THE election of members to the positions of delegates and shadow delegates on the FATSIL Governing Committee is now underway. Postal ballot forms have been sent to all financial members in states or territories where more than two nominations were received for the positions.

Where no more than two nominations were received for a region, no election will be required and the nominees will wait for ratification at the AGM.

Lester Coyne

NOW nearing the end of his seventh term of office, Mr Coyne said this year has been an outstanding one for the peak body in terms of the results achieved. He praised the commitment of the individual committee delegates, and the support and communication flowing through from the members themselves.

ATSIS staff met with FATSIL committee members in Canberra in November, to discuss planning initiatives for 2004.

Similar in principle to the previous Languages Access Initiatives Program, which was available for 3 years from June 1999, the Endangered Languages funds will run as a limited grant offer in addition to the annual funding budget through Preservation of Indigenous Languages (PILR) With funding for the 2003-04 financial year only released in the third quarter,ATSIS distributed the first year's allocation by calling for applications from previously funded language organisations. ATSIS has advised that the grant distribution process for the next year's funds will be widely advertised, to allow access by all groups wishing to apply.

IN a positive outcome resulting from this year's Canberra consultations, FATSIL was recently invited to take part in the National Roundtable on Languages Education, called by the Minister for Education, Science and Training.

After submitting a number of proposals this year to the Minister, Dr Brendan Nelson, the peak body was offered representation at the national conference, called to review the School Languages Programme from 2005 on, and progress implementation of languages education programmes.

VCE Indigenous Languages of Victoria: Revival and Reclamation Pathway

THE Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) has revised and broadened the study design of the Australian Indigenous Languages VCE study piloted at Worawa Independent Aboriginal College. Consultation with the Victorian Indigenous Communities took place during May 2003, with a positive response from each Victorian language region.

FATSIL has received funding to upgrade the National Indigenous Languages Contacts Directory (last published in 2001 ).This includes updating contact information, as well as the collection and recording of a range of related data to be maintained and made available to all stakeholders involved in the preservation of Indigenous languages.

The Adelaide Advertiser has reported on the significant increase in the number of students taking up Aboriginal languages, while the numbers for traditional language studies have declined.

Our cover for December

Language as social control, symbolic language and the cryptic nature of language are only three areas where artist Mayrah Dreise has exposed and scrutinised language through her art. Mayrah's work and that of countryman Archie Moore were featured in a recent exhibition "Text and Art, Where is it? at the Brisbane Black Peppers Gallery.

The Federation for Endangered Languages (FEL) Conference "Maintaining the Links Language, Identity and the Land" was held in Broome from the 22-24 of September.

The gathering was a wonderful opportunity to meet with people from all over the world who speak or work with endangered languages, and to learn about the type of work that other endangered language speakers are doing.

"Maintaining the Links Language, Identity and the Land"

Shown here are some of the people who attended.