Celebrating the launch of a national project collaboration to promote the diversity and cultural significance of Australia’s first languages.

This is an invitation to all Australians to recognise and treasure the first languages of this country.

Within these languages are stories of our land itself, they are a living link between Australians today and all who have gone before. 
First Languages Australia and ABC Regional are collaborating to see hundreds of fifteen second sound bites in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages created and aired on ABC Regional Radio across the country.

The project was launched by Senator Mitch Fifield, Minister for Communications and the Arts, at ArtLands Dubbo (artlands.com.au), the biennial Regional Arts Australia conference.

The launch video is available here:
https://vimeo.com/188939673

The sound bites are known as station IDs as they identify the radio station. Around the country, radio producers have been working with Indigenous community members to record and edit the IDs for broadcast.

First Languages Australia manager, Faith Baisden, sees this project as a bridge between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, our national broadcaster and regional audiences.

“This is a project of international significance”, she says, “allowing all listeners to connect with the first languages of Australia - among the oldest spoken languages in the world. People will come to understand the diversity of these hundreds of languages and the strong connection between the speakers and the lands they live in.

“First Languages Australia works to ensure recognition and respect for Australia's first languages, whether they are still strongly spoken today, proudly being revived, or those that haven't been heard for many years.”

“Our collaboration with ABC Regional supports language groups around the country to have their voices heard proudly and strongly in the media landscape”, says Faith.

The ABC’s Regional Division has a presence in 48 locations across the country, making it well placed to build the local relationships required to see these station IDs recorded in all of Australia’s traditional languages for broadcast long into the future.

“I’d like to sincerely thank First Languages Australia for partnering with us to produce ABC radio station IDs in language,” said Fiona Reynolds, Director of ABC Regional. “It is a wonderful opportunity to further share local languages spoken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as part of a much larger project promoting the diversity of Australia’s first languages across our national radio network.”

Australia comprises many hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional language regions. Gambay – First Languages Map (gambay.com.au) provides a graphical representation for further reference.

LANGUAGE IDS SA ANNALEISE BUNGANDITJ

First Languages Australia is a national organisation working with community language programs around the country to support the continued use and recognition of Australia’s first languages.