Aboriginal Literacy Foundation

26/08/2026

This week is Children's Book Week 2026! It's now half-way through, and we've seen some great costumes at events across schools in Australia. Has your community done anything special to celebrate reading?

19/08/2026

As the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation awaits entries for our 2026 Poetry Competition, here's a throwback to our first winner in 2022, 'Gija Country Rap' by the Nawarrarram class of Purnululu Independent School!

The ALF awards money to the winning school and students, and we have had many great entries since the competition started. Watch this space to see other past winners and which students will win this year!

28/07/2026

We at the ALF would like to thank all of our supporters for their donations and contributions for this year's end of financial year campaign.

It's through your support that we can continue our programs providing young Indigenous people with tutoring, books and other assistance.

22/06/2026

Some words from long-time friend Auntie Ann about the need for children to read, and the importance of tutoring for young Aboriginal people.

You can donate to the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation's End of Financial Year appeal, which is focusing on providing books to schools across Australia, using the link below.

https://aboriginalliteracyfoundation.org/EOFY26/

17/06/2026

The Winter 2026 edition of the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation's newsletter, ALFABET, is now available online.

See inside for news about our programs, including Books to the North and our after-school tutoring.

You can view the digital copy of the newsletter here:

https://aboriginalliteracyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Winter_Newsletter_2026_Low_Resolution.pdf

15/06/2026

We would like to thank the City of Ballarat for their generous contribution toward our Literacy Tutoring for Aboriginal students in Ballarat. Through a Community Impact Grant we received a contribution to our tutoring program, which greatly benefits the students we tutor every week during the school term.

10/06/2026

A state funeral will be held for Professor Peter Buckskin, a Narungga man from the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia who spent his life improving educational standards for Indigenous people, first as a teacher and then as a professor and advisor for Australian policy and teaching methods.

Among many achievements spanning more than forty years, he was the inaugural chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation, as well as representing Australia to the United Nations on matters of Indigenous rights.

The funeral will be held on June 12 at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Newton, South Australia.

A state funeral to honour the life and achievements of Professor Peter Buckskin AM PSM will be held at 10:30am on Friday 12 June 2026 at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Kaurna Country, Newton.

28/05/2026

This year's Australian Book Industry Awards have seen many Aboriginal winners, as well as an Indigenous-run publisher.

Of the winners this year, Angie Faye Martin won the New Writer of the Year for her crime thriller Melaleuca, while the oral history A Piece of Red Cloth won the award for Social Impact Book of the Year, by Yolŋu custodians Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, Djawa Burarrwanga, Djawundil Maymura and author Leonie Norrington.

Other winners were Dr Evelyn Araluen for Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year with The Rot; and Kaylene Whiskey and Natalie King for Illustrated Book of the Year with The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do you believe in love?

The winner for the Book of the Year for Younger Children was Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles, by Ben Williams and Corey Tutt.

Small Publisher of the Year and Children's Publisher of the Year also went to Magabala books, based in Broome, which focuses on Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander authors and illustrators.

Congratulations to everyone who won awards this year!

Indigenous authors and publishers are prominent among those who were honoured on Thursday night at the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards.The Awards were presented by Books+Publishing (B+P), in part...

10/05/2026

Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy has announced a new national vocational centre for First Nations people, named the Indigenous Centre of Vocational Excellence (ICOVE).

"By embedding First Nations voices, leadership and evidence-based practice within the VET system, the centre will strengthen pathways to sustainable economic participation," Minister McCarthy said.

The centre will be run by the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services and the Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative in Sydney, and will focus on creating more employment pathways for Indigenous people in Australia.

A new national Indigenous vocational education body aimed at improving training and employment outcomes for First Nations people will be established under the Federal Government.Named the Indigenous C...

21/04/2026

Ngununggula, an art gallery in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, is exhibiting artworks from woman artists from Tangentyere and Yarrenyty Arltere (Alice Springs region), alongside the work of Arrernte and Kalkadoon artist Thea Anamara Perkins.

The exhibition is titled Old Days, New Days, and focuses on storytelling, representation, and communal art-making. It also includes a new children's book by artist Marjorie Williams, 'Old Days', in the form of an immersive installation.

Ngununggula, the Southern Highlands regional art gallery, has unveiled Old Days, New Days | Arlta-imankinya, Arlta-errama; a major new all-women exhibition bringing together artists from Tangentyere a...