Oxford University Press has been working with The Fred Hollows Foundation and local Indigenous kids and teachers from around Australia to capture their stories and publish them in a new Oxford Literacy big book called Indigenous Kids: Brave and Brilliant. Oxford University Press is also donating a percentage of sales of Indigenous Kids: Brave and Brilliant to The Foundation.

Oxford University Press and The Foundation believe that Australia’s Indigenous people should enjoy the same education, employment and societal opportunities as other Australians. However, a lack of literacy skills among Indigenous communities is a common and critical barrier to participating in activities that many of us take for granted.

There is an enormous gap in the English literacy levels of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia. The gap is even wider for Indigenous people living in remote and isolated communities. For example, benchmark testing in schools has found that less than one in five children living in very remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory can read at the accepted minimum standard.

To help alleviate this literacy disadvantage, The Foundation is currently working with remote Indigenous communities in central Northern Territory and in western New South Wales. They are using a three-way approach to build literacy skills and each of their projects aims to promote:

• Cultural Literacy – connecting people, particularly young people, to their culture and traditional language
• Practical literacy – developing the skills needed for daily activities
• English literacy – promoting skills in English reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Oxford University Press is promoting cultural literacy through the Oxford Literacy project. The books in the series are all about connecting Australian kids – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – to their cultures.

 

Links:

Indigenous Literacy Day – 3 September 2008