On Tuesday, 4 March 2025, First Nations primary school students joined Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) Lifetime Ambassador Andy Griffiths at the Australian Museum in Sydney to launch the 2025 Great Book Swap.
The launch involved an immersive journey through the Australian Museum’s interactive Burra (eel) learning space. Andy Griffiths shared hilarious stories including a fun, crazy story about “Bad Baby” and Godzilla.
Andy then launched the Great Book Swap for 2025 with students excitedly grabbing books to take home with them.
“Reading opens doors to new worlds, new experiences and new ideas. So don’t be shy — share, swap or just grab a book today and discover a whole new world!” says Andy Griffiths
The students also participated in activities by First Nations educators from the Australian Museum, including weaving, stone tools and scat and animal matching in Gundungarra language.
Director and CEO of the Australian Museum, Kim McKay AO says: “It was exciting to welcome young First Nations students to the Australian Museum, where they enjoyed the Burra play space and participated in all the fantastic activities that the ILF’s Great Book Swap offers.
“Storytelling is a core part of what the Australian Museum stands for, and we are proud to support this wonderful initiative. We enjoyed hosting a fun and engaging day, with plenty to see and do.”
The Great Book Swap is a fun way to celebrate reading locally, learn more about First Nations languages and culture, while raising funds for the ILF. The idea is to swap a favourite book in exchange for a donation.
This year, the Great Book Swap aims to raise $300,000 to gift 30,000 culturally relevant books to remote First Nations Communities across Australia.
Schools, libraries, universities, book clubs, workplaces and individuals can host a Great Book Swap at any time of the year.
Those hosting a swap and submitting their funds by 30 June 2025 will go in the draw to win the Early Bird prize; a book pack consisting of ten ILF titles!
Schools who host a Great Book Swap and submit their funds by 1 November 2025, will automatically win a virtual visit from ILF Lifetime Ambassador Andy Griffiths. Learn more.
The Great Book Swap automatically allocates participates into Language Houses, where they can learn about culture, stories and language from remote Aboriginal Communities
Once you register, you’ll be assigned to an Aboriginal Language House named after animal characters in ILF books and have access to some fantastic online learning resources, including fact sheets, classroom activities, maps and videos. And, you can purchase books written by children or Community members in your house’s language.
Learn more and register now at greatbookswap.org.au
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Written by Emma Toomey
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