Kiwa Digital

Congratulations to students of Thornbury Primary School!  Their work has caught the eye of an esteemed group of judges at the annual Digital Ehon Awards in Japan where “How the Platypus was Made” has been commended as a prize winner.

The esteemed judges were:
Kadokawa Reki, KADOKAWA Corporation Chairman
Kayama Rika, Rikkyo University Professor
Kimura Yuichi , picture book writer
Ishikawa Koji, picture book writer
Kayama Rika, Rikkyo University Professor
Kimura Yuichi , picture book writer
Sakakibara Yoichi, Doctor of Medicine, Ochanomizu University Vice President
Sugiyama Tomoyuki, Digital Hollywood University President
Tetsuya Mizuguchi, creator-producer, Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University Professor
Ken Mogi, brain scientist, Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Senior Researcher, Keio University Professor.

The story from the Wurundjeri people, the traditional owners of the Melbourne district of Australia, of how the Platypus came to be is part of a project where 15 indigenous students from Thornbury Primary School were selected to create illustrations and record narratives for digital storybooks.

The students’ creative use of language, art and technology enabled the telling of Balayang Wurrgarrabil-ut (Why Bats are Black), Dulaiwurrung Mungka-nj-bulanj (How the Platypus Was Made) and Gurrborra Nguba-nj Ngabun Baanj (Why the Koala doesn’t Drink Water) to a global audience.

The development of these digital resources will support language reclamation and revitalisation activities in Victorian schools and communities.

For more on this project, created with the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages, explore www.vaclang.org.au