At the AIATSIS Centre for Australian Languages (ACAL), we're committed to supporting the revitalisation and maintenance of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. We recognise that gatherings are crucial for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and community connection, which is why we've decided to support language gatherings throughout the country.

Language gatherings foster community ownership and empowerment. By bringing together language speakers, learners, and practitioners, these events support established networks and provide new platforms for collaboration. This supports communities to lead their language strengthening efforts.

ACAL recognises that these events offer valuable opportunities for language practitioners, researchers, and community members to share expertise and strengthen language initiatives, so we have directed funding to support a range of new and existing language gatherings throughout Australia.

Supported Gatherings

The 2025 Top End Languages Forum

ACAL supported the second Top End Languages Forum (TELF), held at Charles Darwin University’s Casuarina Campus from 3–5 June 2025. Building on the success of the inaugural 2022 forum, TELF 2025 brought together approximately 60 First Nations language delegates from more than 10 Top End communities.

The forum was focused on discussing strategies to maintain Top End languages, many of which are relatively strong but require urgent action to maintain that strength. An outcome of the forum is to ratify the Strong Languages 2032 statement, which will be a call for action and roadmap for advocating for these languages, aligned with the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022–2032.

TELF was co-facilitated by respected leaders Ms Rarrtjiwuy Melanie Herdman, Mr Pirrawayingi Puruntatameri, Mr Ian Mongunu Gumbula and Ms Jenny Manmurulu, who were all closely involved in the 2022 forum, ensuring cultural authority and continuity.

ACAL provided support for the forum, including sponsoring the attendance of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates. A videographer was engaged to produce a feature video on the forum’s success that will help widely promote the ratified Strong Languages 2032 statement which will be released in 2026.

The forum provided an unparalleled opportunity for language advocates to share strategies, strengthen networks, and collaborate on revitalisation goals. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing enthusiasm to engage in ACAL’s projects and reaffirming the importance of collective action to keep Top End languages strong.
 

PULiiMA 2025

In 2025, ACAL was a gold sponsor for the PULiiMA Languages and Technology Conference, which took place in Garramilla (Darwin) on Larrakia Country from 25-29 August. The 2025 theme centred on Echoes of the Past, Voices of the Future, which was a call for participants to honour their ancestral teachings while paving the way for future generations to follow.

The 2025 event hosted over 900 delegates, held more than 140 presentations from over 300 presenters and held countless other breakout sessions and workshops. Together, the delegates represented over 190 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and 20 international Indigenous languages. This diversity of cultural and linguistic perspectives enriched every conversation and ensured that the knowledge shared was grounded in the collective strength of Indigenous communities from across Australia and the world.
 

PULiiMA 2023

‘PULiiMA’ loosely translates to ‘making voice, to speak once again’ in the Awabakal language, the traditional language of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Lower Hunter.

ACAL proudly sponsored PULiiMA 2023, a significant national gathering focused on language revitalisation. The PULiiMA Indigenous Languages and Technology Conference is a 5-day biennial conference is the world’s largest Indigenous Languages conference, and is designed for Indigenous people, by Indigenous people. PULiiMA attracts specialist organisations and expert individuals throughout Australia and from around the world, and is renowned for its focus on practical language work, showcasing successful community-led initiatives and innovative language projects.

The 2023 event hosted 1081 delegates (80% of whom were Indigenous from all Australian jurisdictions and overseas) and provided a platform for language workers to share their experiences, learn from each other, and build networks.
 

The 2024 Australian Languages Workshop (ALW)

The ALW began in the late 1970s as a gathering dedicated to Australian languages organised at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Throughout its long history, the ALW has evolved and has since been recognised as a grassroots event that prioritises community involvement and accessibility, creating an environment dedicated to knowledge exchange, collaboration and community building among those working on Australian Indigenous languages. This commitment to inclusivity and diversity is reflected in the range of attendees from a variety of organisations and sectors.

ACAL was pleased to co-host the 2024 ALW with the Australian National University on Ngunnawal Country in September. The 2024 workshop featured presentations on a wide range of topics, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange amongst participants, and providing a space where people can bring emerging ideas and research.
 

The 2024 West Kimberley Language Gathering

ACAL supported the West Kimberley Language Gathering in May 2024, sponsoring the attendance of 11 community members, including 9 Elders and 2 support people from 9 language groups: Nykina, Nyul Nyul, Djugun, Bardi Jawi, Ngarti, Wangkajunga, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Ngarinyin.

This gathering is a vital regional event, bringing together language speakers, linguists, and community members from across the West Kimberley region to voice their needs and priorities, share resources, learn from each other's experiences, and contribute to the ongoing preservation of their endangered languages.

The 2024 Australian Linguistic Society (ALS) Conference

The Australian Linguistic Society is the national organisation for linguists and linguistics in Australia and has hosted an annual conference since 1967. To support the 2024 ALS conference, ACAL sponsored 10 Indigenous delegates and coordinated a dedicated themed session at the 2024 workshop for Australia’s growing cohort of Indigenous linguists: ‘Walking between two words – opportunities and challenges for Indigenous linguists’. During the session, presenters were invited to speak about the opportunities and challenges they have experienced during training and/or working as an Indigenous linguist, either for their own or for other communities.

“Being an Aboriginal linguist at a predominantly non-Indigenous specific discipline conference, I found this theme to be very empowering.” 2024 ALS Conference attendee

The 2022 Languages Policy Symposium

In September 2022, AIATSIS co-hosted a Language Policy Symposium with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language in Canberra. The theme of the symposium was: ‘Strengthening Australian languages: between policy and practice’. The event brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language workers, leaders and linguists to share their experiences strengthening and supporting their languages with one another, with policy makers and with other stakeholders. The symposium aimed to ensure that language policies are informed by the needs and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and that they support the long-term sustainability of Indigenous languages. It provided a space for robust discussion on how policy can best serve language revitalisation efforts.

To read more about the event, access recordings of the presentations and read a report on the event, visit: https://aiatsis.gov.au/whats-new/events/2022-language-policy-symposium.