MEDIA ALERT FEBRUARY 19 2002 ATTENTION EDITORS Indigenous Group To Promote NQ in Europe
A young Hopevale man will leave for Germany and Austria this week as part of a delegation promoting Indigenous North Queensland arts and culture. Cyril McGreen, a thirty-one year old dancer from the Thuppi Warra clan of Cape Yorkıs Guugu Yimithirr people, will travel to Germany and Austria as part of the fifth Jama Dreaming European tour. Although Cyril has never before traveled outside of North Queensland he is excited at the opportunities the trip will create. ³Iım really proud to be part of this trip promoting my community of Hopevale and my culture,² he said. ³Itıs a bit frightening but I have been told that there is huge interest in Aboriginal culture and people in Europe and so I think I it will be hard work but good fun.² ³The things I learn on this trip I want to bring back to Hopevale to our own dance troupe. Every one talks about economic development in Cape York and so Iıd like to use my experiences in Europe to set up regular dance performances for tourists in Hopevale.² Chair of the ATSIC Cairns & District Regional Council, Terry OıShane, said his Council is proud of the role played by artists and dancers in promoting the dynamic cultures of Indigenous Australians. ³ATSIC was pleased to contribute $40,000 to Jama Dreamingıs first European tour as part of our brief of promoting and maintaining Indigenous culture. The fact that Jama Dreaming has managed to continue these tours with out ongoing ATSIC financial support is a credit to the company. ³I wish them every success for their tour,² said OıShane. Jama Dreaming director Greg Singh said the trip aimed to build confidence and pride in young Indigenous people while at the same time promoting the region and its vibrant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. ³Weıve been traveling overseas for four years now and Iım really proud to say that since the initial ATSIC grant we have operated these tours entirely without government assistance,² said Greg Singh. Jama Dreaming has given seventeen young Aboriginal people the opportunity to travel and gain experience and self-confidence in themselves during the past two years. Seven of the youths are still employed by Jama Dreaming while eight of the others have found employment on returning to Cairns. ³We find an enormous hunger for information about Australiaıs Indigenous cultures in Europe and trips like these give people a taste of the richness of Indigenous cultures. Iım sure that this sort of exposure creates a strong demand in Europe for Australian, particularly north Queensland, holidays,² said Greg Singh. According to Cairns Mayor Kevin Byrne Jama Dreamingıs work is vitally important to the regional economy. ³One of Australiaıs biggest draw cards in attracting international tourists is the unique cultures of our Indigenous citizens and the performances by Jama Dreaming throughout Europe and Asia focus attention on this region and that must be good for the local tourist industry. ³I congratulate Jama Dreaming and all the performers; they are excellent ambassadors for Tropical North Queensland,² said Mayor Byrnes. Cyril and his fellow travelers will perform for the Mayor at the Cairns City Council reception area this Wednesday at 12.30 PM. The dancers will then be officially farewelled by the Mayor. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/ until 11 March, 2001 and Recoznettwo is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznettwo%40green.net.au/ from that date. This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
