Currently we have E-Hubs set up at Pippi Beach (Yamba), Box Ridge (Coraki), Jubullum (Tabulam), Byuyinbin (Casino), Cabbage Tree Island and Macksville.

Once an E-Hub is set up, we run a TAFE course there to get everyone to feel their way around using a computer, and have found that in every community, people end up finding employment thanks to what they’ve learned. Eventually, we would like to find a capable local in each community to maintain the E-Hub after the course has been run.

Where should we go next?

Happy Semester break dear colleagues and friends! New people have been added to this Newsletter (from NCTAFE’s SIG6) so please let us know if you do not wish to receive it. Feedback is most welcome!

EHUBS ON THE MOVE

New Ehubs to be established next semester at Casino and Cabbage Tree Island. Outreach courses are still ongoing at Box Ridge (Coraki Kurrachee – meeting of waters) and Jubullum (by the river -Tabulam) communities. Many thanks to Jeremy Billett, Steve Jamieson and Sue Weingarth for their enormous effort that are making these projects successful. All Ehub initiatives are funded through North Coast TAFE’s Aboriginal Learning Partnerships (NCALP). Ehubs basically involve installing a classroom of computers connected to broadband in a community with students being able to keep their computer upon completion of the course. We are achieving incredible outcomes in these very isolated communities and we thank all our friends and partners for continuing this development. We have some exciting things planned in the Ehubs so stay tuned. Anything’s possible at North Coast TAFE!

PIPPI BEACH

A miracle is taking place at Pippi Beach Yamba with the regeneration of our very first Ehub there at Ngaru Village. Gurehlgam have sponsored a Breakfast Club for our group and an excellent monthly Community Newsletter is being produced by the students. A popular segment features very wise advice from Dr Love for reader’s romantic issues.

In the picture we have the team at Yamba, teacher Wendy Cromack, Franceen Vesper, NCCP trainee Shirlene Pearce, Krystle Swan, Mareka Laurie, Lynette Walker (with child) and Jasmine Pearce.

Big thanks to Eric Knox from Maclean TAFE for work on the Ehub (and everything else), Ricky Binge from Gurehlgam, and Jannay Daley from Centrelink for visiting our students.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

We are always looking for ways to do things better in our Ehubs. Some things work and others don’t and not all things work the same in all communities. What has been achieved at Pippi Beach however we believe is due to two factors – 1. Obtaining sponsorship for the Breakfast Club, and… most importantly… 2. Having a paid local person, (Shirlene) from that community look after the Ehub, including simple maintenance and providing access for community members and for children after school. Shirlene also has a car and assists community members this way as well. Shirlene has been employed by NCCP for 9 months and we are now looking at a traineeship for her. We would like to have a “Shirlene” in all our Ehub locations but we just do not have the resources to do this. If you know of a way wecould do this (we need funding) then please send them this Newsletter and put them in touch with us please? Thanks!

REGIONAL FUTURES INSTITUTE

Regional Futures Institute based out of Southern Cross University will be conducting research on the partnership between North Coast Computer Project and North Coast TAFE next semester to evaluate the experiences of our Ehubs to date. We are excited about this research and hope it will pave the way to attract more support so our program can be replicated in other communities.

TENDER OF PC’S FROM CHEC

North Coast Computer Project recently tendered for a number of high level PC’s from Coffs Harbour Education Campus and they are now available for sale to pensioners, charities, health care card holders and low income earners. PC’s are 2.8 and 3.4ghz dual-core machines with 2gb RAM and 256mb graphics available for $400 – $550. All software included. We also have other machines available from $250. Please contact us if you would like more information or apply online at www.nccpi.org Thanks to Warwick Harman and Steve Laidley for helping with this.

MACKSVILLE

The Cert IV Goorie IT course continues to go well at Macksville. The Seniors Kiosk and Valley Computer Group manned by our wonderful and hard-working volunteers are also both getting more popular. On a sad note, Maureen Dent passed away last week. Maureen is the wife of Dallas who records and airs our weekly Computer Tips Radio show on 2NVR.

RACISM IN AUSTRALIA

When you have time dear readers, please check out these talks from 4 speakers at Latrobe University. Ghassan Hage in part 2 in particular is very interesting…

http://www.themonthly.com.au/racism-australia-reynolds-hirst-brett-hage-2085

Many thanks as always to everyone at North Coast TAFE and in the community for supporting us.

Keep smiling

North Coast Computer Project

Naidoc Poster

This 2010 NAIDOC poster by Sheree Blackley “Unsung Heroes – Leading Through Example” conveys a wonderful message… The artwork depicts an Aboriginal mother who is an ‘unsung hero’ leading her children through example, showing that actions can speak louder than words. The dot work illustrates nurturing and teaching from birth, always guiding our children towards ‘closing the gap’, towards “success’  for those who choose to stay on the path.

John Schofield is a volunteer with us, and is the author behind the Big Dill Computer Clue-Up. John began this endeavor when his was being taught by Bernie many years ago and was told that keeping a little book of acronyms would help him understand what everything meant.

John did this, and has continued to keep his not-so-little book up to date to this very day. While it does not include everything, it is quite vast and cover’s anything most people would want to know.

Download

Download the Computer Clue-Up Document (not available just yet)

Here at NCCP we have rebuilt our website for the new year, and we are using WordPress, a third party blogging system so it will be easier for us to manage our online content. We have also changed our host servers so we can do a lot more for you.

In the next few months we will be completing our own Moodle site, so we can store all our resources right here, and we will also be building a Hints and Tips section for everyone to use. John Schofield, one of our volunteers, already has a very comprehensive guide he named the Big Dill’s Computer Clue-Up, which will also be online shortly.

Please be patient while we continue to work on our site, and we will be sure to let you know when anything exciting happens.

GOODBYE CHRIS
Our coming AGM on 11th December will see the departure of Chris Gulaptis, our very popular NCCP Board Chairman. Chris is now working up at Mackay but hopes to return to Maclean and NCCP sometime in the future. Chris played a very large part in the establishment of our project in late 2002 which was then known as Clarence Valley Computer Project. At that time Chris was Mayor of Maclean Shire Council and convened a meeting of local community and TAFE representatives to make sure our project got up and running. In 2004 we adopted the name North Coast Computer Project and set up in Macksville in 2005. On behalf of the rest of the Board members – Mark Bathgate, Aunty Muriel Burns, Sue Hughes, Lyn McGuire, Sue Nash and Gary Williams, we wish you all the best Chris and thank you for all the years of service, dedication and commitment to the North Coast Computer Project, your name will always be associated fondly with the project, and we thank you most sincerely. On a personal note from Bernie I also want to mention Chris, how much I have appreciated your confidence in me and support of my efforts and for the excellent advice and counselling you have given me over the years.

HELLO TODD & SHIRLENE
We welcome new workers Todd Revis and Shirlene Pearce to North Coast Computer Project based out of Maclean Campus. Todd completed his Certificate IV in IT last year at Grafton TAFE and will be pursuing his Diploma in IT in 2010 with support from Coffs Harbour TAFE. Shirlene was involved in the original North Coast TAFE Indigenous Engagement Project sponsored by Australian Flexible Learning Framework in 2005 that established the very first Ehubs at Pippi Beach Yamba and Hillcrest Maclean. Shirlene is a proud Yaegl woman of Yamba and will be helping to regenerate the Ngaru Village Ehub at Pippi as part of a TAFE Get Skilled course to be run early 2010.

Jeremy Billett, Mark Bathgate, Eugene Christensen, Todd Revis, John Schofield, Bernie Francis, Shirlene Pearce

GRANT FROM NORTEC FOR YAMBA
Nortec have provided a grant of $4,400 for computers to be installed in the regenerated Pippi Ehub. They are also running a Community Work Program to provide maintenance at this Ehub. Nortec as a JSA have also helped a great deal in establishing Shirlene’s employment with NCCP.  Thank you very much to everyone at Nortec (especially Melinda and Kerri) and we look forward very much to developing this partnership further, working together for the benefit of our communities.

AND FROM WESTPAC FOUNDATION (through Workventures)
NCCP received a grant of $13,200 from Westpac Foundation through Workventures to provide 40 computers to Aboriginal communities. These computers have gone into the Ehubs at Tabulam and Box Ridge and for additional students at Muli Muli and Macksville/Bowraville. This grant has helped us enormously in our efforts to provide better services to our communities. We aim to establish a wireless network at the Box Ridge community as well with this grant and will update you on the progress with this in our next Newsletter. Thank you very much Westpac and Workventures and please keep us in your radar for future support as we have many more isolated Aboriginal communities in the North Coast.

NEW EHUB AT JUBULLUM – by the river (TABULAM)
This term, another Ehub has been established at Jubullum Aboriginal Community in Tabulam (white man’s word for Jubullum) as part of a Goorie IT course in partnership with North Coast TAFE’s Aboriginal Learning Partnerships (NCALP). It is always a very exciting experience going into a new community and being able to make technology available. We were able to introduce broadband for the first time to this community and this has made a huge difference. Wonderful people at Jubullum and we look forward to continuing this program together in 2010. Big kudos to NCALP Aboriginal Consultant Steve Jamieson for working tirelessly to get this course up and running.

GITHABUL RANGERS
Many of the students from the NCALP funded Goorie IT course at Muli Muli are now working with Border Rangers (or Githabul Rangers) looking after the land in their area. We’re just so proud of you guys! NCCP have maintained a relationship with this group providing IT support for their new and flourishing organisation. Many thanks to Rob Boota and Ben Pye from Dept of Environment for allowing us on board!

FIRST CERT IV GOORIE IT CLASS IN MACKSVILLE
Funding was received by North Coast TAFE from the Strategic Skills Priority program to run the first ever Certificate IV Goorie IT class. This class is being taught by Jeremy Billett and is run back to back with an NCALP funded Cert 3 IT class taught by Bernie assisted by Aboriginal teacher aide Jennie Rosser at the NCCP workshop classroom in Macksville. This is a wonderful development for North Coast TAFE and Aboriginal people in the Macksville area. This is also the first time 2 high level IT Aboriginal classes have been run together out of the NCCP workshop and classroom. We have been able top up this Cert IV class of 11 students with an additional 2 non-Aboriginal students and this is working very well. Both these Cert 3 and 4 classes will continue next year with direct support from the IT Faculty. Thanks to Head Teacher, Warwick Harman and NCALP Aboriginal Consultant, Fiona Hyland for supporting this initiative so strongly.

Mahalia and Ceclie Donovan

NEC SENIORS KIOSK AT MACKSVILLE
NCCP were approved to host a Broadband for Seniors Kiosk at our Macksville premises and which has been operating for the past few months. Many of the senior students from Macksville have formed a computer club and meet regularly to use the Kiosk. Thank you to our NCCP staff at Macksville – Kath Gunn, Mark Oldham, Adam Oldham and Cherylee Denniss … and to our loyal students who are all working together to make good use of this exciting new facility.

Thank you to everyone at North Coast TAFE and in the community for supporting us.
We have been getting good hardware this last semester from many of the TAFE campuses. We really do appreciate you steering this gear our way. We have also been scoring great decommissioned furniture which we are using in the Ehubs.

ATTENTION CAMPUS MANAGERS…
As per usual we are in desperate need of more computer hardware for our Ehubs and clients so please give us a happy Christmas during your next imminent computer rollout!!! The more support we receive the more people we can employ!

Keep smiling

EHUB LAUNCH AT MUURRBAY
On 11th June we launched the new Ehub at Muurrbay and which was attended by North Coast TAFE Institute Director Elizabeth McGregor, Nambucca Shire Mayor Rhonda Hoban and manager Michael Coulter, Nambucca Centrelink Manager Gillian Howie and many others. The Elders from Maclean and Grafton made a special trip down and this made it a very special day with some very lively conversation taking place about the use of the word “Mission” (Aunty Muriel Burns reckons we should stop using it).

Although a number of Ehubs have been established in our region through North Coast TAFE’s Aboriginal Learning Partnerships, what has been a first for us this time round has been Muurrbay as a private organisation (rather than the Local Aboriginal Land Council) hosting an Ehub for the neighbouring Bellwood Aboriginal Community. It is also the first time we have managed to successfully install VOIP (voice over internet) telephone too so the local community can make free or very cheap telephone calls. This special Goorie IT course has been taught by Bernie Francis assisted by Aboriginal Teacher Aide Jennie Rosser. Many thanks Jennie!!! See article in the local Guardian at the end of this newsletter.

DONATION OF LAPTOPS FROM MICROSOFT
Paul Clark, Community Affairs manager for Microsoft Australia drove all the way up from Sydney to visit us on 25th June with 25 Toshiba tablet laptops donated to NCCP to refurbish and pass onto Goorie IT students who have successfully completed a Certificate qualification with North Coast TAFE. Thanks Paul and thanks Microsoft!

Paul Clark handing a laptop to Karen Randall

YAEGL SIGNAGE VIDEO RELEASED
After much hard work we finally have a great video detailing the steps undertaken for creating and implementing the Yaegl Town Signage Project in the Lower Clarence. Many thanks to Becky Cole and Wendy Cromack for their hard work, and to Tony Dreise and Neil Brown from North Coast TAFE for funding it. If you would like a copy of this video please let us know.

This is critical stuff people! There are so many Aboriginal names out there and most people are completely ignorant of what they mean. Get onto your local council now and show them our video. Aren’t you curious to know why they gave a place the name it has? We can easily find out what the Anglo names mean but our valuable Aboriginal heritage is dying off at an increasingly alarming rate.

While we are happy about the video and many other things achieved by the Elders at Maclean campus we have been saddened by the passing of Aunty Thelma Kapeen. Aunty Thelma was one of our core group and she is missed by us all very much. It also serves to remind us just how important it is to continue to preserve our rich Aboriginal heritage while our Elders are still here.

NEW EHUBS SCHEDULED FOR BOX RIDGE…
North Coast TAFE’s Aboriginal Learning Partnerships is funding a new Goorie IT course and Ehub at Box Ridge Aboriginal community’s new health outpost in Coraki this semester. Box Ridge is quite an old community and was the subject of an expose in ABC’s first Four Corners program in 1961 highlighting the appalling living conditions there. Many thanks to Steve Jamieson from NCALP for making this happen.

…AND MULI MULI
Stay tuned for the opening of our new Ehub at Muli Muli. Our Goorie IT course continues up there at Cert 3 level. Beautiful country and wonderful people! Mt Lindesay is spectacular. We are now transcribing the Githabul language over from cassette tapes to the computer.

Mount Lindesay on the way to Muli Muli

…AND NGURRALA
Another Ehub will also be established this semester at Ngurrala in Nambucca as part of a continuing Goorie IT course. Congratulations to Ngurrala for obtaining their Job Services Australia contract.

News article

NCCP WISH LIST

• Establish more Ehubs across North Coast
• Acquire DGR status from ATO
• 7 seater vehicle for transporting students and computers
• NCCP employ more people

Thank you to everyone at North Coast TAFE and in the community for supporting us. We are in desperate need of more computer hardware for our Ehubs.

Keep smiling

NEW EHUBS AT MULI MULI and MUURRBAY
North Coast Aboriginal Learning Partnerships (NCALP) from North Coast TAFE have funded the establishment of another 2 Ehubs this semester at Muli Muli and Muurrbay (Bellwood, Nambucca Heads) in conjunction with Goorie IT courses where students build their own computer that is theirs to keep upon completion of the course. The students also build a number of machines for the Ehub for use by the rest of the community when the courses have been completed. Beautiful projects with fantastic outcomes!

At Muli Muli (past Woodenbong near the Queensland border in the shadow of Mt Lindesay) we were pleasantly surprised to get fast broadband speeds of 5mbs! The fastest in any Ehub we have established yet, and in such an isolated location! A plumbing course is also underway run by Scott Bullow from Wollongbar TAFE Campus. There’s many wonderful things happening out there at Muli Muli and its times like these we are proud to be associated with North Coast TAFE.

JEREMY FEATURED IN NATIONAL YOUTH WEEK 2009 GRADUATING STUDENTS

Article

Craig Smith won the Bernadette Ballangarry Award at Macksville TAFE graduation ceremony. He is pictured here with Gary Smith, Mahalia Donovan, Jennie Rosser and Ceclie Donovan all of whom graduated successfully with the Certificate 3 in Information Technology. Jennie is now working as a Teacher’s Aide with Bernie in the Muurrbay Goorie IT course.

Craig Smith (back left) won the Bernadette Ballangarry Award at Macksville TAFE graduation ceremony

Craig Smith (back left) won the Bernadette Ballangarry Award at Macksville TAFE graduation ceremony.

FIRST SIGN UP AT ILARWILL
After 4 years of hard work the first sign for our Indigenous Signage Project in partnership with North Coast Aboriginal Learning Partnerships (North Coast TAFE), Clarence Valley Council and Muurrbay Language Centre was unveiled by our Yaegl Elders and Mayor Richie Williamson at Ilarwill on 6th March.

News Article

We hope that at some time in the future we will be able to affix a logo to denote the sign’s Aboriginal translation more clearly.

Thank you to everyone at North Coast TAFE and in the community for supporting us. We have Ehubs planned for other communities in 2009 and need you to help us obtain more computer hardware.

Enjoy Easter with your families,

Keep smiling

Welcome to our 29th newsletter. Quite a few new people have been added to our Newsletter list. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive it.

AUNTY MURIEL JOINS NCCP BOARD
At our AGM recently we welcomed Yaegl elder Aunty Muriel Burns onto our NCCP Board. Mark Bathgate as new Maclean Campus Manager, also came on board. They join existing members Chris Gulaptis (chair), Lynette McGuire, Sue Nash and Sue Hughes. Garry Williams from Muurrbay will also join us very soon. A truly wonderful group of people who do a fantastic job, (voluntarily!!!) supporting and promoting our non-profit organisation as we come into our 7th year for 2009!

Aunty Muriel and Bernie attended the NSW Quality Awards last November in Sydney for our Networking North Coast Indigenous Communities Project and Microsoft Community Affairs manager Paul Clark called by to see us (see pic). Although we did not win one of the major awards we received positive feedback by the visitors to our stand who all wanted to see our Ehub project expand as much as possible. Some of those visitors have been added to this Newsletter list. Please do contact us.

PARTNERSHIP WITH NCALP and NORTH COAST TAFE
North Coast Aboriginal Learning Partnerships (NCALP) from North Coast TAFE enjoyed a particularly successful year under the leadership of Tony Dreise. NCALP funded the establishment of the Ehubs at Bowraville and Nimbin and from which Goorie IT courses were delivered. The Bowraville/Macksville mob have completed the Cert 3 ready for Cert 4 in 2009. This is a fantastic achievement by our Indigenous students balancing study loads with part-time work and looking after their families.

NCALP in partnership with the IT Faculty of North Coast TAFE and NCCP makes these things possible! I’d like to thank our other partners there including Nambucca Shire Council, Bowraville LALC, Unkya LALC, New Careers for Aboriginal People, Ngurrala and Muurrbay Language Centre. It’s all about Partnerships! Make it your 2009 New Year’s resolution to create and nurture as many partnerships as you can. A lot of great people and valuable resources out there! Together we are able to do so much!

2NVR 105.9 NCCP live weekly radio show
Our live radio show running every Tuesday from 6-6:30pm in Nambucca is now recorded and being run several times per week. Community response has been fantastic and they have asked that we include a “tip of the week” every show. People call in asking for help with problems on their machines or they email us help@nccpi.org. It is a great vehicle for informing about NCCP’s services and promoting North Coast TAFE’s courses. The www.nccpi.org website is currently being rebuilt by our Diploma IT trainee Jeremy Billett to provide more services to the community because of the radio show. A big thank you to Macksville IT student and radio broadcaster Dallas Dent for making this happen. Some people who contacted us thought we were the group from the ABC!!!

Thank you to everyone at North Coast TAFE and in the community for supporting us. We have more Ehubs planned for 2009 and need you to help us obtain more computer hardware.

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year with your families,

Keep smiling

Welcome to our 28th newsletter. Hope you’re all enjoying the semester break! 2008 is definitely our year. It’s turning out even better than we thought. Highlights for the year so far have been:

• Opening of Bowraville Ehub inside the Aboriginal Mission on 21st May (known locally as the Mish).
• Bowraville chosen as a Case Study involving community partnerships for TAFE NSW!
• NCCP through Community Microsoft Refurbishers Program now have a licence for Office 2003 which is installed on all outgoing computers.
• Macksville Goorie IT student Jennie Rosser won the Bernadette Ballangarry Student of the Year Award (Jennie in the middle surrounded by proud family)
• Ongoing rollouts of decommissioned PC’s from North Coast TAFE (thanks guys! – we need all we can get )
• Partnership with Bowraville Local Aboriginal Land Council, Nguralla, and New Careers for Aboriginal People to assist CDEP workers (Irene Ballangarry, Eileen Buchanan and Marie-Skye Buchanan) supervise new Ehub as part of Goorie IT Cert III course.
• New NCCP branch at Grafton Campus (Thanks Campus Manager Wendy Bruszewski).

Jennie Rosser (center) won the Bernadette Ballangarry Student of the Year Award

TWO NEW WORKERS AT MACKSVILLE

Kath Gunn with two local Bowraville girls

Welcome to our two new workers Mark Oldham and Kath Gunn (that’s Kath on the right hand side with some Bowraville girls). This has been made possible through Nambucca Shire Council committing to assist NCCP again for the next 24 months. We’re very happy about this!

Through the efforts of Macksville Hardware student Dallas Dent, NCCP now have a live weekly show on Nambucca Community Radio 2NVR 105.9 where the community can call in seeking solutions for their computer issues. The feedback has been really good so far. We’re having lots of fun with this and we can also encourage more people into our TAFE courses (= less strain on our help desk!)

DONATION FROM MICROSOFT
Microsoft have kindly donated T-shirts and software to NCCP to be distributed to our various Ehubs. This donation has just been so useful. Many thanks to Microsoft Community Affairs Manager Paul Clark for organising this.

NEW EHUB AT NIMBIN OPENING ON 4TH AUGUST

Nimbin eHub

A new Ehub has now been installed at Nimbin providing computer technology and broadband internet access. This Certificate 3 IT course is run by North Coast TAFE’s Aboriginal Learning Partnerships together in partnership with NCCP and Nimbin Community Radio. The Ehub will be providing a much needed resource for the local Aboriginal community. A big thank you to Head IT teacher Ian Newton for helping the decommissioning of Pentium IV machines from North Coast TAFE which the Goorie IT class refurbished and installed in their Ehub. A BIG thank you to teacher Klara Marosszeky. Incredible what Klara is able to achieve in this community through her dedication. If we had our way we’d be putting Ehubs in every Aboriginal community on the North Coast – and we will, at the rate we’re going.

We are in constant need of computers to refurbish so please keep us in mind. Anything Pentium 3 and above is acceptable. This Newsletter does go out to a lot of people working in various government agencies so please do us a favour and check with your ICT department to see if their machines can be decommissioned to us here at NCCP. DO IT NOW! Most of our machines do go to students and Indigenous communities.

Keep Smiling

A NEW TRAINEE AND A NEW ROOM

Our new young Diploma in IT trainee Jeremy Billett

Welcome to our new young Diploma in IT trainee Jeremy Billett. Jeremy (pictured) is the first Diploma level trainee with North Coast Institute. Keep pushing through with those modules Jeremy!

NCCP has relocated to a smaller room across the hall at Maclean Campus so our previous room can be used for extra classes. The new room is overlooking the front entrance so we are now the eyes (Jeremy) and ears (Bernie) of Maclean Campus. As always, we remain very grateful to North Coast Institute and particularly to Campus Manager Lyn McGuire for continuing to allow us to base our activities on their premises.

VISIT TO BRISBANE
On behalf of NCCP, Bernie visited Brisbane on 27 th November at the invitation of Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s Indigenous Engagement Project (IEP). The IEP under the leadership of Rhonda Appo has achieved fantastic outcomes over the past 3 years and we hope very much that these projects will continue.

NEW EHUB AT BOWRAVILLE
A new Ehub has now been installed at Bowraville providing computer technology and broadband internet access in the local kindergarten so that it will be a well-used and valued community facility. This Certificate 3 IT course is run by North Coast Institute’s new North Coast Aboriginal Learning Partnerships together with NCCP and Bowraville Aboriginal Land Council. The Ehub will be providing a much needed resource for these children (see picture) over the holiday break. These unique hand signs mean “What’s up?” or “Yo” (according to my 13 y.o. daughter – I didn’t know that…. did you ?) Many thanks to everyone involved for helping with this important project. The local community have been really fantastic. We definitely need to keep this one going! A big thank you to Banana Coast Credit Union for decommissioning their Pentium IV IBM machines which the Goorie class refurbished and installed in their Ehub. This is community capacity building at it best!!!

INDIGENOUS SIGNAGE PROJECT
Policy has been finally approved by Clarence Valley Council. See their press release below. North Coast Computer Project have now lodged an application together with the Elders for some 27 signs to be erected. Many thanks to TAFE IT teacher Denise Patten who has been working closely with the Elders on the Signage Project and who is now going to Abu Dhabi for 6 months. Have a good trip Denise!

20 DECEMBER 2007 INDIGENOUS SIGNAGE GETS COUNCIL SUPPORT
Did you know Ilarwill means wild coote in Yaegl language? On the other hand, that Yaegl means man.

Or Ulagundahi means ear because the island is shaped like an ear?

Ulagundahi Elders and representatives of the Aboriginal community in the Lower Clarence have been working on a project to augment existing town and village signage with Aboriginal meanings.

In support of the project and in order for it to progress, Clarence Valley Council adopted an Indigenous Signage Policy at its meeting held 11 December. This is the next step towards the introduction of Indigenous Signage across the Lower Clarence Valley.

“The new Policy sets out a process for how applications for indigenous signage will be managed, what the consultation process will be and how cultural protocols are to be addressed” said Mayor Ian Tiley

“Council will continue to work with the Yaegl Elders on this excellent cultural awareness project.

“In addition to the opportunity for sense of place expression by the Aboriginal community, the project offers other potential benefits to the Clarence Valley through value adding to visitor understanding, enhancing community awareness and education in relation to local Aboriginal culture and heritage.” the Mayor added.

Authorised by: Ian Tiley MAYOR

So many people to thank. Staff, volunteers, students, TAFE colleagues, supporting organisation’s… You all know who you are. 2008 is going to be GREAT. We have more exciting projects in the pipeline so stay tuned !!!

are in need again of computers to refurbish so please keep us in mind. Anything Pentium 3 and above is acceptable. This Newsletter does go out to a lot of people working in various government agencies so please do us a favour and check with your ICT department to see if their machines can be decommissioned to us here at NCCP. Most of our machines do go to students and Indigenous communities.

Keep Smiling