Summer Hill Public School students have come together to celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day through a live performance of Words Make the World Go Around translated to the Aboriginal Kriol dialect spoken in northern Australia.
Every September 1st marks Indigenous Literacy Day, where the success of Indigenous children’s literacy outcomes is recognised and celebrated.
The performance was the culmination of months of learning the song for a Busking for Change school pilot – the concept started by Busking for Change founder Josh Pyke in 2009 to raise funds for culturally relevant books for remote communities through the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
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As part of Busking for Change’s initiative, students commit to learning to play, sing or dance to a song provided by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, gather donations from friends and families, and then perform this to friends, family, and school or post a video online.
The 2022 Indigenous Literacy Day was formally celebrated at the Sydney Opera House yesterday, where Summer Hill Public School students joined Pyke in another rendition of the same song after they managed to raise $6,000 for the performance.
Pyke is an ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and a member of the Summer Hill Public School parent community. He wrote Words Make the World Go Around with co-ambassador Justine Clarke, Aboriginal soprano Deborah Cheetham, and students from Gawura Indigenous College in Sydney.
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Principal Natalie Armstrong said Busking for Change program fit right into Summer Hill Public School’s diverse community: “Our students support initiatives for other students to have the same opportunities as they do, in this case access to quality literacy books and resources for Indigenous students.”
Busking for Change was piloted at Summer Hill Public School, Balmain Public School, Abbotsleigh, SCEGGS Darlinghurst and International Grammar School Sydney this year.
Interested schools can register for the 2023 national program here.