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GARMA 2005 - Indigenous Cultural Livelihoods
The Yothu Yindi Foundation’s Garma Festival of Traditional Culture Gulkula, via Nhulunbuy, Arnhem Land, Australia, 5–9 August The ancient sound of the yidaki (didgeridoo) is a call to all people to come together in unity; to gather for the sharing of knowledge and culture; to learn from and listen to one another. From 5-9 August 2005, that call will announce the 7th Garma Festival, the largest and most vibrant annual celebration of Yolngu (Aboriginal people of northeast Arnhem Land) culture and one of Australia's major cultural exchange events, and a model for authentic, insightful Indigenous tourism. Garma is a colourful event with a greater, deeper purpose. Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians experience and are directly involved in a spectacular yet substantive display of cultural practice and cross-cultural learning. Garma is presented by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, a not-for-profit aboriginal charitable organisation, and all Garma entry fees and other revenues go to the programs and projects of the Foundation and achievement of its aims:
More than 130 Yolngu are employed and trained at Garma each year. In 2005, Garma features the major forum on Indigenous Cultural Livelihoods, coordinated by the Charles Darwin University in partnership with the Globalism Institute RMIT. The theme will incorporate visual art and dance -- including the famous nightly bunggul -- and music, as well as other important cultural livelihood subjects such as eco-tourism, trade, and craft. There will also be significant discussions in regard to bush medicine and food, and leadership. This year we aim to further develop the Garma Forum as a nationally significant gathering to share and discuss art and culture projects and economic opportunities across Australia, to produce real and practical results. This will attract many community and corporate leaders, educators, students, and artists. Of course, Garma will also feature the many regular features such as the eco-tourism program, women's craft programs, music workshops and seminars, and yidaki master classes. Garma has also become a major gathering for Aboriginal artists and Indigenous art collectors, and art displays, presentations and projects, including the preeminent Garma Panel project, will be an integral part of Garma 2005. Garma won the 2004 Northern Territory Tourism Brolga Award for the best major event in the NT, and was the NT nomination for the national tourism awards major event category. Yolngu culture in northeast Arnhem Land -- a heartland of Aboriginal culture and land rights -- is one of the oldest living cultures on earth, stretching back many thousands of years, and the Garma Festival is a celebration of that Yolngu cultural inheritance. Garma, held on Aboriginal land, will again this year attract many clan groups from northeast Arnhem Land, and representatives from clan groups and Indigenous peoples from Arnhem Land, Australia's Top End, and across the nation.
"We're living in fluid times, trying to discover in more profound ways what it is to be Australian. I think thevast majority of Australians would agree that Aboriginal Australians have a special contribution to make to that. But there seems to be a problem. I think most non-Aboriginal Australians accept that there is a deep intellectual strength to Aboriginal knowledge, but they seem to think of it as a mystery. I hope we are less of a mystery now." Mandawuy Yunupingu, founder of Garma and Deputy Chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation. Background Notes. GARMA program. Yothu Yindi Foundation GPO BOX 2727 DARWIN NT 0801 Australia For further information
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