Indigenous health education – music and technology

Weblog 3.5

In another weblog I looked at children’s health education, music and technology. In this weblog I feature a website developed by a remote community controlled health service – Nganampa Health Council.

UPK (Uwankara Palyanku Kanyintjaku) means everybody creating holding and caring for the future. It is a health promotion strategy for the Anangu (people) of the Anangu Pitantjatjajara Yankunytjatjara Lands in north-west South Australia.

The Nganampa Health Council saw the power of music to bring awareness to health issues affecting the people who live in the remote communities.

The UPK5 website is well presented, clearly demonstrates relationship with the land, and highlights the musicians and music from their fifth album released in 2011.

The uniqueness of the health education music/technology interface:

• the songs relate to health issues and “reflect that caring for ones children, commitment to family and vigilance (are) the best weapons”
• all musicians are Aboriginal
• both established and up and coming musicians are involved
• songs are sung in the Anangu language
• each album has been recorded at different remote sites on the Anangu land with a mobile state of the art production and recording studio
• the music is the commonest music heard through the APY Lands.

More recently UPK5 tracks are also featured on a national radio station TripleJ.