About Storylines

Storylines acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and to Elders both past and present.

The Storylines platform provides local community members, schools, organisations and the broader community with a culturally safe environment in which to share and celebrate Aboriginal, non-secret, non-sacred stories of history, culture and achievement.

The initiative provides an opportunity for all Australians to engage in Aboriginal histories and culture, promote conversations that build understanding and respect for Aboriginal people, and enables local communities to share stories from the past and present to inspire the future.

The Storylines initiative is provided by the Burraga Foundation, an Aboriginal owned and led not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting local connections and positive partnerships through technology.

The Storylines logo tells a story. The story of the initiative’s heart. Its purpose.

Dots represent our communities connecting and moving into the future.

The colours represent our land, from the ocean to the outback.

The dots connect to form a wave, symbolising that life does not always move in straight lines.

The storyline passes and moves between communities. When the storyline is moving up, our communities are yarning, growing and getting stronger.

Join us in sharing stories from the past and present, to inspire the future.

Everyone is welcome to share stories by uploading images, videos and other digital media to local community sites. Uploaded content celebrates local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, heritage and cultures but is not for keeping secret or sacred cultural knowledge. The Storylines Platform also supports schools, teachers and students to find stories that help to understand more about their local community.

Stories shared on the Storylines platform are only made public following consultation and approval from local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. State and Territory-based Indigenous Education Consultative Bodies (IECBs) – where they exist – are ideal but if no IECB exists, Storylines will help to identify local community organisations that can support the process below. If no recognised community organisation is identified, content cannot be made live.

The process

• Before uploading content, we encourage you to inform the community that you are going to add content. You can do this via the contact form on the Welcome Page of the community’s Storylines site
• Once content is uploaded, each contribution is reviewed by the Storylines Platform team who ensure the content:
  • is appropriate for audiences of all ages
  • is not offensive in nature
  • does not contain direct advertising
  • does not represent political lobbying.
• Stories that meet these standards are placed within the community’s private consultation area
• The local working group is informed of the new content and can begin approval, in line with their own local protocols.
• Once the working group has approved the content, it is made live on the community site.

Note:
Some stories will require very little consultation and will be quickly made public; other stories may require editing or further collaboration and discussion

A story can be updated, edited or retracted by the contributor at any time, prior to being made public

Any public stories that require changes, or that have been contested, will be placed back into the consultation area, allowing for private discussion.