NATIONAL TALK BLACK – 09/12/2024
On todays National Talk Black via NIRS – National Indigenous Radio Service we have:
Daniel Featherstone, Study Author lead, talking about the Internet use growing in remote First Nations communities, but cost still remains a barrier. The Mapping the Digital Gap report led by RMIT University found a 12% increase in internet access and a 19% increase in regular internet usage from 2022 to 2024. But More than two-thirds of First Nations people surveyed in Australia’s remote and very remote communities are struggling to afford internet access, while over half the communities and homelands still don’t have mobile access. Featherstone and his RMIT research team visited 12 remote First Nations communities, working with local First Nations organisations. The project’s second phase starts next year, with funding for a larger-scale survey measuring access to mobile technology for First Nations people across Australia, not just in remote communities. To find out more, check out the link below!
https://apo.org.au/node/329174
Teena Akiba, Indigenous Skills and Employment Program (ISEP) – Indigenous Youth Coach Project, Program Coordinator, talking about the $170 Million invested for First Nations Skills and Jobs Projects. The Albanese Labor Government is investing $171.2 million to fund dozens of new place-based employment support projects for First Nations people, under the Indigenous Skills and Employment Program (ISEP). The Indigenous Skills and Employment Program contributes to Closing the Gap by supporting pathways to meaningful and sustainable employment for First Nations people to build economic empowerment and improve life outcomes. The money will fund 37 community-led projects in remote, regional and urban locations across all states and territories, connecting First Nations people to jobs, training and job-ready activities. The projects have been designed in partnership with First Nations communities to ensure activities are tailored to local needs. Projects will provide foundational and job-specific skills training to improve work readiness, while addressing barriers to workforce participation, such as transport and accommodation, to ensure First Nations people are able to secure long term employment. The Program is also designed to help build the capabilities of organisations to provide services that connect participants to jobs, work experience opportunities, internal employment pathways, and on-the-job support.
https://www.niaa.gov.au/…/indigenous-skills-and…
Professor Chris Lawrence, NISA Lead, talking about NASA calling: New funding to fuel next Indigenous STEM stars. Now in its fourth year, the National Indigenous Space Academy (NISA) – led by Monash’s Faculty of Information Technology (IT) and Faculty of Engineering – has received almost half-a-million dollars from the Australian Space Agency. The new funding injection will see NISA send five First Nations students to the United States for a 10-week internship at NASA JPL in Pasadena, California each year until 2027. The opportunity is open to any undergraduate and postgraduate student in Australia who identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, and is studying a degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. The students will be chosen from the pool of applicants based on academic merit and placed with mentors at NASA JPL for an internship in 2025. Learn more about NISA and to apply for the 2025 NASA/JPL internship, please visit the link below!
https://www.monash.edu/it/nisa
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