Media Support

[Andre Cramblit]

Multimedia support for use and preservation of Indigenous languages
http://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_4-2_4008-4_116619,00.html

The Australian Government will fund an innovative multimedia initiative to
support remote Indigenous communities in the use and preservation of their
languages.

The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts,
Senator Richard Alston, said the Government will invest $400,000 in the
development of multimedia language education resources that will contribute
to the preservation and use of five Indigenous languages across Australia.

These resources will contribute to Indigenous language activities in a
number of areas to make learning more attractive to young students through
the use of information technology. A series of CD-ROMs and associated
training - possibly including games, songs and resource books - will be
developed over the next 12 months for delivery to communities by early
2005.

The project is an important part of the Government's $8.3 million
Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities (TAPRIC),
which is also improving access to computers and the Internet for remote
Indigenous communities.

Multimedia production company Multilocus Interactive will develop the
Indigenous language resources in partnership with community Language
Centres  in selected regions of Western Australia, South Australia, the
Northern Territory and New South Wales.

The Language Centres are part of a network operating across Australia to
provide an information and resource base for Indigenous community language
programs, and will ensure that communities have a strong role in the
project. Multilocus Interactive will also work closely with Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS).

Copyright and control of language materials used in developing the project
will remain with the language community. Intellectual property arrangements
will also allow communities to further develop their language products,
providing the potential for future commercial opportunities.

The multimedia language education resources project is part of a broader
TAPRIC Online Content Development Program, which will complement other
initiatives contained in the Australian Government's response to the
Regional Telecommunications Inquiry (RTI), including the Higher Bandwidth
Incentive Scheme (HBIS), the Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund
(CCIF), and the IT training and support services funding for regional
Australia.

The framework and support the Australian Government is putting in place,
through TAPRIC and its response to the RTI, is continuing to help remote
Indigenous communities to meet their objectives for ongoing community and
economic development.

The Government announced its comprehensive response to the 39
recommendations of the independent RTI on 25 June 2003. The response
includes allocating more than $180 million to a number of initiatives aimed
at further improving existing telecommunications services, 'locking in'
service improvements and 'future proofing' telecommunications services in
regional, rural and remote Australia. These initiatives will ensure that
improvements to services achieved in recent years are maintained into the
future and that regional users share equitably in the benefits of future
advances in technology.

The Government is acting on the RTI recommendations as a matter of priority
and its response will be delivered in full regardless of any change in the
future ownership of Telstra.

 Media contact: Simon Troeth 02 6277 7480 or 0439 425 373 Website:
http://www.richardalston.dcita.gov.au