Representatives from Ngunnawal, Warlpiri and Meriam communities, and Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre gathered at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) on Friday 13 September, 2019, to launch the exhibition Ngalipa Nyangu Jaru: Pirrjirdi Ka Ngalpa Mardani (Our Language: Keeping Us Strong).
Community members from each language group worked in partnership with AIATSIS to develop the exhibition as part of 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages activities, promoting Indigenous languages throughout Australia.
Kaji ngalipa-nyangu jaru wankaru karri, ngalipaju wankaru jarungku ka ngalpa pirrjirdi mardani.
If the language survives, we survive. Because the language keeps us strong.
Theresa Napurrurla Ross, Warlpiri Translator
The exhibition, on display in the Rom Gallery at AIATSIS in Canberra until the new year, with a supplementary content available online for those who cannot visit us in person, is a celebration of the International Year and demonstration of the importance of language for each community.
Thank you to those who assisted in the preparation of this exhibition, in particular the Ngunnawal, Warlpiri, Meriam and the Aboriginal communities of the Pilbara region, who shared their stories and culture with us.
Media enquiries
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