Indigemoji (2019)
app

Indigemoji is Australia’s first sticker set of Indigenous emojis made by young people in Central Australia - featuring faces, roo tails, troopies, plants, animals and local hand signals, available via a free app.

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Led by Arrernte linguists and elders, Joel Liddle Perrule, Veronica Dobson Perrurle and Kwementyaye Wallace Kemarre, each emoji has an Arrernte name, the ancient but endangered language of Mparntwe/Alice Springs. It enables a new means of communicating on digital platforms using signs and signifiers from Arrernte culture and language - a small but significant step towards improving the representation and inclusion of the many diverse cultures and languages of Australia in digital technologies.

 

Developed during the International Year of Indigenous Languages, the 90 emoji designs were designed by young people at the Alice Springs Public Library. Over seven weeks of workshops, 960 young people participated - drawing, designing, making, experimenting and discussing language. Many had never used an iPad before. They were mentored by a group of talented Indigenous artists Graham Wilfred Jnr, Phillip McCormack, Emma Stubbs and Colleen Powell, who were in the space all summer thanks to support from inDigiMOB, a digital inclusion partnership between First Nations Media Australia and Telstra.

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The Indigemoji app was launched on 22 November 2019 with a BBQ at Alice Spring Public Library and Indigemoji Disco at Brown Street Youth Drop-in Centre. It was the number one social networking app in the App Store upon its release and was downloaded 40,000 times in its first week.

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More: www.indigemoji.com.au

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Johnston Foundation, Indigimob/First Nation Media, Northern Territory Government, Alice Springs Public Library​

In collaboration with ​Joel Liddle Perrule, Veronica Dobson Perrurle and Kwementyaye Wallace Kemarre. Full credits.

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Accolades: ​2020 Honoree, Public Service & Activism, Webby Award, 2020 Honorary Mention, Digital Communities, Prix Ars Electronica, 2020 Best Digital Product, First Nations Media Awards

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Photos: Emma Louise Murray, Lindsey Matthews, Caddie Brain​​

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