We are incredibly proud to announce that the Colin Biggers & Paisley Foundation's next major partnership will be with the
Indigenous Literacy Foundation (
ILF). In line with the Foundation's focus areas of children and young people and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, we have partnered with the ILF to support their work to drive awareness around Indigenous literacy in Australia and by generating life-changing, practical support for these children and Communities.
Literacy provides a fundamental step of building context, comprehension and understanding. Children who miss this step have lifelong impacts on their educational journey. Literacy is a foundational skill and helps children navigate the world around them. It is fundamentally a human right. Many remote Indigenous Communities across Australia do not have libraries or bookstores and access to reading material is extremely limited.
The ILF is a Community-led organisation that works to ensure access to culturally appropriate literacy materials to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Communities across Australia. The ILF supports Communities to create and publish their stories in languages of their choice. The ILF’s three programs, Book Supply, Book Buzz and Community Publishing, focus on ensuring access to quality resources, including books in First Languages, publishing Community stories and supporting Communities and families to lead the entire process to ensure leadership, ownership, and authenticity is held with Community Elders and residents.
To help support ILF's work, the Foundation is providing a range of pro bono legal services, donations, fundraising, employee contributions, in-kind support and volunteering. Over the next two years, we will all be given the opportunity to help provide equity of opportunity for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to ensure they have future choice in education, health and general wellbeing
, by bringing our core skills, resources, people and energy, together with ILF's knowledge and expertise.
“Our Communities and families are strong. They are the backbone of our culture and our first educators. My aim is for remote Communities to drive our process; to anchor the ILF's literacy programs into the family and Community structures. It is a powerful thing that can change the world for us. We look forward to working with Colin Biggers & Paisley to help achieve our goals.”
Ben Bowen, Wiradjuri man, CEO of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
"
We are delighted to announce our partnership with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) a significant step in support of our Innovate RAP's vision for Reconciliation; to create positive change and help achieve greater justice and social equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This partnership is an opportunity for us to create a demonstrable impact. By combining our resources, skills, and passion with the ILF's expertise, we aim to drive awareness, provide essential support, and foster equity of opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children."
Nick Crennan, Managing Partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley.