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Great things coming out of community, by community, with community

25 June 2021
Culture and Capability
A young man stands behind disc jockey mixing desk. In the background is his shadow, a TV screen and red and yellow lights on a wall. He points to camera.

ABC Heywire Trailblazer Dre Ngatokorua from Port Augusta, SA is giving youth a voice both on radio through Umeewarra Media and through his own workshops and mentorship program.

Dre ‘MoZzi’ Ngatokorua is an ABC Heywire Trailblazer from Port Augusta, South Australia.

The young Wnagkangurru, Adnyamathanha, Kuyani, Luritja, Deiri, Yankunytjatara man with Cook Island and Maori ancestry is making waves on the region’s airwaves.

MoZzi (nickname originally MoZziriginal designed to capture most of his cultural background in one name) works as a DJ at Umeewarra Media where his daily show targets youth.

'The Straight out Show has definitely given young people a voice to speak about the problems they face as young people,’ Dre said.

Dre’s development of his own voice is an example for those youth, even if his first ‘voice’ experience did not go so well.

‘When I was coming back from boarding school in Adelaide during the school holidays in 2014, I asked my uncle Vince Coulthard if I could come in and do some voluntary work there,’ Dre said.

‘Starting off just doing the breakfast show, I was so nervous my voice was shaking as I only announced one song and the weather. Luckily I stuck with it as when I finished school in 2015 they offered me a traineeship. After I completed the traineeship, they offered me a full time job and that's where I am now.’

Dre also runs workshops and mentorship programs that teach youth how to create and project their own voice independently. They include filmmaking, interviewing, radio presenting and music making.

‘The film workshops were a huge impact; seeing the different story ideas, the shots, and their creativity come out. They even surprised themselves,’ Dre said.

Dre loves what he’s doing and has no plans to stop.

‘It [media] gets community stories out there in real time and you get to highlight the great things that come out of community by community with community, he said.

‘In 10 years, I would love to do the workshops in other regional towns reaching interstate and possibly the world. I want to help to create more opportunities for all communities and to help create their own ideas.’

ABC Heywire Trailblazers celebrates remote and regional youth who are using their skills and their voice to drive change.

‘A friend showed me an email about ABC where it displayed all these young people's stories about the work that they have been doing in their town,’ Dre said.

‘They [friend] said "Why don't you apply?". Me being me said "Nah, I don't think I’ll be able to get that".

‘But I ended up coming around to the idea and sent off my application. Then one thing led to another: an interview, a meetup, and then I received a call saying that I was in. I couldn't believe it.’

Find out more

Find out more at Meet the young Trailblazers driving change across regional Australia.

The National Indigenous Australians Agency supports Umeewarra Aboriginal Media Association through the Culture and Capability stream of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy.