.
Koorie Liaison Officers are employed by TAFEs and dual sector institutes to provide advice and support to learners during their TAFE journey and promote opportunities in the community.
Koorie Student Support Officers are trained to understand the support offered by the Institute and Department support systems.
Both roles contribute strategically to Aboriginal inclusion, cultural safety and perspectives in the curriculum to ensure providers deliver culturally inclusive training. They also provide support and advice to the TAFE workforce.
This initiative is an important part of the Victorian Government’s Marrung: Aboriginal Education Plan 2016-2026 and is designed to increase the engagement and participation of Aboriginal learners in vocational education and training.
The State Budget includes an unprecedented overall annual investment of $1 billion to ensure Victoria has the training and skills system it needs as it emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
Quote attributable to Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney “This investment will better support Aboriginal students looking to continue or reengage with education and pursue exciting opportunities in their communities.” Quote attributable to Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated General Manager Lionel Bamblett "We welcome this investment and acknowledge the continued commitment of the Victorian Government to increasing Koorie engagement and participation in vocational education and training. “ Quote attributable to SuniTAFE Dulka Yuppata Koorie Training Centre Manager Simon Fewings “These changes are long awaited by the VET sector and Koorie community and will help us to raise enrolments, grow our qualification offerings and improve retention, completion and post VET pathways for Koorie learners.”

The Hon. Gayle Tierney Announces Support For Aboriginal Learners

3KND is Melbourne’s first Indigenous owned and managed radio station, providing a vital service not only to the Indigenous community but also to the wider community as a whole. 3KND provides information and entertainment for our community and anyone else who wants to join in.

The Hon. Gayle Tierney Announces Support For Aboriginal Learners

3KND Kool N Deadly

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