In partnership with Living Languages, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is proud to present Paper and Talk 2026, which will be held from 12 to 23 October 2026 at Maraga, AIATSIS in Canberra.
Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for Paper and Talk are now open all year round. You can submit your EOI at any time if you would like to be considered for future Paper and Talk workshops!
Please note: EOIs for the next Paper and Talk will be reviewed during the annual review period, which occurs from February to March. EOIs received after this period will be considered for the following year.
The Paper and Talk workshops provide linguistic training and access to language materials held in AIATSIS to help community groups revitalise their languages.
Groups of two to three Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people are invited to submit their Expression of Interest to participate in the next Paper and Talk workshop, which is being held from 12 to 23 October 2026 at Maraga, AIATSIS in Canberra.
What are the steps involved in applying for the Paper and Talk workshop?
- Read 'Who can put in an Expression of Interest?' below.
- Complete the Expression of Interest registration below.
- AIATSIS staff will check to make sure there are enough relevant materials in the collection for your group to work with.
- If there are relevant materials in the AIATSIS Collection for your language AND you meet the eligibility and priority requirements (see below) then we will invite you to submit a Full Application.
- Full Applications will be in two parts:
- A group application where you will provide information on the language you would like to research and to confirm your communities support for your group attending Paper and Talk.
- An individual application for each member of your group to provide personal details, outline your experiences working with and/or researching language and to explain why you would like to attend Paper and Talk. This portion of the application can be done over the phone if you are not comfortable writing.
Who can put in an Expression of Interest?
- Expressions of Interest are open to groups of two to three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from the same language group, who will work together throughout the workshop. All individuals must be recognised members of that language group.
- At least one member of your group must have been involved in language work: e.g., researching, learning, or teaching/creating resources for your language.
- Please note that we cannot accept EOIs from more than one group of participants from the same language. If this happens, we will ask to put you all in contact to discuss options, which may involve setting up a new combined group.
A key part of Paper and Talk is the return of language materials from the AIATSIS Collection to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Therefore, you will only be invited to attend if:
- There are materials containing your language in the AIATSIS archives that you and members of your group have not already accessed, and they are suitable for language revitalisation work (AIATSIS will help assess this).
- Your group is able to gain permission to access those materials (if required). Due to depositor conditions, some materials can be restricted to specific members of the language group, or even members of a particular family. If this happens, you may need to provide evidence from community members/organisations that support your access. AIATSIS will advise on what may be required if this situation should arise.
- Please note: Anyone who meets the selection criteria above is welcome to submit an EOI, but language groups with less work undertaken on them due to a lack of accessible materials will be prioritised. We will let you know the likelihood of your language group being successful before the requirement of submitting a full application.
If I am not selected this time, can I apply again next time?
Absolutely! Successful participants may be chosen for a number of reasons, and these factors can change slightly from workshop to workshop. If your application is not selected for the current year, it will be securely stored and considered for future Paper and Talk workshops.
In the meantime, you can still apply to AIATSIS to access your language materials, or apply to Living Languages for training.