First Nations Media Australia Newsletter

FNMA conducted Converge 2024, again in Canberra, where this was an opportunity for our sector to not only stay connected but hear firsthand from key stakeholders around the future of our sector, and for our membership base to clearly articulate further needs within the Calls for Action, so government can consider this as part of a new Strategy.

We held the first of three First Nations Digital Inclusion Forums on day one, where we heard from Government and industry leaders in telecommunications about what is happening in digital inclusion within remote Australia. This forum created an opportunity for participants to provide feedback on their experiences as it relates to digital inclusion including what is working on the ground and where the greatest need is.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our membership, our sponsors and everyone who contributed to making Converge 2024 a resounding success. Your engagement, along with the diverse showcases and thought-provoking discussion, has added tremendous value to our collective journey.

Please feel free to browse the photos from the event here.

Further to the announcement at the FNMA Awards 2024, we are pleased to announce the dates for the 2025 Converge Conference on Larrakia Country (Darwin, NT) are Tuesday 29th, Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st July 2025.

The program for 2025 will be similar to last year, where we will hold the 2025 Digital Inclusion Forum on day one, followed by two days of the First Nations media industry learning, sharing and networking, then a night of celebration for our annual FNMA Awards 2025.

FNMA will be contacting members in March 2025 in regard to Travel Subsidies.

We look forward to catching up with you all - stay tuned for more updates!

The Archiving Project is well underway now.

The concern is with preserving analogue collections - cassettes and reel to reel audio tapes, VHS and SVHS videos and film - as these are susceptible to deterioration.

The approach we are taking was discussed extensively at the Converge Conference in Canberra.

The steps we outlined are: conserving the analogue collections (storing and packaging), auditing (seeing how much material is in the collection), cleaning (tapes are prone to mould and other contaminants), cataloguing and digitising, and then making the collections public (if wanted). This is all dependent on budget as has been outlined from the commencement

We have contracted AITSIS to conduct a thorough audit of the collections in those organisations that have repositories of analogue material. We identified 12 member organisations that want an audit. Mark Denbar, from AITSIS, has arranged a schedule to conduct the audits and is currently working his way through the list of organisations over February and March this year. The Audit Report he provides for each organisation is very thorough.

We will work together with each audited organisation to prepare an Archiving Plan, which may include the distribution of packaging that could be helpful in ensuring the current collection is safe and secure.

We are now in discussion with the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) in Canberra to deliver training to member organisations that want archiving training. We hope this will be arranged in early April.

New research on the Indigenous broadcasting sector has been released, following 12 months of fieldwork and analysis by a team from Griffith University. The report, Radio, Television and Digital Media in 21st Century Indigenous Broadcasting: A Place of Old and New Ways, was supported by funds from the National Indigenous Australians Agency, and published by Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. You can find the link to the report here.

The research team, comprised of Susan Forde, Harry Van Issum, Debbie Bargallie, Troy Meston, Heather Anderson, and Suus de Groot Heupner, ran 20 yarning sessions and workshops in 18 urban, regional and remote communities. The team wishes to thank the amazing broadcasters and audience members from all the stations who hosted our visits and who gave the team such important information about the current and future needs of the sector.