Interview with Mr Craig Ritchie
CEO Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Co-Chair, Steering Committee for the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages
1 April, 2019, Canberra

00:00 JD Could you tell me about your role with the UNESCO Global Steering Committee. (Cut out of audio)

00:05 Craig: Sure, I have two hats that I am wearing on that committee. First of them is I am a representative of the UNESCO member states for the Asia Pacific Region um and what is exciting about that of course is that it is a region that is just full of indigenous languages and indigenous people ah, so that is ah a pretty significant representative role and in addition to that I co-chair the steering committee, myself and another member state representative and two indigenous people representatives are the co-chairs of the committee.

00:48 JD And in terms of the region do you think that there is a big need for representation?

00:54 Craig: Oh I think so I think it is important um that the region has a voice particularly in the organisation of the various events that are happening across the course of the year as the International Year of Indigenous Languages – but also because there is a lot of good work happening in Indigenous languages in this region and I would say particularly in this country and of course our friends and colleagues across the Tasman in Aotearoa.

01:28 JD And just in terms of this country we are in, Australia what is the situation in Australia in terms of Indigenous languages, first nation languages.

01:38 Craig: As you know at the time when the British arrived, let us use that term, shall we, in 1788, there were something between 2 and 300 Indigenous languages spoken on the mainland and within that context ah, probably close to 6 to 800 dialects within those languages so ah somebody put it recently to me this way, far from having a recent history as a multicultural nation since the end of world war two we have got a 65,000 year history of being a multicultural place and so ah we were diverse um multicultural, multilingual, of course jump ahead 230 years, and the situation is not quite so good, um, with very few of those languages spoken on about 120 in fact of those are spoken in the country and of those about 90 per cent of that 120 are considered at risk – um so it is a pretty dismal picture but what is exciting is there is a lot of work happening to re-invigorate indigenous languages there is a lot of recording work going on with 22 indigenous language centres around the country that are funded and more need to be funded but those language centres are vital in terms of language recovery and revitalisation.

02:54 JD: Do you think this international year may give a platform, what are your hopes to come out of this year as a CEO of AIATSIS, and also on the steering committee.

Craig: So I think there are a number of things I think this International Year is a unparalleled opportunity and in terms of our aspirations..

JD Why is it unparalleled?

03:18 Craig: Well because it is a year in which global focus and global effort and now the risk is that it 12 months of global focus and 12 months of global effort and then when 2020 roles around it is another year for something else, um and so one of things that the steering committee the global steering committee is particularly focuses on is what is the legacy here so apart from a year which we focus on Indigenous languages, where we shine the spotlight on the good work that is being done and the work that needs to be done and we have the interest and the energy of all the member states of the United Nations because this was after all a product of a General Assembly  resolution, and we have all of that energy focussed, well what next we want to make sure that there is ongoing work – um so;

04:15 Craig: So one from an AIATSIS perspective our aspiration goes through a few things, first of all is the visibility of Indigenous languages, if you go to some places where there are a bit ahead of the game, further ahead of the game than we are in, like New Zealand, you get off a plane in New Zealand, it is immediately obvious, it is the signage there is dual signage, there is just visible languages, … we see a bit of this happening, you hear station IDs, and things in things in local languages starting in appear in the country, but I hope that the focus of this year will produce much more visibility of indigenous languages – but I would like to see places reverting to the indigenous names – for me I long for the day when I can talk about Uluru and not have to qualify it by saying Ayres Rock – just that general usage, when words start to be picked up and to be used

05:13 JD: Do you think that if you can get the visibility we are talking – it is not a great word – but mainstreaming – if you get that as sort of habitual thing during this year, do you think that will have some currency moving on? Could that be part of the importance of the year that you start pushing various things so that it becomes something that people just do?

05:34 Craig: I think that is right I have seen that happening already and it is without minimising or without cutting of any avenues of redress it is a really important form of redress, um that starts to recognise the knowledge and the values and the world views that have been here for 65,000 years.

05:54 JD You mention that you are going to the UN Permanent Forum would it be possible do you think that one of the legacy’s could be that you take the success of this year, or some of the things that have come out like some of the things we have been talking about to the Permanent Forum – can an international year push good ideas through to benefit more people?

06:10 Craig: Oh I think absolutely it is one of the you know, I mentioned before it is a great opportunity, it is one of the elements of that opportunity is that shared learning and knowledge exchange and so it is one of the reasons why I think um International engagement around Indigenous issues is so absolutely critical because we can learn from one another – we have got some things that we might that other people might be interested in knowing how we did them but equally there are some really tough issues and some really ah deep sort of policy conundrums that we are wrestling with that perhaps other countries have been wrestling with and have found solutions for.

06:48 JD: So you will be taking some of the Australian and regional experiences to the UN Permanent Forum.

06:55 Craig: Well absolutely, and so the thing about the Permanent Forum is it’s member states its a enormous number of Indigenous peoples representatives and representative bodies that go, so is is a venue where you have the states and Indigenous Peoples coming together and I think that that is important – there will be a focus at this during the first week of this session on Indigenous Languages. 

07:21 JD: And, is this what keeps you going, is this your passion?

07:23 Craig: well look yes it is, I think the opportunity, having the opportunity um to be able to be part of a process where Australians get to in a sense reimagine what does it mean to be an Australian, what does it mean to be part of this country, and this place, um – the chance to be part of that I find completely energising – it appeals to everything that kind of gets me going.

JD And language in particular?

Craig: Well I think that is really important, I think that that is, now I am careful a bit about that because um, I think it is very important, but I don’t want to we need to be careful that we are not saying to Indigenous people who through no fault of their own and through the circumstances of history, have lost the ability to use their language – that somehow they are less genuinely aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander- I think that would be unfortunate and unhelpful,

Craig: but I know as a 53 year old ah, who sat down with somebody in my office a couple of years ago, a linguist who worked on the Dunghutti language, my language dictionary, and started to learn, it didn’t make me more aboriginal, it helped me connect much more, with um, with that identity, so it didn’t create the identity but it certainly reinforced it – and so now I get to sit with my grandchildren and whisper Dunghutti words in their ear – you know- I sit with my grand daughter and point to her  big brother and say that is your “Bingai” just things like that might just mean that other ah, my children and my grandchildren might not have wait until they are 51 years old before they get to engage with their language and before they get to engage with the sort of um perspective shaping ideas that gives you –but just to be able to find other ways to look at problems or other ways to think about situations and is such a powerful thing and why wouldn’t you want to be part of shaping a country that is able to do that – and instead of ah you know a continual sort of regressive war about our national identity and trying to lock in this very narrow fixed white anglo-saxon sense of who we are as Australians why wouldn’t we create something that is rich and diverse and beautiful that we all can own.

Ends.