About
This year we celebrate five years of First Nations Bedtime Stories from across the continent
Every year Common Ground works with First Nations communities to film five stories told by Elders and Knowledge Custodians.
To share and strengthen these stories for future generations, and provide a way for all people to connect with the oldest continuing cultures on Earth.
These stories are a rich source of valuable knowledge and wisdom.
Stories have played an important role in First Nations cultures since time immemorial. They are the foundation of First Nations ways of thinking, being and knowing. They carry knowledge and Law, and teach us how to care for Country.
The stories are shared online to everyone that signs up. All you need to do is sign up with an email address. The films will arrive in your inbox at the beginning of each day, from 28 October to 1 November.
Everyone who signs up also gets access to free, educational resources. The resources will help you guide safe and informative learning with the young people in your life, whether you’re a parent, an Early Childhood educator or a Primary School teacher.
The resources are developed by Common Ground and teachers, and are mapped to the relevant education curriculums to ensure everyone can learn from these stories, understand their meaning and appreciate their significance.
how it works
1. Sign up
To join us for a week of storytelling. This gives you access to the five films, plus free educational resources.
2. We’ll send the stories to your inbox
From 28 October - 1 November you will get an email in your inbox early each day, with a link to watch the stories. We send one story each day for five days. You’ll also receive our incredible learning resources to help you understand the stories and learn from them. There are different resources for different needs - Early Childhood, Primary School, and families at home.
3. Watch the stories from 28 October - 1 November
We invite you to join people all over the continent (and the world!) to watch one story each day over five days from 28 October to 1 November. Of course you can watch them all at once, or at any time that suits you. Joining in during the week means watching the stories alongside hundreds of thousands of others.
4. Learn, reflect and connect
Make sure you put aside time to properly reflect on the stories and deepen your learning. With the resource we send you, this is easy. The resource outline lesson ideas including activities and worksheets. They have prompts to inspire discussion and links to other resources to explore.
5. Donate, if you can
First Nations Bedtime Stories is brought to you by Common Ground, a First Nations not-for-profit. These stories and the accompanying resources are free for everyone to enjoy and learn from. Please make a donation if you can, so we can continue this important initiative next year.
Learn more about the impact this project has and where donations go. We encourage schools to collect small donations from students through gold coin donations, casual clothes days, or holding assemblies for viewing the stories. You can make a donation now, when we send you the stories, or after you’ve viewed them.
Join us
LEArn
Learn from stories 80,000 years in the making and understand the important role they play.
Connect
Connect to people, Country and culture.
celebrate
Celebrate people and cultures that have thrived on this continent for tens of thousands of years.
support
Donate or fundraise so Common Ground can record and share more stories and invest in First Nations communities.