July 31, 2026: Connect with Australia’s Indigenous Literacy Foundation
The BPAA is pleased to announce the upcoming in-person PD session, Connect with Australia’s Indigenous Literacy Foundation, presented by Ben Bowen, Tictac Moore, and Cindy Manfong. Please review the information below for information on participating in this unique session.
Date & Time
Friday, July 31 from 10:00am-11:30am MT
Location
Edmonton Public Library – Stanley Milner Branch (Thunderbird House Room)
7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 2V5
About the Session
Join us in-person for a presentation from Australia’s Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF), a charity working with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities across Australia. The organization is Community-led, responding to requests from remote Communities for culturally relevant books, including early learning board books, resources, and programs to support Communities to create and publish their stories in languages of their choice.
The ILF is visiting Canada for the IBBY Congress and, on July 31, they will be specifically stopping in Edmonton to meet with local publishers and librarians. Ben Bowen (CEO), Tictac Moore (Head of Programs), and Cindy Manfong (Publishing Projects Editor) will discuss the organization and its history, their publishing process and program types, market opportunities, and the value that Indigenous Communities see in publishing and working in this space. The session will be a deep dive into how the ILF partners and works with Communities from across Australia.
Come join us in-person for this unique opportunity to learn from the work of an international organization focused on supporting and publishing Indigenous stories. Thank you to IBBY Canada and Colette Poitras for organizing this opportunity. Lunch will be provided after the session, and you are welcome to stay and mingle with the session presenters and other attendees.
Please register to reserve your spot by 4:00 pm MT on Thursday, July 23.
About the ILF
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF)is a national charity of the Australian Book Industry, working with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities across Australia. The organization is Community-led, responding to requests from remote Communities for culturally relevant books, including early learning board books, resources, and programs to support Communities to create and publish their stories in languages of their choice. This programming includes a publishing house focused on Indigenous Storytelling, first languages, and bilingual books. The ILF also has mentoring programs to help young people develop skills and experience in publishing books as well as developing opportunities for young people in remote communities to develop opportunities to work in the industry without having to relocate.
The ILF supports over 500 Indigenous Communities around Australia to access books and publish their stories in languages through program support supporting access to publishing services, skills networks.
Speaker Bios
Wiradjuri man Ben Bowen is the CEO of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). Ben is a proud Aboriginal man, a descendent of the Wiradjuri Nation with family links to the Gandangara, Dharrawal and Yuin Nations. He was born and raised on the Gadigal and Wangal lands of the Sydney basin.
Ben has worked nationally and internationally, collaborating with both Indigenous Communities and government to create opportunities in education, health, and economic development. He has extensive experience in systems leadership and strategy.
Since 2007, Ben has worked for and with First Nations people in the not-for-profit sector, building programs, developing strategy, sourcing funding, collaborating with partners, and shaping thought leadership within the university sector.
As a former professional athlete, he understands the power of teamwork and believes in leading from within the team, nurturing a sense of circular responsibility and accountability, each person to the other.
He believes that we are lifelong learners and is passionate about early childhood education and the power of literacy.
Dianne Moore, known to most as Tictac, is a Tiwi woman living and working on Wulirankuwu Country in Milikapiti on the Tiwi Islands—her home community. Her skin group is Sun and her totem is the crocodile. As ILF’s Head of Programs based in Milikapiti, Tictac leads the Create Initiative Program and oversees some of ILF’s other programs, helping to connect Communities with Community Publishing opportunities.
Tictac first encountered ILF in 2013 while working at a boarding school on Tiwi, where ILF staff and Ambassadors led illustration and storytelling workshops with students. One of those workshops led to a trip to Sydney as part of the Create Initiative, where students developed and published the book Bangs to Jurrukuk, a story about a little owl. Witnessing the growth and confidence students gained through this experience sparked Tictac’s passion for ILF’s work—something she continues to see year after year with each new group of young authors.
Cindy Manfong is a proud Jingili, Mudburra and Mangarrayi woman from Katherine, NT and a Publishing Project Editor at the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). She started at the ILF over 10 years ago as a Program Coordinator and has worked in many roles since. Her knowledges of Community life and her experiences and passion for working with schools have been invaluable assets to the growth and successes of the ILF.
In her current role within the Community Publishing Team, Cindy’s contributions have been hugely valuable. As part of publishing work, she has built trust and relationships with remote and very remote Communities across the country. Collaborating with local artists, authors, children and language speakers, she has been trusted not only with their stories but with the opportunity to support the sharing of their cultures and knowledges, and contribute to the already strong foundations of literacy in Community life.
The opportunity to be a role model and to give back to Communities has always been the driving force behind Cindy’s passion for the work at the ILF.