Victorian Aboriginal News (VAN) is absolutely pumped to announce that thanks to the incredibly supportive team at the NED Foundation, we are able to move ahead with Series 2 of the VAN Leader Tapes.

We are particularly grateful to the Foundation's Project Coordinator, Lesley Shuttleworth, who worked alongside VAN's Special Projects and Partnerships Manager, Sophie Kahl, to facilitate the grant application.

"Right from the start, Lesley fully appreciated just what we are striving to achieve with the Leader Tapes project - working to protect and share the lessons in eldership, leadership and Aboriginal identify," Sophie said.

"Being a not-for-profit organisation and running primarily as a self-funded operation, it's often a challenge to achieve the goals we set for ourselves.

"With the support of the NED Foundation, though, we're now able to ensure the life of the Leader Tapes for at least the next six months - and that's a huge thing in our books!"

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work and walk  alongside VAN to submit an application to the NED foundation.  Ensuring that stories of this nature are recorded and safely stored is of critical importance as a we preserve them for future generations and that is an obligation that is placed on all of us.  I look forward to continuing our relationship and very much value its reciprocal nature.”
 

Lesley Shuttleworth, NED Foundation

Series 2 already underway

Following on from the success of series 1, and now with the support from the NED Foundation, VAN is well underway in pre-production on series 2.

Already, we have had confirmation from a number of Elders who will be interviewed in the new series. They include:

• Uncle Mookeye Bell (Gunditjmara)
• Troy McDonald (Gunai Kurnai)
• Uncle Andrew Jackomos (Yorta Yorta)
• other Aunts and Uncles yet to be announced.

Community members are encouraged to nominate an Elder or leader they believe would be suitable for inclusion. To nominate someone, click here.

To view the VAN Leader Tapes project page, click here.

About the NED Foundation

The NED Foundation is a non-profit organisation established for the purposes of fostering social and personal evolutionary processes within Australia and the world.

The foundation's mission is to support social and community activists.

"NED affirms the life-enhancing importance of fostering co-operative and mutually supportive relationships among Australian citizens. We seek the emergence of an invigorated, unifying Australian ethos, and then beyond this we advocate an Australian role in helping humanity steer itself to secure a future on the Earth." - The NED Foundation

Click here to visit the NED Foundation website

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