First Nations Media News : CONVERGE : Congratulations : Standing Strong : 1000 Jobs

Registrations for CONVERGE and First Nations Media Awards Night are now closed.
We're looking forward to bringing together media organisations from remote, regional and urban locations for our annual conference to be held on Arrernte country in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) next week. Our co-hosts, CAAMA are busy preparing to welcome delegates on Wednesday evening, followed by two days of leaning, sharing and celebrating excellence across all areas of the First Nations Media sector.

It's shaping up to be a full week with pre-conference workshops beginning on Tuesday on archiving, tech for the non-technical and governance. The week will wrap up with the First Nations Media Awards on Friday night.

Our warmest congratulations to Wilcannia River Radio who received the Tony Staley Award for Excellence in Community Broadcasting for their work on radio and supporting their community by supplying water. Gerry "Gman" Lyons won the Station Leadership Award for his amazing work at 3KND. Meanwhile Wangki Radio won both Excellence in News & Current Affairs Programming and Excellence in Digital Media and Ngaarda Media won the Excellence in Indigenous Broadcasting award.

We have loved seeing members of our sector acknowledged this way. Congratulations to all award recipients.

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gavin Jennings said, "The Honour Roll gives us an opportunity to reflect on the profound contribution Aboriginal Victorians have made – and continue to make – to our state.We would not be where we are today without their efforts."

Uncle Jim is a proud Torres Strait Islander man who has worked hard in Victoria to highlight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and community development. He was the Cultural Officer for the Dja Dja Wurrung Association in Bendigo and later became General Manager. He got involved in community media originally in Harcourt and went on to be a founding member of the National Indigenous Media Association (NIMA) and was on the original Board of NITV. He has contributed to the Community Broadcasting Foundation as a Board member and was involved in the establishment of NIRS. Over the course of a strong career in our sector, Jim has worked alongside many First Nations media organisations and has represented the sector internationally through the Oceania for the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, a United Nations-sponsored community radio group. Currently, he is a 3KND Board Member and Acting General Manager of the QRAM/Blackstar network based in Cairns. He retains strong ties to the Bendigo region in Victoria.

Jim has used this opportunity to highlight that radio offers the best opportunity to advance towards reconciliation and to call for modernised technology to grow audiences. Read more.

About 150 people went to Ikara Wilpena for a surprise This is your Life event for Vince Coulthard last week. Vince thought he was going to an event to celebrate the fact that his daughter was the first Adnyamathanha person to become a Senior Manager at Wilpena. But as the celebration started, the host for the day Clinton Dadleh, changed the focus with the words "Uncle Vince, this is your life..."

Vince was given a full standing ovation from the whole crowd and Clinton then took the crowd on a journey through Vince’s life, starting from when he was born at Leigh Creek and growing up at Nepabunna. There were many guest speakers including Bob Ellis an anthropologist who has known Vince since he was 13 years old, three old workmates from National Parks and there were also video messages from people who couldn’t be there, including Joy McKean (Slim Dusty’s wife), Adam Goodes, Senator Patrick Dodson who joked about how they get mistaken for each other, as well as messages from people who went to school with him at Nepabunna. The commentary continued showcasing just some of Vince’s achievements, including as an ATSIC Councillor, CEO of Umeewarra Media and his work for the Adnyamathanha people.

Vince was presented with a portrait painted by Anne Best, a renowned South Australian artist, who has know Vince for several decades and a copy of an updated version of Yuru and Udnyu by Peggy Brock which features a section about Vince. Gayle Mather from Umeewarra Media has written a book about Vince which is available to buy through the station (email producer@umeewarramedia.com).

Vince is a Board member for First Nations Media Australia and a strong leader in our industry. We're thrilled to see his dedication to his community recognised by everyone around him in this way.

3CR launched the 2019 Beyond the Bars CD at MAYSAR in Melbourne last week. The CD features stories, songs, opinions and poems from over 100 men and women in the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Barwon Prison, Fulham Correctional Centre, Marngoneet Correctional Centre, Karreenga Annex, Loddon Prison and Port Phillip Prison. The First Nations broadcast team at 3CR present these special broadcasts for NAIDOC Week. At the launch panelists Vivian Malo, Kevin Russell, Stephen Thorpe and Sarah-Jane Bond about the experience with the project lead by Kutcha Edwards who performed a new song on the night and Kerri-Lee Harding as MC. The discussion included prison life, justice and the power of radio.
View the video of the discussion here.

First Nations media organisations were out in force last week, reporting on rallies across the country calling for #justiceforwalker. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander journalists shared stories and supported the Yuendumu community across CAAMA, NITV, 989FM, Ngaarda Media, PAKAM, TEABBA, ARDS, Bumma Bippera Media, ABC, Koori Mail, mainstream print media and other networks. We're proud to see reports from Elders and FNMA members standing strong through media. We are sorry for the sadness in Yuendumu at this time.

First Nations Media Australia shared the media protocols from family advising media organisations on how they would like the story represented. The video can be viewed on our Facebook page.

First Nations Media Australia sends our condolences to the Broome community on the passing of Stephen Baamba Albert in Perth last week. Baamba was well known for his starring roles in Bran Nue Dae and Corrugation Road, as well as numerous other roles in television, film and stage, building on his established career as a professional musician. While he is remembered for his humour and goodwill in the arts, we will remember him also for his contribution and leadership within the First Nations media industry, particularly as one of the Founders of Broome Aboriginal Media Association, which led to Goolarri Media Enterprises. Through his platform of Chairperson of BAMA and Director of Goolarri, he encouraged the development of pathways for young people taking up careers in the performing arts. Baamba attended many First Nations media events and conferences and we all benefited from his generous good will. Baamba’s story will live on, backed by the saltwater music of the unique and magical town of Broome, his home and the place he loved.

Emoji nhenheareye arrwekele anthurre Australia-kenhe!
The inDigiMOB team will be celebrating the launch of Indigemoji on Friday 22 November at the Alice Springs Library.
The new app features 90 emoji stickers representing life and culture in Arrernte country, Central Australia. The emoji's were developed by young people and local artists with support from senior Arrernte advisors. They're free for you to use!
If you're in Alice Springs, come along to the launch at the Library from 4-6pm - free BBQ!

The Department of Health is offering grants to support the implementation of the National Women’s Strategy and the National Men’s Strategy to raise public awareness of health promotion activities. Grants are typically between $60,000-$120,000 for activities that improve health literacy, including increased understanding of risk and opportunities for improving health and increased understanding of mechanisms to improve health literacy. Applications are open now and close on 25 November 2019.