This website captures research that Leonore Hanssens has conducted over the past ten years into Indigenous suicide in the Northern Territory. Leonore has created the site in response to approaches by fellow researchers, students and other interested parties for information about her research and how to access it. More recently, she provided input to parliamentary discussions of the issues of youth suicide (NT Parliament, 2011) which brought the  need to share information to the forefront.

Leonore hopes the website can be a useful tool and resource for laypersons, students, academics and others and will contribute to the discussion on suicide in Australia and identify ways to alleviate the tragedy in our community.

Visit the site -http://www.promotelifent.com.au

Strengthening leadership to ‘Close the Gap’ – conference at Citigate Central, Sydney, 15-16 February 2012.

Further information visit http://indigenousleaders.com/

Eat Strong: Good Food for Health Program – Indigenous Nutrition Project,  14 February

The Rural Health Education Foundation (RHEF) will broadcast the second program in their Indigenous Nutrition Project on 14th February. It will be a half hour documentary showcasing health promotion and community development programs in rural and remote Australia. Watch it via the Rural Health Education satellite television network, on NITV, or webstreamed.

You can also go to the RHEF website – register for the webcast and view the 1.5 hour Good Tucker: Improving Indigenous Health program that broadcast on December 6. … the program includes Dr Andy Hume and Anthea from RIG Network in the panel discussion.

Visit www.rhef.com.au/programs for further information and to register and view the above programs.

National Close the Gap Day – Thursday 22 March

Get involved and join thousands of people and organisations around Australia holding events to raise awareness about Indigenous health issues and the need for action! You can register your event at http://www.oxfam.org.au/nctgd . Register online and Oxfam Australia sends you posters, a DVD specially made for the day and Close the Gap T-Shirts. Resources will be sent out in February. Events can take place in homes, workplaces, schools, universities, medical centres or wherever you think people may be interested in finding out more about the Close Gap campaign. Events can be large or small, formal or informal, and can follow whatever format best suits you!

Why not build an event with community members to link with and celebrate your local food and garden projects?!!!

Thanks to everyone who has participated in RIG Network events and activities or contributed stories for RIG News in 2011!

Christopher Thiesfield & Associates Pty Ltd (CTA) – New Supporting Sponsor in 2012

Warm welcome and thanks to CTA who have recently become a Supporting Sponsor of RIG Network’s core programs. CTA is a majority indigenous owned company that specialises in accredited training in rural and remote parts of Australian in the areas of Horticulture and Rural Operations. They also supply and install solar powered home and community hydroponic units for the consistent year round supply of fresh vegetables.

In-Scape-Out Living Systems – New RIG Advisory Group member and Partner Organisation

In-Scape-Out is an NT based landscape design and construction business specialising in sustainable and productive landscapes. They possess qualifications and experience in Horticulture, Architecture, Permaculture, Training and Assessment and Community Gardens design and development and believe there are incredible opportunities for Indigenous communities to engage in and develop local food production at many levels from individual gardens to productive enterprises.

The Rural Health Education Foundation has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing with additional funding from the St. George Foundation and The Marian and E.H Flack Trust to produce two educational television programs looking at health and nutrition amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. These programs are part of the Foundation’s Indigenous Nutrition Project which also includes an education resource DVD on healthy nutrition for the use of Aboriginal Health Workers and other community health workers in their communities.

The first program is a live and interactive webcast and simultaneous satellite television broadcast entitled Good Tucker: Improving Indigenous Health which will air nationally on Tuesday 6^th December 2011 at 8pm AEDT. The panel discussion and Q & A session will air across the Foundation’s satellite network and on NITV as well as online.

Pre-register for the webcast and submit questions to the panel.

Visit the Foundation website www.rhef.com.au for detailed information.

As the year draws to a close here’s a snapshot of some key recent and coming events you might like to attend, track or read proceedings from…

1) The Australian Academy of Social Sciences – 2011 Annual Symposium was held on November 8 2011 in Canberra. Topic: Food Regimes and Food Security

Cunningham Lecture that can be downloaded: “Living with an unsustainable food system: can food democracy resolve the dilemmas?” Professor Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, City University, London

Other speakers included: Food security in remote Indigenous communities, including community stores and their role in the health of remote Indigenous communities and the Mai Wiru program, South Australia

More information: see http://www.assa.edu.au/programs/forums/annual_symposiums/2011.php

2) Food security and biosecurity symposium was held at the University of Sydney on November 16, 2011

One day event at which agricultural professionals and leading experts addressed the interaction between food security and biosecurity on dealing with biosecurity risks in a way that minimises major impacts on our food security. This important one-day symposium Protecting our crops: the interaction between food security and biosecurity was organised by the NSW division of the Ag Institute Australia (AIA) in collaboration with the Farrer Trust, with support from the Australian Plant Pathology Society (APPS), NSW Department of Primary Industries, Grains Research and Development Corporation, and the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

More information see:  http://sydney.edu.au/news/agriculture/1272.html?newsstoryid=8120

3) Australasian Agri-Food Research Network Conference: Sustainabilities, Justice and Agriculture in the Asia- Pacific Region

5-8 December 2011, Australian National University, Canberra

The Australasian Agri-food Research Network is an open network of researchers interested in food, agriculture and the rural sector. Its aim is to provide a collaborative forum for researchers interested in food, agriculture and rural issues from across different areas of the social sciences. This years event includes a special theme session on ‘Negotiating a politics for indigenous agricultural food networks’ that is led by NZ academics and may include a paper from RIG Network.

More information:  http://www.afrn.org.au/2011/07/agri-food-2011/

4) 3rd Sustainable Phosphorous Summit, Sydney – 29 Feb – 2 Mar 2012

“Vegetables from a garden project in the remote Aboriginal lands of South Australia are now being picked.

Fruit and vegetable gardens are being tried at Watarru, Indulkana and Railway Bore as part of the SA Government’s food security strategy aimed at reducing remote food prices.

Picking has begun at Watarru, a community of about 30 people.

There are cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, silverbeet and bok choy for locals to use.

The produce is being made available free of charge and people can pick their own.

The Opposition and some Aboriginal groups have been arguing the project will not reduce overall prices for food and other essential items in the APY Lands”.

What do you think? Gardens are an integral part of – but not the ‘sole’ solution – to high food prices in remote communities and of course a range of linked-up measures are required for resilience and sustainability…. Anthea

A number of people were in touch over the weekend to let me know they’d heard Wadeye gardeners call in to the ABC Gardening Show, or they’d seen the following links – read on….

http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2011/11/03/3355543.htm

http://www.newsroom.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewRelease&id=8838&d=5

RIG News #15 features stories about two very different types of farms that provide people (and animals!!!) with local fresh food with reduced food miles.  Check them out – along with news snapshots about a range of strategic developments in the ‘food’ and ‘human rights’ scene that include new reports from AMNESTY International and Oxfam’s GROW project.