Education Today

Busking For Change is the Indigenous Literacy Foundation's national music fundraising program. Participants learn and perform a song featuring Aboriginal language and English, while raising funds to support ILF's work in remote First Nations Communities.

Each year, a new song is created in partnership with a remote Community, celebrating culture, language, storytelling and connection to Country while sharing local knowledge with audiences across Australia. Busking For Change also supports the UN’s Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) and highlights the importance of language preservation.

Featuring Murrawarri language and inspired by Brewarrina's deep connection to the Baawan/Bama River, the official Busking For Change 2026 song, MINYAN NGABANGKA (What's in the Water), was co-written by ILF Ambassador DOBBY, First Nations artist Kelsey Iris and children from Brewarrina. Minyan means ‘what’ and Ngabangka means ‘in the water’ in Murrawarri language.

Through the national program, students across Australia will learn and perform the song while raising funds to help kids in remote Communities access books in language.
Developed in collaboration with Elders and Knowledge Holders, including Aunty Missy, the song invites students nationwide to engage with one of the world's oldest living cultures through music.

Brewarrina, in north-west New South Wales, is home to the Ngemba people and renowned for Baiame's Ngunnhu (Fish Traps), believed to be among the oldest human-made structures in the world.

ILF Ambassador DOBBY’s family connections run deep in Brewarrina and Weilmoringle, "It's a great honour to host Busking For Change 2026 in Brewarrina. It's an honour for me as my family's from here, but I am also really excited for all the schools to be learning one of the languages from here in Brewarrina NSW," DOBBY said.

"The song is MINYAN NGABANGKA because this Community and these kids are so deadly we were like, 'What's in the water?'," Kelsey Iris said.

"And then it's all connected. Our water is life, and it just means so much to us mob here that are from the rivers."

Kelsey said the project highlights the important role Aboriginal languages play in literacy, identity and cultural continuity.

"We know that literacy is a really fundamental and important part of all of our lives, especially for children. Language has to be a part of that."

"Language is so critical and important to our young people, to our kids, and it's so important that children are speaking and celebrating language every day."

ILF Lifetime Ambassador Josh Pyke, who founded Busking For Change, has seen the program evolve into a nationwide educational initiative.

"Busking For Change started as a way to raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation at my own gigs, but I always felt it had the potential to be something much bigger than that," said Pyke.

“When my own kids started school I saw an amazing opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the ILF by turning Busking For Change into an annual event where kids could learn a song. It shows how powerful music can be in bringing people together around a shared purpose.”

Now in its fourth year, the program reaches schools nationwide. The 2026 goal is to recruit 100 schools and raise funds to deliver culturally relevant books to remote Communities around Australia.

Watch the 2026 reel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPyogiqG1qI

Teachers, librarians and education professionals can engage with ILF through the new Education Hub, a dedicated online space to support them to confidently teach and celebrate First Nations stories in their school or library. The Hub features a 2026 Education calendar, Teacher Resources and Advocacy Program fundraisers and campaigns. https://www.ilf.org.au/education

Indigenous Language Murrawarri Taught Through Song