Youth empowerment and information and communication technologies: a case study of a remote Australian Aboriginal community

Abstract

In spite of a 'digital divide', Aboriginal groups in Australia, as internationally, are increasingly using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to maintain their cultures, communicate, archive knowledge, empower their communities, develop skills and generate income. Each community uses the technologies differently in accordance with their particular needs and the opportunities available. The use of ICTs in Aboriginal youth empowerment is illustrated through a case study of an initiative undertaken by the Walkatjurra Cultural Centre in Leonora, remote Western Australia. A participatory process was used to engage the Centre's young people and they were given individual assistance to develop their ICT related capacity. The community conceives this youth empowerment to be part of a broader youth participation process that will contribute to the Centre's overall objectives.

Desert knowledge: integrating knowledge and development in arid and semi-arid drylands

“…Here we introduce the papers in two broad themes. Four of the Australian papers (Cunningham et al 2009;Evans et al 2009;Moran and Elvin 2009;Singleton et al 2009) together with Tougiani et al's paper from Niger are concerned with efforts to reduce poverty and disadvantage by engaging local knowledge and resources equitably, and by promoting institutional change. The other group of four papers are concerned with understanding the diverse knowledge systems of desert people (Clark and Brake 2009;Maclean 2009; VaarzonMorel and Gabrys 2009), or tourists (Hueneke and Baker 2009), in order to promote collaborative management of the multi-functional desert landscapes of Australia.…”

“…Two of the Australian papers in this issue (Evans et al 2009;Singleton et al 2009) derive from DKCRC projects whose main emphasis has been to understand how best to support enterprise development amongst Aboriginal people and more effective engagement with markets. The projects have looked for the commercial advantage that Aboriginal people may have from factors such as their remote location, ecological knowledge and distinctive cultures.…”

“…The papers in this issue do have a general concern with how local actors may pursue their interests in ways that take account of extra-local, if not global, drivers and opportunities. Most overtly, Singleton et al (2009) chart the process whereby young people from a local Aboriginal group draw on customary knowledge to establish their identity on a global stage. Evans et al (2009) negotiate novel institutions for local Aboriginal benefit from potential uses of plant species in global markets.…”

Protest 2.0: online interactions and Aboriginal activists

“…Belausteguigoitia 2006, Fattah 2006, Latukefu 2006. Focusing on Indigenous Australia, Singleton et al (2009) argue that interactive digital technologies like YouTube can empower Aboriginal young people as they share their culture with an outside audience. This paper explores the role that the internet plays in the activism carried out by Aboriginal people in Townsville.…”

‘For every border, there is also a bridge’: overturning borders in young Aboriginal peoples' lives

“…In perhaps a new twist on the penpal programs that Perez discusses earlier in this collection, 45% of on-reserve teens said they had met a close friend online -more than double the Canadian average (Mendelson 2009). By reaching out to peers regardless of geographical boundaries, youth in remote areas are better able to strengthen cultural identity and empower one another to work for change (Singleton et al 2009). In this increasingly globalized world, internet technologies are allowing youth to defy borders both geographically and metaphysically.…”