Publications
Computer Business Workshop CDU 28-30 April 2006
Report by M Christie
Facilitated by John Greatorex, Bryce King, Trevor van Weeren, Michael Christie.
Participants: Dhanggal Gurruwiwi (from Gunyangara), Maratja Dhamarrandji (from Galiwin’ku), Gothadjaka (from Gawa), Wulumdhuna Yunupingu (from Djurranalpi), Lawurrpa (from Galiwin’ku), Nawutpu Garrawurra (from Langarra), Frank Djirrimbilpilwuy (Darwin).
Observers: Garadhawal Garawurra, Muthamuluwuy and Lisa (Galiwin’ku), Bandak Marika (Yirrkala), Mula (Milingimbi), Anthea Nicholls (PhD student).
Friday Morning:
Set up computers and have breakfast.
Looking first at the hardware and file management systems
Looking at Safari (web browser)
Google earth.
Setting up email addresses at Yahoo.com
Starting work with Microsoft Word
Friday Afternoon:
Visit from Leon Morris and Mark Motlop from the Indigenous Business
and Industry Services.
Discussion about business models
More work on Google earth
Sending emails,
Saturday Morning:
Finding emails and attachments.
Introduction to Microsoft Word.
Downloading, opening, saving a Microsoft Word document.
Modifying the document, saving it, and attaching it to a return
email.
Writing a preliminary business plan
Looking at plant knowledge software, and how it can be used with
traditional knowledge work.
Looking at ‘TAMI’ digital object presentation software
Saturday afternoon:
Discussion about business possibilities and need for further help.
(This discussion will be transcribed and translated as part of
the ongoing research project for full report to IBA)
Main identified needs:
• more computer training
• more training about how a business runs
• more discussion on business models
• legal side of business training
Sunday morning:
Downloading and using Skype (web-based communications software)
More work with Google-Earth. Using Google-Earth to tell stories
and identify places.
Worked with Guthadjaka using Appleworks to create a poster for
her Law Project.
Finding and downloading free image manipulation software (considerable
difficulty installing)
Sunday afternoon:
Looked at video made by Mangay about the land east of the Arafura.
Discussion about why the video was made, and how it was made, and
the use of collaborative software.
Audio editing and download of audio editing software.
More discussion about where to go next with people’s business goals.
Different people had different ideas.
• one-on-one following someone through with the development of
their business step by step, and learning how to do each thing
as the need arises. Learning on the job. Talked about the metaphor
of the learning journey: Where you are? where do you want to go?
and how you are going to get there?
• suggestion that people team together to do cultural awareness
training under the guidance of Don Christopherson.
• people keen for workshops to be held at Galiwin’ku or Gawa, talking
about how many people (no more than we had this time) and how to
focus the work.
• people in Darwin keen to make use of the INC studio computers,
will start in three weeks, just getting more familiar with the
software and hardware we have been working with. This includes
Harry and Frank, but also Lanybalanyba who was keen to attend but
not available.
• people keen on continuing to do linguistic work for money. Gotha,
Frank and Maratja will take home video clips from the workshop
and transcribe and translate them and send them in with invoice,
($30 per 100 words) this will be paid for from the Yolngu Studies
account, and will be used both as a resource for teaching Yolngu
studies, and as data for the ongoing InterNetworking Communities
research (see www.cdu.edu.au/inc)
• Wulumdhuna requested a workshop which helps her develop multimedia,
does not really want to make money out of it, just educational
resources at this stage.
• Frank keen to develop the skills to make music CDs and DVDs which
can be marketable very cheaply for a very local audience (family
members etc) Barrarra also keen to make DVDs of ceremonials to
distribute to family members.
• Things which we didn’t get around to covering which people wanted
to learn about: taking pictures and downloading them, video editing,
sound recording, CD production, Microsoft Word (only basics covered),
internet banking, ABN numbers.
Feedback on the workshop:
People agreed that it was good to have everyone from the same
language group working together. We had invited people from Anmatyerre,
who were unable to come, but it turned out well to have everyone
related to each other, even if one woman was the classificatory
mother-in-law of the other so avoidance protocols needed to be
observed.
Participants agreed that it was good to talk about small business
models, the future of Yolngu communities, and technical issues
like software and hardware uses all at the same time. It is this
sort of integration of agendas, on-the-job learning, and political/philosophical
discussion which seems to work best for this group.
Participants stated that the collaborative research approach where
training and technical needs could be identified in the context
of ongoing business development, was more useful than a conventional
training workshop (eg through VET delivery). People were not particularly
interested in gaining a formal qualification, but rather in learning
business skills. However the issues of appropriate training did
come up frequently.
The notes from the ‘Where-to-from-here’ discussion on Sunday afternoon
(described above) make clear the areas which require further work.
Identified Business Models and Business Opportunities
Participants all had a chance to talk about the sort of business they were involved in, and would like to continue to work in. These were all videorecorded and will be transcribed and translated into English.
There was considerable interest in the idea of a government-supported Indigenous Business Service Agency (to help with book-keeping, taxation, brokering of work etc) and a Business Incubator, but general agreement that people would start out with tele-interpreting, transcription and translation work, and cross cultural consultancies, and start to get a feel for the work, and the use of computers, before they set up a formal business.
Dhanggal spoke of her family business selling and teaching didgeridoos which has been set up by a friend, and which she would like to take a greater role in organising.
Everyone agreed to continue talking about options and within a couple of months make plans for further research-training methods.
Linkages created between other agencies and State and Commonwealth departments
Agencies and departments who have helped us, and with whom we have formed linkages are;
• Indigenous Business Australia - provided funding to assist with
the workshop costs
• Indigenous Economic Development Taskforce, Department of Business,
Economic and Regional Development, Northern Territory Government
– came to speak at the workshop, and originally suggested that
we contact IBA for funding
• Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, - visited to talk
about supporting tele-interpreting as part of their Indigenous
Health Workforce Implementation Plan.
• CRC Aboriginal Health is interested in supporting tele-interpreting
• CDU has awarded $80,000 for ongoing research work into information
communication technology and remote community capacity building,
which supported the workshop.
Proposed future activities
There was general enthusiasm for continuing our collaboration.
When asked specifically to make clear what may be required, the
needs identified were to do with infrastructure and further training
through similar collaborative workshops.
Infrastructure needs:
• more computers. People without their own computers were interested
in being helped to buy the best computers for the work they wanted
to do. People were happy with the idea of paying for the computer
through the work which the computer generated (mostly linguistic
and consultancy work at this stage)
• a couple of people need satellite links to be made available
at their homes, and would like assistance to pay for them.
Workshop needs:
From the many ideas which circulated, three workshop ideas seemed
particularly useful:
• Professional linguistic business setup. Already in the week since
the workshop four people are working on transcribing and translating
videos made during the workshop for which they will be paid from
the Yolngu Studies database account. The proposed workshop would
deal with the audio video and word processing software for transcription
and translation, and the business side of things: calculating costs
on a per-word basis, generating invoices, and accounts for the
transfer of funds. It is propsed that this workshop be held at
Galiwin’ku.
• Producing community-level digital memory resources: A number
of people are already using video and audio recording to make DVDs
and CDs of ceremonies and song performances for distribution in
the communities of origin. At this stage, this is cultural work,
and no money is changing hands. However we have been asked to help
people upgrade their digital object production skills, so potentially
they could become commercially viable. this workshop would involve
some examination intellectual property issues in both Aboriginal
and Australian law.
• Professional Cross cultural consultancy workshop. Some of the
participants are already involved in cross cultural consultancy
and awareness training work. This is increasingly a source of income
for people in the group. A workshop would concentrate specifically
on the digital aspects of this work; making a set of resources
for talking about land, language, culture, kin etc. Setting up
possibilities for teaching on-line using collaborative software
tools. Setting up publicity, invoicing and banking systems to support
consultancy work.
For a short report and photos from the CDu website, please visit: http://www.cdu.edu.au/newsroom/story.php?nID=923