“Affirming cultural knowledge so Aboriginal people from the Far South East Coast have the tools to live and work in Culture on Country” 

- Synopsis of Project Working Group meetings in January 2023 

In 2022, SharingStories Foundation made presentations to the Guluga and Biamanga Boards of Management in South East NSW and was invited to collaborate with communities along the coast on a new project. Consultations were undertaken with family groups between Eden and Batemans Bay throughout 2022-2023, which led to the creation of the Yuin Digital Keeping Place Project.

Funded through the NIAA, the Project supports community capacity for self-representation and legacy building for future generations, and supports engagement with the wider community through education, reconciliation, truth-telling, and cultural tourism.

Throughout 2024 and 2025, a Project Working Group of 9 family representatives residing between Eden and Batemans Bay, is directing the planning and development of the project and advising on the collation, recording, and curation of cultural content into a Digital Keeping Place.

The Digital Keeping Place will house audio-visual recordings, cultural artefacts, and historical materials drawn from state institutions, local archives, and personal collections. The Project will also include the production of 20 short films, three language dictionaries for the Dhurga, Djiringandj and Dhawa language groups, and a mentorship program.

Deloitte Digital has partnered with SharingStories Foundation to build the Digital Keeping Place, which will be launched by the Yuin community at the end of 2025.

Over the next year the Yuin community will be:

• Developing the design for the Digital Keeping Place (DKP)
• Collating content for the DKP
• Undertaking site visits and recording cultural stories for the DKP
• Designing a mentorship program to run throughout 2025
• Planning the development of three language dictionaries to run throughout 2025

Current Project Working Group Members

Bunja Smith, Trish Ellis, BJ Cruse, Vivienne Mason, Warren Foster, Lynne Thomas, Lorraine Naylor (deceased), Cheryl Davison, Gary Campbell