The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has established a new Indigenous Archives Unit to be responsible for managing Australia’s largest news and current affairs collection relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Managing Director of the ABC, David Anderson said the Unit would oversee the ABC’s Indigenous content collection, including video, audio, photos and documents.
“This initiative will highlight and celebrate the cultural contribution made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” Mr Anderson said.
“It is a very exciting moment and one that will provide valuable story-telling, context, history and connection with different communities,” he said.
“Having a dedicated Indigenous Archives Unit run by Indigenous experts in the ABC to catalogue the material, preserve this historically significant collection and ensure it is managed in a culturally appropriate way will enable us to share content not only with the communities it depicts but to all of Australia.”
Mr Anderson said one of the Unit’s key functions would be to support the ABC’s content makers in delivering Indigenous stories for audiences across all platforms and services, and in ways that were culturally appropriate and respectful of sensitive cultural content.
“The collection and presentation of content created by, for and about Australia’s first peoples is an essential part of the ABC’s role as a national broadcaster and storyteller, offering a unique and rich legacy that is worthy of protection and management,” he said.
