A NEW program helping serve Aboriginal culture through digital technology will be rolled out in Tamworth this week.
Indigenous Digital Excellence (IDX) will be bringing its Flint program to The Youthie, giving local facilitators and community members a run down on coding, robotics, virtual reality and drones.
Program manager Grant Cameron said the program was aimed at “igniting the kids’ interest in technology”, while also highlighting potential career paths and opportunities.
READ MORE:
- Tamworth Youthie praised following a boom in attendance
- While the Coledale drop-in centre is putting on a whole gamut of free activities for teenagers during the holidays, the opportunity to volunteer has proved to be one of the most popular with the kids
- “To be able to see young people realise that they can create their own worth is special.”
“We’ll train-up local members of the community and make them confident in running the technology,” he said.
“We’ll leave the Tamworth Youthie with $10,000 worth of technology.
“They’ll be able use it to engage kids who aren’t engaged in mainstream school.”
With a range of local facilitators coming in to learn how to harness the technology, Mr Cameron hoped the program would create “a team of Aboriginal role models showing kids how to serve our culture” with technology.
During the four-day program participants learn a range of new skills, including MIT Scratch computer programming, robotics and 3D printing, and Virtual Reality.
The Flint program provides $25 000 worth of in-kind support for regional communities through workshops for Indigenous youth, skills development for local facilitators, and the delivery of technology kits and educational resources that remain within the community following each workshop.
A major aspect of Flint’s objective is to plant seeds for future engagement with digital technologies in communities while also leaving behind tools, technology and practical know-how to transfer interest into tangible outcomes and projects.
The IDX team also revisits communities to strengthen the program’s work further by checking in with how previously installed technologies and projects are going.
“A big part of our work is to ensure the resources we provide, through the kit and workshops, are matched to the community’s needs,” Mr Cameron said.
“By revisiting and reconnecting with local facilitators we can ensure they get the support they need to implement their ideas and continue to use the tech in their community.”
Workshops will be open to the community on Thursday and Friday from 9.30 to 15.30.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
