Multimedia support for use and preservation of Indigenous languages (fwd)

[Phil Cash Cash]

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: www.richardalston.dcita.gov.au