A LOVE of reading combined with a thoughtful and mature personality has seen 11-year-old Hannah Avery selected as an ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF).
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The year 6 Tea Gardens Public School student, who is of the Biripi nation, was nominated by staff to be one of just 21 ILF student ambassadors from across Australia.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have 21 wonderful young people like Hannah doing so much to help raise literacy levels among today’s generation of indigenous school children,” Karen Williams, ILF executive officer, said.
ILF raises funds to buy and deliver new and culturally appropriate books and other literacy resources to children and adults living in remote indigenous communities.
Hannah’s job as an ambassador is to promote the aims of ILF and to raise awareness of how important it is that all children have access to books and culturally significant reading materials.
This month, Hannah attended an educational conference in Sydney with her mother, Miriam Avery, a teacher and Aboriginal education co-ordinator at the Tea Gardens primary school.
‘‘We listened to a few inspirational talks about books and poems,’’ Hannah said.
‘‘I got to meet a favourite author of mine, Alison Lester.
‘‘I like her books because I live on a farm and she sort of puts things about farm life into words very well.’’
In her role as ambassador, Hannah also organised a great Aussie book swap for her school.
Hannah said she would like to continue being an indigenous ambassador in some form or another when she enters high school.