The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is delighted to announce the appointment of their new Program Manager, Zoe Cassim who will start on 1 March.

Zoe Cassim is a proud Widjabul/Wia-bul woman from Bundjalung Country in northern New South Wales.

She is a secondary high school teacher who has more than ten years of experience working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander not-for-profit sector. Zoe worked for Reconciliation Australia as part of the Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education team, supporting educators across Australia in implementing culturally safe and appropriate policies, teachings and learnings from the early learning, primary and secondary settings.

“I’m excited to begin my journey working at ILF. I took this role because I want to be part of the movement to help support Communities and young people across Australia, to see just how amazing and special it is to be part of the oldest continuing civilisations in the world through storytelling. I want to help showcase this to wider Australia, so they too, can feel pride in our shared histories,” says Zoe.

Her previous work has seen her co-design and deliver workshops in health, and later combining Aboriginal sciences and technologies in urban, rural and remote communities around Australia.

ILF CEO Ben Bowen says, “Zoe is an enormous value addition to the ILF and in particular the Programs Team. I have the utmost respect for the cultural grounding that drives Zoe personally and professionally and look forward to the opportunity to work with her. Zoe’s experience, energy, knowledge, innovative mindset and incredible ability to connect and build relationships will be invaluable for the future of the ILF, and the Communities we serve.”

Zoe will manage the Program Team including three regional staff in Katherine and the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory. She will also work closely with Community Publishing Projects team as well as other departments to grow the Foundation’s reach in remote Australia to support more Communities on their literacy journeys.

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is a national charity of the Australian Book Industry, working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote Communities across Australia. They are Community-led and respond to requests from remote Communities for culturally relevant books, including early learning board books, resources, and programs to support Communities to create and publish their stories in languages of their choice.