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Youth getting a Voice at Umee TV

27 February 2020
Culture and Capability
Four Aboriginal young adults (2 men and 2 women) in black t-shirts with UMEEtv printed on them stand in front of a brick wall. On the wall are the words: Umeewarra Aboriginal Media Centre 89.1 FM

Youth are getting a voice at the newly established Umee TV in Port Augusta.

Umee TV is up and running in Port Augusta, South Australia and giving voice to Aboriginal youth across the region.

Its creation was the result of community demand that local Umeewarra radio station become a multi-media outlet.

But the new outlet needed a focus and a goal. Umee TV Producer Dre Ngatokorua explains.

‘To bring youth voices out to show their importance, that their opinions matter and also to encourage them to think of media as an option, as an alternative to sport or whatever,’ Dre said.

The new outlet also needed a style and format with proven success so they borrowed theirs’ from NITV and how it interacts with people at award ceremonies and community events.

To get funding, they applied for and received a $20,000 grant from Carclew Youth Arts to help develop a short-form television show. It consists of 6 short news-style videos covering significant cultural events in Port Augusta and the surrounding region.

The episodes are produced by a team of 4 local Aboriginal young adults supported by Umeewarra staff and broadcast online.

The first episode, about Australia Day, was published on 26 January and was a success.

‘We have had great support from the wider community and we have had great feedback from across Australia commenting that they want to see other young people taking charge,’ Dre said.

Promoted through Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, each show takes about 2 weeks to produce, from planning through filming and to the final cut.

Chevon McKenzie is one of the presenters and is grateful for the opportunity to be involved.

‘I had some involvement with Umeewarra Media and expressed an interest in doing more so they contacted me to see if I wanted to do Umee TV,’ Chevon said.

‘I think it is a really good experience because I get to learn how to express myself through media. I want to improve my confidence a bit more and I am hoping to work in the area of performing arts and media.’

It is hoped that the success of these pilot episodes will lead to additional funding and a long term presence online.

‘We hope it will grow and it will gain presence within online social media and could possibly be something that could be on TV,’ Dre said.

Look out for the coming episodes:

  • Episode 2: will highlight the importance of why Youth issues matter.
  • Episode 3: will showcase what Umeewarra Media does
  • Episode 4: will discuss safety around technology use such as social media and online gaming
  • Episode 5: will highlight why young people have to learn about culture
  • Episode 6: will showcase community events in Port Augusta, especially NAIDOC Week and other community events.

Find out more

For more information, see Carclew.

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