We acknowledge and respect the Traditional Owners of lands across Australia, their Elders, Ancestors, cultures and heritage, and recognise the continuing sovereignties of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations.

We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, who are the Traditional Owners of the land on which the ACTF is based and pay our respect to their Elders past and present.

We are honoured to have the opportunity to learn from the oldest cultural storytellers in the world and seek to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners to share their rich culture and perspectives with children in Australia and around the world via stories on screen.

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ACTF outreach: Insights from recent professional learning

The ACTF Learning team delivered workshops, attended presentations and connected with passionate educators at two recent national conferences. Here, the team reflects on our learnings from these events.

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AATE ALEA Conference 2023

The Australian Association for the Teaching of English and the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association decided upon an evocative theme for this year’s national conference: ‘Action to Impact: English & Literacy that Empowers’. Classroom teachers, school leaders, education department staff, academics and educators from non-school settings came together in Canberra on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples. The conference showcased a commitment to professional learning, best practice teaching and improving student literacy outcomes.

Across three workshops, the ACTF sought to highlight locally produced television series which centre young people as protagonists: strong characters such as Hannah in First Day, Salwa in Hardball, Samara in Thalu and Cat in The PM’s Daughter. These characters demonstrate strength and resilience against the odds – to take action on the issues which matter to them, inspiring and empowering young audiences to do the same.

The ACTF was also an exhibitor at the conference, giving our team the chance to speak individually with educators and learn about their teaching contexts. The ACTF Learning team used this opportunity to highlight new learning resources and events that support learners in viewing, analysing and creating screen stories in the classroom and beyond. We also invited teachers to share their experiences using Australian children’s television content in the classroom via this current research survey.

Along with other delegates, the ACTF Learning team left Canberra inspired, with new connections across the country and innovative ideas for our work. Well done to the conference convenors and steering committee on presenting such an engaging and successful program of professional learning.

ATOM National Conference 2023

ACTF is proud be a silver sponsor for the bi-annual Screen Horizons National Conference, hosted by the Australian Teachers of Media Queensland (ATOM QLD). This year the event was held on the Gold Coast at Bond University on the lands of the Kombumerri peoples. Screen Horizons prompted delegates to think critically about the issues, skills, and qualities ‘on the horizon’ of screen and media education in Australia.

Across two workshops and two presentations, the ACTF team covered timely topics such as the importance of including the knowledges of local industry creatives in the classroom, First Nations descriptors in version 9.0 of the Australian curriculum, circular time in First Nations screen texts and documentary film making in the primary classroom with the recent launch of the Built to Survive resource.

The ACTF connected with media teachers from across the nation to exchange ideas, new ACTF content, and supporting resources. We look forward to continuing these relationships to work on educational outcomes in the classroom.