The NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust will be celebrating the Inaugural NSW Aboriginal Languages Week from 22-29 October.
The theme of the week is "Languages Alive, Culture Thrives".
During the week the Trust will support local community events to shine a spotlight on Aboriginal languages and celebrate the work of Aboriginal Communities across the State to keep Aboriginal languages alive.
The week also marks the sixth anniversary of the passing of the NSW Aboriginal Languages Act on 24 October 2017, the first legislation of its kind in Australia to acknowledge and advocate for the revitalisation of First Languages.
The Trust have also partnered with leading artist and musician, Barkaa, and comedian and entertainer, Andy Saunders, as ambassadors of the week to bring impact in highlighting the importance of revitalising Aboriginal languages.
As part of the campaign for NSW Aboriginal Languages Week, our ambassadors have each embarked on a language journey, reconnecting with their ancestral language and speaking on Country.
"It's been an absolute honour being a Language ambassador and I'm really excited to just be able to push this forward and be a part of it with this amazing mob out here revitalising Language," Barkaa said.
"A lot of our mob weren't allowed to speak Language, so we're reviving that and that's taking back our power."
"I think it's important to keep our Languages strong for the future and for the survival of our culture. Culture is made up of a few elements but one of the strongest elements is Language," Mr Saunders said.
To launch the week, the Trust have also organised the first NSW Aboriginal Languages Festival which will take place from 10.00am-3.30pm on Saturday 21 October at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern.
MCed by Mr Saunders, this family-friendly event will feature live performances from local artists, Blak Markets, language lessons, food trucks, inflatable slides, weaving and more.
The Aboriginal Languages Trust is an Aboriginal-led NSW Government Agency that aids in the growth and nurturing of NSW Aboriginal languages by responding to the aspirations of Communities and participating in their selfdetermining work to reclaim and reawaken their languages.
