Audrey Napanangka is a documentary for change
We’re working on an impact and education campaign, with a vision and commitment to making change. To support the campaign, donate at our Documentary Australia campaign page.
Actions you can take
Watch the film
Invite your friends over to watch Audrey Napanangka on NITV Sunday November 12 at 8:30pm.
Donate to our impact campaign
First Nations people in Australia belong to the world's oldest, continuing cultures. Elders have kept language and knowledge strong for thousands of generations, through intergenerational storytelling.
The weight of colonisation on intergenerational storytelling is heavy. While First Nations cultures are incredibly strong and resilient, we need everyone to work together to ensure First Nations children stay with family and community. Our vision is to eliminate the overrepresentation of First Nations children in out-of-home care and the youth justice system, by backing community-driven initiatives that support First Nations families.
Advocate
Write a letter to the Northern Territory Minister for Children, Hon Kate Worden Minister.Worden@nt.gov.au.
Copy, paste and personalise our template below.
Educate yourself
Watch other documentaries:
Learn from other educational resources:
Donate to one of our partners
Donate to one of our partners to support First Nations families.
Our partners
Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service
The Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service (CAYLUS) supports community initiatives that improve quality of life and address substance misuse affecting young people. They provide youth program infrastructure and resources, and work directly with families and Aboriginal youth workers in remote communities.
Tangentyere Council
Tangentyere Council is an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation. They deliver a wide range of services and participatory development activities to more than 10,000 people in Alice Springs, its Town Camps, and Central Australia.
The Justice Reform Initiative
The Justice Reform Initiative is a national organisation working to reduce over-incarceration across Australia. They're working to shift public conversation and policy away from building more prisons and towards alternative evidence-based approaches that break the incarceration cycle.
Letter to the NT Minister for Children
Hon Kate Worden
Minister for Territory Families
Northern Territory Government
Dear Minister,
It is unacceptable that First Nations children continue to be removed from their families at an alarming rate either to be placed in out-of-home care or custody.
I wish to remind you of the obligation to ensure that all children in care or custody have the ability to remain in a meaningful relationship with their family, community and culture. For First Nations children, this includes respecting their cultural relationships to Country.
I respectfully remind you the Charter of Rights for Children and Young People includes: To keep in contact with my family, friends and people and places that matter to me.
Policy: Charter of Rights for Children and Young People (nt.gov.au)
I call on your government to advocate strongly for better support for First Nations children, their families and communities. First and foremost, this should be focused on meeting the needs of families early and preventing engagement with child protection authorities or legal systems. These efforts should understand the role that parents, extended family and communities all play in bringing up children to be strong, happy and well. This could be supported by a media campaign that advocates for the rights of children and focuses on the need to support families during hard times.
I wish for you to advocate for and support kinship carers and have them linked with independent case managers who can support them.
I call for more First Nations staff from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, who understand that poverty and poor access to safe and affordable housing do not mean children are not loved and cared for. We have a shared obligation to address poverty so that all children can thrive.
I believe that developing a new independent physical space where families, particularly those separated by the foster system, can be reunited and relax together will create greater harmony.
Community-driven programs that support families are very important to the wellbeing of the community in the Northern Territory. We know that First Nations communities thrive when they have control over decisions that affect them. All First Nations children and young people deserve to feel safe and connected with Country, community and kin.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]