Aboriginal mojos are taking remote Australia to the world

Eleven young Aboriginal people are using mobile phones to create vibrant video journalism.

Eleven young Aboriginal people are using mobile phones to create vibrant video journalism filed direct from remote communities.

Aboriginal mobile journalists (mojos) are on assignment in their Northern Territory communities as part of the Northern Territory Mobile Journalists Project (NT Mojo), funded by the Australian Government.

The mojos began their four-week assignments after receiving training at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education.

Twenty-nine-year-old mojo Ron Poantumilui from Wurrumiyanga in the Tiwi Islands wants to use the project to inspire Tiwi Islanders to enter the workforce. He says he used to be a “sparky” (electrician) and a schoolteacher before becoming a full-time radio announcer at the local radio station.

“I love to tell stories to my niece and nephews – stories about the different jobs I have done – to encourage my young Tiwi people back home to get a proper job.”

Jasmine Nangala Patrick from Lajamanu has done digital editing before and has a wealth of story ideas.

“One I want to tell is a story about law and order and bush law.”

Together with Batchelor Institute, executive producer Ivo Burum has trained the mojos in journalistic story-telling and the skills of filming and editing video using iPhones.

“The dream of giving people the chance to tell their own stories is being married with the technology and training that enables them to do this,” says Burum.

Burum’s message to the mojos is simple but powerful: “We want you to tell stories from a very different perspective – your perspective.”

As the mojos complete their stories, they are loading them onto a dedicated site on www.indigenous.gov.au. Over the month of the project they are likely to cover a wide range of topics, from health, housing, education and employment to hunting, ceremonies, art and festivals. They may also cover some of their personal interests, such as sports, friendship and family.

In addition to video stories, the NT Mojo website has profiles of the individual mojos and their six communities: Lajamanu, Numbulwar, Ramingining, Galiwin’ku, Nauiyu (Daly River) and Wurrumiyanga (Nguiu).

To help the mojos participate in the project, they have been given tailor-made iPhone kits for filming their stories. The phones are fitted with a special application that enables them to upload their stories to the web.

“I like interviewing old people like my grandfather, about my mother’s dreams,” says Galiwin’ku mojo Sabrina Nayarri (21).

Nayarri’s two-year-old son, Charlie, came along to mojo training with her, and she looks forward to showing him her stories one day when he is older.

“I always told my parents that I wanted to work in multimedia because I love taking shots, making movies, mixing music and creating clips.”