STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS MEET WITH LANGUAGE CENTRES TO CLOSE THE GAP

BY CONRAD MACLEAN

Sue Hanson, senior Linguist and Manager at Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre, working with a member of the community. Credit: Supplied.

Delegates from Language Centres across WA met with state government officials last week to discuss ways to strengthen Aboriginal languages. 

Attendees at the meeting planned how to reach Target 16 of the Close the Gap Strategy, which aims to increase the number and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages spoken in Australia. 

The meeting was attended by public servants from the Departments of Education, Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, and Justice.  

Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre Manager Susan Hanson attended the meeting and said strategies to achieve Target 16 needs to be localised.

“Discussion and action towards achieving Target 16 is not just at a high level,” she said.

“It needs to be with grassroots organisations and First Nations groups on the field,” she said.

“We really want to give voice to those First Nations languages of the Goldfield directly to the government, rather than it being filtered through various entities until it reaches the Premier.”

Listen to the full interview: