INDIGENOUS STORYBOOK
bbj6MXa
bbj6MXa
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
are acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the area<br />
they are in. I thought the Welcome to Country App.<br />
would be a good way to share a significant aspect of<br />
our tradition. The App. was launched through iTunes<br />
in March 2013 and is free for everyone to download<br />
onto their smartphones.<br />
We have been working hard over the last couple of<br />
years to get the App. widely recognised and utilised.<br />
We are very happy with how well the App. has been<br />
received. The feedback has been extremely positive.<br />
People from all around Australia have been contacting<br />
us and wanting to know how they can make a video<br />
to contribute from their own Country or region.<br />
We have made welcome videos for the majority<br />
of the capital cities and regional towns that have<br />
major airports. As Qantas has a list of all the airports<br />
they use around Australia on their website, we have<br />
ensured there is a welcome video for all the places<br />
people fly into. This ensures that passengers/travellers<br />
can have that experience of being welcomed because<br />
when you land or travel through different regions<br />
the inbuilt GPS in your phone will recognise that<br />
you have crossed into another tribal boundary and<br />
it will automatically provide a welcome from that<br />
specific area. It’s basically a way to be welcomed into<br />
someone else’s Country.<br />
I am currently working on securing sponsorship<br />
or a partnership to expand its presence Australia<br />
wide, particularly with organisations such as Telstra<br />
or Virgin, or Qantas. If Qantas come on board as a<br />
major sponsor/partner we’d love to call it the Qantas<br />
Welcome to Country App. Ultimately, I would like<br />
to see the Welcome to Country videos playing<br />
on screens in the airport as people enter. Audio is<br />
another option and that could also be broadcast in<br />
the aircraft upon landing.<br />
What is a<br />
‘Welcome to Country’?<br />
“A Welcome to Country is where an<br />
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander custodian<br />
or Elder from the local area or region<br />
welcomes people to their land. This may<br />
be done through speech, song, dance or<br />
ceremony and has been part of Aboriginal and<br />
Torres Strait Islander protocol for thousands<br />
of years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander<br />
protocols or customs in relation to Welcome<br />
to Country are diverse and will vary from<br />
region to region.”<br />
http://www.welcometocountry.mobi/<br />
The Welcome To Country<br />
App. is available to download<br />
on Apple ITunes.<br />
For more information go to:<br />
http://www.welcometocountry.mobi/<br />
To date over 500 people have downloaded the<br />
App. Australia wide which is fantastic. However, we<br />
want that to be in the thousands! We have recently<br />
purchased advertising on Facebook which will<br />
provide further publicity. The sky is the limit for this<br />
App.<br />
“To date over 500<br />
people have downloaded the<br />
App. Australia wide which is fantastic.<br />
However, we want that to be in the<br />
thousands! We have recently purchased<br />
advertising on Facebook which will<br />
provide further publicity. The sky is<br />
the limit for this App.”<br />
Tyson Mowarin<br />
37
Change language