What does it mean to reclaim a language? In the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages, determined leaders are revitalising and cultivating languages in their communities. Join Barada, Yiman, Gangulu and Gureng Gureng linguist Gari Tudor-Smith, co-author of Bina: First Nations Languages, Old and New, contributor to Words to Sing the World Alive, Cheryl Leavy, and Samantha Penangka Armstrong, a "Language Nest" co-ordinator at the Pertame School, in conversation with Arrernte linguist Camile Dobson.



This project is supported by the Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund.



Strong language warning.

What does it mean to reclaim a language? In the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages, determined leaders are revitalising and cultivating languages in their communities. Join Barada, Yiman, Gangulu and Gureng Gureng linguist Gari Tudor-Smith, co-author of Bina: First Nations Languages, Old and New, contributor to Words to Sing the World Alive, Cheryl Leavy, and Samantha Penangka Armstrong, a "Language Nest" co-ordinator at the Pertame School, in conversation with Arrernte linguist Camile Dobson.
 
This project is supported by the Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund.
 
Strong language warning.

The NT Writers Festival is an annual celebration of stories, language, culture and ideas shaped by place that alternates each year between Mparntwe/Alice Springs and Garramilla/Darwin.

The NT Writers Festival brings readers, writers and lovers of stories together to listen deeply – to each other, and to a diverse line-up of writers from across the country who share truths, invite us to listen to the land, and help us imagine a different future. 

In 2024, NTWF returned to Larrakia country, Darwin. The NT Writers Festival was centred around the theme Reverberations, discussing the effects of our past, present and future as we think about the consequences of our actions.

In 2023, NTWF was held in Mparntwe and explored the theme of mwantye-le awaye | listen deeply. In Arrernte, mwantye-le awaye means to listen closely, to give things attention. 


Recorded by 8CCC Community Radio. Theme music composed by Vito Lucarelli. 

 

The <a href="https://www.ntwriters.com.au/nt-writers-festival/">NT Writers Festival</a>&nbsp;is an annual celebration of stories, language, culture and ideas shaped by place that alternates each year between&nbsp;Mparntwe/Alice Springs and Garramilla/Darwin.
The NT Writers Festival brings readers, writers and lovers of stories together to listen deeply &ndash; to each other, and to a diverse line-up of writers from across the country who share truths, invite us to listen to the land, and help us imagine a different future.&nbsp;
In 2024, NTWF returned to Larrakia country, Darwin. The NT Writers Festival was centred around the theme&nbsp;Reverberations, discussing the effects of our past, present and future as we think about the consequences of our actions.
In 2023, NTWF was held in Mparntwe and explored the theme of mwantye-le awaye | listen deeply. In Arrernte, mwantye-le awaye means to listen closely, to give things attention.&nbsp;
 Recorded by 8CCC Community Radio. Theme music composed by&nbsp;Vito&nbsp;Lucarelli.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

NT Writers Festival

NTWF 2025 - Language Is Power

Clear your mind and learn about the Pitjantjatjara concept of listening in this special presentation by Alison Milyika (Tjulapi) Carroll and Margaret Smith from the NPY Women's Council Uti Kulintjaku Collective. Be guided through a Pitjantjatjara meditation, and learn about the work of the collective and about the words ‘kulintjaku/kulintja/kulini’, which combine concepts of both listening and understanding.

In Pitjantjatjara, uti kulintjaku means ‘clear thinking with an intention to understand'. The Uti Kulintjaku initiative brings together ngangkari, senior Indigenous women, and western health professionals to explore mental health concepts from both Aboriginal and western perspectives. Interpreter Kathy Tozer translated from Pitjantjatjara for this session supported by NPY Women's Council.

This podcast contains the Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) of the nangkari (traditional healers) and senior women from Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara lands.Dealing with any part of this traditional knowledge for any purpose not authorised by the custodians may be a breach of their ICIP. 

Clear your mind and learn about the Pitjantjatjara concept of listening in this special presentation by Alison Milyika (Tjulapi) Carroll and Margaret Smith from the NPY Women's Council Uti Kulintjaku Collective. Be guided through a Pitjantjatjara meditation, and learn about the work of the collective and about the words ‘kulintjaku/kulintja/kulini’, which combine concepts of both listening and understanding.
In Pitjantjatjara, uti kulintjaku means ‘clear thinking with an intention to understand'. The Uti Kulintjaku initiative brings together ngangkari, senior Indigenous women, and western health professionals to explore mental health concepts from both Aboriginal and western perspectives. Interpreter Kathy Tozer translated from Pitjantjatjara for this session supported by NPY Women's Council.
This podcast contains the Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) of the nangkari (traditional healers) and senior women from Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara lands. Dealing with any part of this traditional knowledge for any purpose not authorised by the custodians may be a breach of their ICIP.

NTWF 2023 – Morning Meditations – Uti Kulintjaku

Pulitzer Prize–winning author and journalist, Geraldine Brooks, joins us via livestream from Sydney to discuss her sweeping historical novel, Horse. Weaving together the tale of a painting discarded in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the true story of America’s greatest racehorse, Horse is a multi-layered novel that reckons with the corrosive legacy of slavery and racism in America. Revered for her ability to vividly evoke the textures of different historical eras, Geraldine appears in conversation with Alex Barwick.

This event was presented in partnership with Sydney Writers' Festival.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author and journalist, Geraldine Brooks, joins us via livestream from Sydney to discuss her sweeping historical novel, Horse. Weaving together the tale of a painting discarded in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the true story of America’s greatest racehorse, Horse is a multi-layered novel that reckons with the corrosive legacy of slavery and racism in America. Revered for her ability to vividly evoke the textures of different historical eras, Geraldine appears in conversation with Alex Barwick.
This event was presented in partnership with Sydney Writers' Festival.

NTWF 2023 - Horse by Geraldine Brooks

In this powerful panel, three queer First Nations writers with ancestral connections to different continents – Ellen van Neerven (Mununjali Yugambeh), Victoria Alondra (Mestizx), and Billy-Ray Belcourt (Driftpile Cree) – discuss how they survive and resist oppressive social structures, finding love, joy and solidarity in community, culture and country, as well as through writing and art.

This conversation is facilitated by Wiradjuri writer, poet and academic, Jeanine Leane. Billy-Ray Belcourt joins the conversation via videolink from Vancouver. 

CW: This discussion briefly references suicidal ideation.

In this powerful panel, three queer First Nations writers with ancestral connections to different continents – Ellen van Neerven (Mununjali Yugambeh), Victoria Alondra (Mestizx), and Billy-Ray Belcourt (Driftpile Cree) – discuss how they survive and resist oppressive social structures, finding love, joy and solidarity in community, culture and country, as well as through writing and art.
This conversation is facilitated by Wiradjuri writer, poet and academic, Jeanine Leane. Billy-Ray Belcourt joins the conversation via videolink from Vancouver. 
CW: This discussion briefly references suicidal ideation.

NTWF 2025 - Language Is Power

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