Cotton On Foundation Field Report 2015 Cotton On Foundation Field Report | Page 38

GLOBAL
PROJECTS
AUSTRALIAN
INDIGENOUS PROJECTS
We’ve been working with indigenous communities in Yirrkala
and surrounding homelands, in Australia’s Northern Territory
since 2012.

Also based here, is The Mulka Project, a digital media
development and production department that we supported
last year.

Home to the Yolngu people, the oldest culture in Australia,
Yirrkala is a community that we’ve committed to support by
empowering them through artistic and cultural knowledge.

Yaka Gana (Working Together) Music Workshop
In March 2015, we launched the Yaka Gana music program
with 16-25 year olds, a grass roots music workshop that
empowers young people by building upon their musical skills
and cultural knowledge.

Why is this important? By supporting young people to build
a strong identity and cultural connection, we see better
educational outcomes which provide sustainable opportunity
for the entire community.
Buku Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre
Buku-Larrnggay, meaning “the feeling on your face as it is
struck by the first rays of the sun”, is an Arts Centre that is
run by the Indigenous community in Yirrkala in Northeast
Arnhem Land. It supports Yolngu artists, who exhibit and sell
their traditional and contemporary art.

Textiles Workshop Program
Last year, we trialed a workshop with Yolngu women to create
a silk fabric line using traditional methods. The participants
were empowered with invaluable skills, and it helped transfer
knowledge, from elders to young people in the community.

92

STUDENTS AND
DISADVANTAGED YOUTH
HAVE ATTENDED THE YAKA
GANA MUSIC WORKSHOPS.

In May 2015, we partnered with Operation Hope Foundation
to build a Vocational School, student and teacher
accommodation site in Phitsanulok, Thailand. The education
facility will focus on disadvantaged youth, and offer classes
in computer skills and English.
Construction began in May 2015 and the finishing touches
will be added to the buildings at the beginning of 2016,
when our Singapore team roll-up their sleeves and support
the fit-out of this great new education facility.

OVER

400

STUDENTS EACH YEAR WILL
BENEFIT FROM THE NEW FACILITIES.

APPROX.

ASIA

20

WOMEN WERE INVOLVED IN
THE TEXTILES WORKSHOP
PROGRAM, GAINING
LIFE-LONG SKILLS.

PERFORMANCE STAGE BUILT FOR APPROX.

PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY TO