‘There was enormous excitement, energy and packed audiences talking about and celebrating Indigenous Literacy Day last week,' according to Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP) manager Karen Williams.

Indigenous Literacy Day was held around the country on Wednesday 3 September. Participating bookstores and publishers kindly donated 5% of sales on the day to support children of remote Indigenous communities who otherwise have minimal access to books and resources. The day is a partnership between the Australian book industry and the Fred Hollows Foundation, under the patronage of Therese Rein.

‘It will take approximated six to eight weeks to know whether we're achieved our fundraising goal,' Williams told WBN. ‘We're very pleased to announce though, together with donations from the general public, our year to date fundraising is just over $100,000.'

‘In addition to the very strong bookshop and publisher support (up by 20-30%), just over 180 schools registered to participate in ILD and many held special literary and fundraising activities throughout the day,' said Williams. ‘ILD Head Office was inundated by phone calls from the general public inquiring about which local bookshops were supporting the cause and many participating bookshops reported that customers specifically supported the cause, saving up their book-buying for 3 September'.

‘[Booksellers] David Gaunt [ILP chair] and Suzy Wilson [ILP founder], together with ambassadors such as Anita Heiss, Tara June Winch, May O'Brien and Sally Morgan, were kept very busy with print and radio interviews reaching every corner of Australia from Broome to Alice Springs to Far North Queensland as well as major capitals', Williams reported.

WBN was able to attend the evening event at the State Library of Victoria, overseen by Joel Becker of the Victorian Writers' Centre. The evening featured talks by Alexis Wright, Arnold Zable, John Marsden, and Adrian Hyland. The audience of around 50 was able to raise around $1,800 through donations at the door and an auction. Books in the auction were kindly donated by publishers and other organisations, and the Victorian Writers' Centre's auctioned off a five-year membership.

The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) made a generous donation to the Indigenous Literacy project of $3,078--one dollar on behalf of each of its members. ASA executive director Jeremy Fisher said that despite the fact his was not a rich organisation, the ASA wanted to contribute as much as it could. ‘The lack of literacy in Indigenous communities is a major problem for Australia,' he said. Many individual members of the ASA have been involved in the project including ASA Chair Anita Heiss as ambassador, along with Andy Griffiths, Kate Grenville, and Alexis Wright.

Prior to the day, a pre-launch held at The Lodge with Indigenous Literacy Project Patron Therese Rein was reported nationally on TV and in print. Williams says this ‘certainly helped to boost general awareness and support for the day'.

A round-up of events around the country saw Kate Grenville at the National Library of Australia in Canberra; and in NSW, storytelling at Sydney Grammar School, PEN at the NSW State Library, a Gleebooks launch and fundraiser, and a luncheon at Tranby Aboriginal College. In NT, there was music and storytelling at Casuarina Senior College. In QLD, poets, authors and songwriters were at the State Library of Queensland, and Avid Reader Bookshop had an ILD launch. In South Australia, 13 Ngarrindjeri Nation women presented their stories at the Kerry Packer Civic Gallery. In Tasmania, there was an event at the University of Tasmania, and Tasmanian authors at Riawunna. Victoria had authors at Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar, the mentioned authors at the State Library of Victoria , a book launch and celebration at Reader's Feast Bookstore (which attracted over 100 people); and WA had authors at the State Library of Western Australia.

Williams says she and the project coordinators ‘were absolutely delighted by the enthusiastic support and feedback'. They were incredibly pleased with ‘an amazing line-up of authors, playwrights and celebrities from TV, sport, music, education and the arts' who ‘generously gave their time to talk about the importance of literacy'.

ILP chair David Gaunt said this level of national support could not have been achieved without the ‘amazing commitment from key partners around Australia who engaged hundreds of school students, libraries, universities and general members of the public in a real celebration of Indigenous storytelling'.

Source:http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2008/09/09475/

Tags: booksellers, david gaunt, ilp chair, ilp founder, suzy wilson