Jeanie Bell at the UN PDF Print E-mail
Sonya Smallacombe, Jeanie Bell, Pefi Kingi (Cook Islands)
Sonya Smallacombe, Jeanie Bell, Pefi Kingi (Cook Islands)
In January 2008 I attended an Expert Group meeting on Endangered Languages at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The
UN divides the globe into 7 regions. I was the representative for the Pacific region of which Australia is a part. Also attending was an Aboriginal woman from Darwin called Sonya Smallacombe who is employed in the UN Indigenous Issues forum. The other 6 Indigenous representatives at the Expert Group Meeting were from North America, Latin America, Malaysia, Botswana in Africa and the Inuit people from Russia and Sweden.

On the first day I gave an overview of the situation in Australia, highlighting the current training available to Indigenous language
workers and linguists in different states and territories. I also talked about media services which support Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander languages, and the different educational programs across the country.

I feel very privileged to have been given this opportunity to participate in the meeting and to present my views and experiences
as a language custodian, long time community linguist, and language activist from Aboriginal Australia.
For more information contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

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