Conversation with Professor Cheryl Kicket-Tucker AM about her children’s book Nini Yabini which has been selected for the IBBY-UNESCO collection of remarkable books for young readers in Indigenous and endangered languages.
Written in both English and Noongar, Ninni Yabini tells the story of a young girl who follows the evening star to find her way home.
Drawing on Noongar language, culture and storytelling traditions, the book has been chosen for the inaugural IBBY–UNESCO collection, giving international recognition to Noongar storytelling and the importance of Indigenous languages.
In her conversation with NITV Radio, Professor Kickett-Tucker AM discusses why language is so closely tied to culture, identity and belonging, what is at stake when Indigenous languages disappear, and the role books and stories can play in keeping languages alive across generations.
She also reflects on what the international recognition of Ninni Yabini means for Noongar children, families and storytellers, at a time when fewer than 400 fluent Noongar speakers remain.
