6am. The Sydney Morning Herald hits the newsagents and word is out, ILD is launched. At the ABC Deborah Cameron interviews Kate Grenville and talks about the recent trip east of Katherine.
Across Sydney, at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College in Kensington, 800 girls sing Advance Australia Fair at a school assembly and listen as David Gaunt speaks about another community of kids living in remote parts of Australia. How is it possible, he asks , that these kids are facing a crisis in literacy in such a wealthy country like Australia?
It’s a fitting start to a day which focuses on the love of literature and the telling and sharing of stories. At the State Library of NSW, 100 kids from eight schools across Sydney listen to Jacquie Harvey, Brownyn Bancroft and Miles Merrill and then join the Great Book Swap. They share the plots, characters and pictures that have drawn them to their newly swapped book. Generously, Woollahra Public School presents a $1000 cheque to Gabi Hollows and altogether the morning’s event raises $1600.
At midday, at the University of Technology, Dr Anita Heiss presents the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning Annual lecture. Addressing the role of literacy in determining the futures of young Indigenous communities, she considers the importance of programs like The Indigenous Literacy Project. Ultimately she asks why do projects like these still need to exist?
Streets away, the Powerhouse Museum holds it’s own Great Book Swap with another group of speakers including Michelle Blanchard (Deputy Director of the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney), David Malouf and Bronwyn Bancroft. Together they share their own unique experiences. Bancroft talks about the power of words and how they have allowed her to talk about her life and art. Michelle Blanchard admits candidly that she never read as a kid, her family didn’t read and they didn’t own books. And David Malouf explores how we take for granted that literacy is the norm. We need, he says, to be respectful of worlds that are different from our own.
It’s now 2.30pm and the mobiles are still ringing requests: National Indigenous Radio, Radio Adelaide and Canberra Time chase interviews and images. One school proudly advise that they have raised $900 that day and emails flood in.
At 6.30pm, Oodgeroo Noonucal’s poetry begins – read by Anita Heiss, Debra Adelaide and Rosie Scott – and Nadeena Dixson sings of her people’s land to an appreciative audience of well over 100. It’s a Gleebooks event and David Gaunt addresses the crowd before racing off to the final fundraiser at Annandale Hotel. There, over 300 people gather to hear Josh Pyke Busking for Change with Tim Rogers, Phil Jamieson and Tim & Dave. The Annandale buzzes, Josh debuts a new song and 2009 Indigenous Literacy Day supporters rock on.
