Richard at the launch of indigenous Kriol language children’s books at the Sydney Opera House.
Did you know that Kriol is the largest contemporary Aboriginal language spoken in Australia today, stretching from the Kimberleys in Western Australia through to the Gulf areas in Queensland?
To find out more about books written in this indigenous language, visit the ILF website.
Can you imagine not being able to read a newspaper, a road sign or directions on a bottle of medication? Sadly, this is the reality faced by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders today.
Improving Literacy
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is a national, not-for-profit charity focused on improving literacy levels in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Only 34% of Indigenous Year 5 students in very remote areas are at or above national minimum reading standards, compared to 95% for non-Indigenous students in major cities, according to the 2017 National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The situation is improving but there is still a long way to go and the challenges are immense.
Apart from the historical, health, social, and educational challenges, many remote communities don’t have many, if any, books. Most of the remote communities with which the Indigenous Literacy Foundation work, report there are less than five books in family homes.
The ILF’s approach in raising literacy levels, is at a community level with supplying appropriate, quality books to organisations operating in remote communities.
Help Close the Gap
To find out more about ILF, the beneficial work they undertake and how you can help, click on the button below.
The Australian Publishers Association, the Australian Booksellers Association, the Australian Society of Authors, and the Children’s Book Council of Australia all support the ILF.
This team of ambassadors, volunteers and full-time staff run core programs which give away tens of thousands of new books annually, run literacy projects and organise major fundraising events, including Indigenous Literacy Day.
