PRESS RELEASE

SPINIFEX CHILDREN FROM ONE OF THE REMOTEST COMMUNITIES IN AUSTRALIA PERFORM THEIR SONGS & STORIES ON INDIGENOUS LITERACY DAY, WEDNESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER

Tjuntjuntjara Remote Community is home of the Spinifex People and a million worlds away from the bustling Sydney metropolis. The community is located in the , close to the border with , north of the and 680 Kilometres north-east of .

When the kids from one of the remotest desert communities in arrive to take part in Indigenous Literacy Day celebrations at the Sydney Opera House, they’ll bring something very special to share: their own stories.

Published in a book called HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? the stories will be read and introduced to hundreds of Sydney students at the Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s event – which includes a Great Book Swap and some of Australia’s best loved children’s storytellers like Andy Griffiths, Anita Heiss and musician Josh Pyke.

Hosted by NITV news presenter Natalie Ahmat, the event will also include Ursula Yovich and 13 year old Lachie Coman, a Melbourne school boy who visited the community and inspired them to write these stories; and who brought the stories back to our Foundation to publish.

Indigenous Literacy Day has been running since 2007 and is celebrated nationally across Australia by thousands of school children who hold Great Book Swaps and other fundraising events from morning teas, author readings, peer-reading, book character parades, and many other activities.

INDIGENOUS LITERACY FOUNDATION

Our Foundation is a national charity initiated by the Australian Book Industry. In the past four years we have sent over 100,000 culturally appropriate books and resources to more than 200 remote communities; have launched an early literacy Board Book project that goes into homes and playgroups in four remote communities and which has included translations into first language of books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In addition, we publish community literacy projects, written by children and/or community and in 2013 we have published books for Cherbourg, Thursday Island, Warburton and Tjuntjuntjara in WA. Later this year, we will publish two books for Yakanarra Community School (the Kimberleys) that have been translated into language (Yakanarra Dogs & A Yakanarra Day ) and a book from Nyrripi in Northern Territory.

Further information on our foundation is on: www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au Contact: Karen Williams on 04040 75924 or 9698 2884