Welcome to Country App

Most people don't know there are over 500 Indigenous tribes (and therefore tribal geo boundaries) and language groups that exist across Indigenous Australia? The Indigenous Australia map that can be found at: www.abc.net.au/indigenous/map/ is just one representation of other map sources that are available for describing Aboriginal Australia. This map in particular indicates only the general location of larger groupings of people and this may include smaller groups such as clans, dialects or individual languages in a group.

The Welcome to Country iPhone app. delivers a simple Welcome to Country video introduction~ to Australian indigenous culture, including basic cultural protocols that are tribal boundary geo-specific^.

The app. uses the GPS function of the iPhone to deliver a Welcome to Country video (or text/image version) to the user via a push notification. Where available within a tribal boundary^, the video will be of a traditional owner (or elder) welcoming the user/visitor to their country when the user enters that tribal geo-boundary^.

The app. educates the user on the Traditional Owners' culture and heritage protocols right across the Australia. It gives the user a solid appreciation of the many cultures and languages groups that exist in Indigenous Australia. The app. also teaches users some simple, relevant information about Indigenous culture and the customs of the tribe within that tribal geo boundary. As such, the Welcome to Country iPhone app. can be used by tourists, schools, employers, government departments, by tourism bodies and many other user groups and individuals.

Version 1.0 of the Welcome to Country app. contains more than 30 tribes and languages groups right across Indigenous Australia. We'll be adding many more language groups over the coming months so please check back regularly for updates. Read more.

Important Notes:

^Note that the approximate geo-locations of individual language groups are general in nature and do not in any way represent tribal specific boundaries.

~ Note that the Welcome to Country videos displayed on this app have been been compiled for educational purposes only. These videos must not be used as a substitute for an official, in-person, Welcome to Country in any situation or context whatsoever.