"Modern Ways for Ancient Words"

Puliima National Indigenous Languages and Information Communication Technology Forum

FINAL WRAP UP

Melbourne, Victoria 1st and 2nd April 2009

Coordinated by Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association

 

The Puliima 2009 National Indigenous Language & Information Communication Technology Forum was kicked off with a pre conference gathering, on the evening of Tuesday 31st March, at the Koori Heritage Trust. It was great to get the delegates from all over Australia, Torres Strait Islands & New Zealand together before the conference so they had time to catch up and network with old friends and meet new people all with a common goal of reviving & maintaining our Indigenous languages. It was a casual gathering where the delegates could relax and enjoy delicious light refreshments, supplied by Black Olive Catering, & great entertainment from Aboriginal singer Kat Clarke and their band; Sean Harris, Clinton Dimer and Owen Atkinson. The pre conference gathering was a great way to get the delegates geared up and excited for the commencement of the agenda packed day one of the conference the following day. The Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages hosted a great launch of local Victorian languages resources on the evening, and we also most surprised when they had also arranged for Kutcher Edwards to perform in the evening.

 

On the morning of Wednesday 1st of April delegates gathered at the Koori Heritage Trust for the official opening of the conference, opened by Jeanie Bell from Bachelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. It was an excellent privilege for Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association (ACRA) to have an important person such as Jeanie, who has been involved in Aboriginal Language work for many years, to open the conference for us. A moving welcome to country was performed by Wurundjeri elder, Aunty Joy Murphy, who we also felt very privileged to have involved in Puliima 2009. Delegates then enjoyed an amazing cultural performance including dancing, singing and didgeridoo playing by One Fire Dance Troupe.

From there we all headed to the William Angliss Institute Conference Centre, conveniently situated around the corner from the Koori Heritage Trust, where we got into the formal part of the conference. Here the keynote address was given by Aunty Joy Murphy. A variety of plenary presentations were delivered in the conference centre auditorium in the morning then delegates divided up into groups to attend breakout sessions and hands ons workshops in the afternoon.

 

Some highlights of the first day's presentations were the launch of the Our Languages Website by Dr Eve Fesl from Gubbi Gubbi country and Daryn McKenny from ACRA, a presentation on Preserving Traditional Songs and Dance by community member Mayrah Dreise and of course the fantastic Maori Language Resource presentation given by Professors' Tania Ka'ai and John Moorfield from Maori Language Institute - AUT University in New Zealand.

 

On the evening of Wednesday 1st April delegates attended the conference dinner at the William Angliss Restaurant where they could mingle and get to know each other even better, do some more networking and discuss the first day of the conference. This also gave delegates a chance to wind down and get ready for the busy second day of the conference. Brilliant entertainment was provided by Aboriginal comedian Kevin Kropinyeri, Street Warriors Hip Hop Group and the band MZ Lyrikal.

 

On Thursday 2nd April another agenda packed day of the conference began with some more excellent plenary sessions in the morning then breakout sessions and workshops in the afternoon. Some of the highlights of the second day were once again a presentation from Rachael Ka'ai Mahuta on "Online digital repository of Maori songs" also Maxine Cowie and her "Unlocking Literacy Program", by far the most popular was the MARVIN Animation Program workshop by John Toyne from NTICED.

 

The conference was closed with an open forum where all delegates had a chance to speak and some very important issues about Aboriginal Australian languages where discussed in particular major concersn were raised in regards to the forced learning in English for the first 4 hours of each day in NT schools.

 

The Puliima 2009 conference has had exceptionally good feedback from delegates. It has proved to be a wonderful success and has grown since the first was held in 2007. Thank you to everyone that attended and contributed. ACRA now look forward to holding the conference again in 2011. We hope to see you all there.

We would like to say a very special thank you to the following people and organisations, in no particular order, for offering their help and support in the lead up to and through out the conference. Thank you for all your hard work and contributions to making this a wonderful conference:

Faith Baisden, Jedda Priman, Emma George, Anne Blair, Stephanie May, Mondy Vilaisarn, Helen Treadgold, Paul Paton, Uncle John "Sandy" Atkinson, Katherine Clarke, Kutcher Edwards, Sean Harris, Clinton Dimer, Owen Atkinson, Jayden Lillyst, Marook Perry, Kiah Perry, Aunty Joy Murphy, Dr Eve Fesl, Jeanie Bell, Kevin Kropinyeri, Street Warriors, MZ Lyrikal, Black Olive Catering, One Fire Dance Troupe, William Angliss Restaurant, William Angliss Institute Conference Centre, Harbourview Apartment Hotel, Best Western Atlantis Hotel, Microhire, Silveradoh Promotional Products, Wathaurong Glass, Donartec, Work Ventures, Kookaburra Educational Products, State Library of Victoria, VicNet.

The second Puliima National Indigenous Languages and Information Communication Technology Forum has been held and by the feedback that we have received it has been a great success and has improved since the first Puliima Forum was held in 2007. On this page we will put together a summary of the event and our comments.

We would like to thank all of the 135 delegates and presenters who came along and contributed in many ways to making this event so successful. Delegates came from all around the country and from over seas came to the Wurundjeri Nation in the CBD area of Melbourne, Victoria for the conference, which was held at the William Angliss Institute of TAFE.

The conference would not have been possible without the wonderful assistance of our sponsors and supporters, namely the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL), The Koori Heritage Trust, The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts and The William Angliss Institute of TAFE.

Puliima 2009 Conference Feedback Survey

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS COMPLETED THE ONLINE SURVEY. IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY COMPLETED THE SURVEY PLEASE DO SO ASAP BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW AS YOUR COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO US IN ENSURING THAT WE MAKE THE NEXT PULIIMA AS SUCCESSFUL AS THE LAST.

Thank you for attending the Puliima 2009 National Indigenous Languages & Information Communication Technology Forum.

We hope you had a wonderful time in Melbourne at the Puliima 2009 Conference.

Your feedback, comments and suggestion are important to us. Please take a few minutes of your time to complete the Puliima 2009 Conference Feedback Survey on-line by clicking on the link below.

Puliima 2009 Conference Feedback Survey Link


Thank you for your time! Lets help to continue keeping our Languages strong.

From The Puliima 2009 Team

Quicklinks

You can access a summary of the event from the following links:

1. Photo Collection
2. Forum Comments
3. Delegates
4. Presenters
5. Funding Body
6. Media Releases
7. The Puliima Team

Forum Comments

"Felt very welcome, it was a great experience to be a part of Puliima 09 and can't wait till Puliima 2011. Thank you for your hospitality, you mob did an excellent job with the forum keep up the good work again thank you."

David Ronan, Irra Wangga Language Programme

"I have been inspired to continue my work. Had a great time with people I have wanted to meet for a long time. I realised that I could start integrating the idea of reviving culture and language into the reality of the relationships I have built over the conference. I will be asking each person I communicate with how to address them in their own language, instead of using the English generic title of Uncle."

Maxine Cowie, Starjump

"Puliima far exceeded my expectations. The ACRA team ensured that the conference ran without a glitch and ensured that a diverse variety of presentations from a wide range of organisations were included in the conference."

Jedda Priman, Warrgamay Language Program

"It is really fantastic to see all the different ways technology can be used to ensure we keep our languages. It has given me the emotiional lift I needed to continue on working on my language. I may not be able to keep up to the technology but it is great to see the young people learning it."

Bridget Priman, Community Member

"Great to see an excellent response to the importance of preservation and maintenance for our indigenous languages."

Gadj Maymuru, Sharing Culture

"Excellent ran conference all information presented in a clear and easy understanding format."

Thomas Kinchela, Way Wurru and Dhudhuroa Language Program

"Loved the networking...great organisation and excellent presenters."

Mayrah Dreise, Community Member

"A great means to get Aboriginal languages and ICT together, always for the betterment of the field."

Greg Wilson, Department of Education & Children's Services (DECS)

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Delegates

Here is a sample list of the Nations from around Australia, Torres Strait Islands and New Zealand that the delegates came from:

Maratha	Pitjantjatjara	KatangWirangu
Gubi Gubbi	Yankunytjatjara	Kulkalgaw Ya
Antikirinya	Dulingbara	Arabana
Dharumbal	Badjala	Yolngu
Maori	Yuggera	Warlpiri
Anmatjere	Willinu	Pintubi
Wangkatja	Yeeralaraay	Gamilaroi
Wemba-Wemba	Awabakal	Tuangurung
Dieri	Warrgamay	Wiradjuri
Wajarri	Dhudhuroa	Way Wurru
Yorta Yorta	Ngarrindjerri	Jiman
Wergaia

 

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Presenters

We would like to thank all the presenters for doing such a fantastic job at Puliima 2009. We have received great feedback on the presentations.

Here is a list of the presenters and the topic of their presentation:

 

• Professors Tania Ka'ai & John Moorfield, Maori Language Institute - AUT University

Te Whanake Maori Language Teaching and Learning Resources

Click here to download a PDF of Tania & John's Power Point Presentation

Click here to download a PDF of Tania & John's Presentation Paper

Weblink - http://www.teipukarea.maori.nz

 

• Paul Paton and Dr Christina Eira, Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages

Talking Head Website

Weblink - http://www.vaclang.org.au

 

• John Toyne, NTICED

MARVIN Animation Program

Weblink - http://www.marvin.com.au/

 

• Alexander Pantelic, Printing Asia - Australia

Interactive Audio Pen

Weblink - http://www.printingasia.com/index.html

Click here to download a PDF of Alexander's Presentation

• Glenda Nalder, Griffith University

Language & Culture Courses in the HSC

Weblink - http://www.griffith.edu.au

 

• Dr Christina Eira, Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages

Miromaa & Beyond

Weblinks - http://www.miromaa.com.au or http://www.vaclang.org.au

 

• Cathy Bow & Karl Rolfe, SIL Australia

We Say - Dictionary Development Software

Click here to download a PDF of Cathy & Karl's Presentation Handout

Weblink - http://www.wesay.org/

 

• Gadj & Jodie Maymuru, Sharing Culture

Sharing Culture E Learning Resources

Weblink - http://www.sharingculture.com.au/

 

• Mayrah Dreise, Community Member

Preserving Traditional Songs & Dance

 

• Maxine Cowie, Starjump

Unlocking Literacy Program

Weblink - http://www.starjump.com.au

 

• Steven Bird, University of Melbourne

Open Language Archives Community

Weblink - http://www.language-archives.org

 

• Peter Henwood, Pak Media

Creating Language Audio Books

Weblink - http://www.papak.com.au

 

• Dr Heather Bowe of Monash University, Assoc Prof Kathy Lynch of University of the Sunshine Coast & Dr Julie Reid of Monash University

Aboriginal Languages of Victoria - Resource Portal for Languages Reclamation & Research

Click here to download a PDF of Heather, Kathy and Julie's Power Point Presentation

Weblink - http://alv.research.usc.edu.au

 

• Jason Lee, Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)

Online Community Access Program

Weblink - http://www.aiatsis.gov.au

 

• Andrew Lindsay, Musos Corner

Audio Recording - Good Practice & Hardware Demonstration

Weblink - Musos Corner

 

• Kazuko Obata, Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)

AustLang Language Database

Click here to download a PDF of AustLang Database Brochure

Weblink - http://www.aiatsis.gov.au

 

• Greg Wilson, Department of Education & Childrens Services (DECS)

Supporting Aboriginal Languages in Education Through ICT: South Australia Developments

Weblink - http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/

 

• Rachael Ka'ai Mahuta, Maori Language Institute - AUT University

Online Digital Repository of Maori Songs

Weblink - http://www.teipukarea.maori.nz

 

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Funding Body

The conference would not have been possible without the support of our main funding body, The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

 

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Media Release

National Puliima Forum Urges Use of ICTs to Keep Indigenous Australian Languages Alive

Click here to read the article

 

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The Puliima Team

 

ACRA Staff

Daryn McKenny
Anne Pearce
Jacqui Allen
Oliver Dowling
Aunt Phyllis Darcy
Kathryn Piper
Carissa Paglino
Kellie Pipe
Belinda Wright
Sharlene Dyer

 

VACL Staff

Katherine Clarke
Paul Paton

 

Binibar Staff

Jedda Priman
Faith Baisden

 

Volunteers

Marook Perry
Kiah Perry
Michelle Perry
Helen TreadgoldEmma George
Anne Blair
Stephanie May
Mondy Vilaisarn

 

Performers

Kevin Kropinyeri
Street Warriors
MZ Lyrikal
One Fire Dance Troupe
Katherine Clarke
Kutcher Edwards
Sean Harris
Clinton Dimer
Owen AtkinsonJayden Lillyst

 

Service Providers

William Angliss Institute Conference Centre
William Angliss Restaurant
Microhire
Flight Centre Newcastle
Silveradoh Promotional Products
Koori Heritage Trust
Black Olive Catering
Pack N Send
Atlantis Hotel
Harbourside Apartments
Wathaurong Glass

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