Happy Sami day (6 February) and Camilla's report about her visit to CSU

Camilla Porsanger was a visiting PhD scholar at the Children's Voices Centre in 2025. Here is her report published by Nord University that has been published for Sami day 2026:

https://www.uv.uio.no/spedaims/aktuelt/aktuelle-saker/2026/urfolk-sprak-og-rettigheter.html

It begins: 

"– I år føles Samefolkets dag ekstra spesiell
Et forskningsopphold på den andre siden av kloden har gitt stipendiat Camilla Porsanger et tydeligere blikk på språk, identitet og rettigheter. – Å være på steder med så dyp kulturell og åndelig betydning for aboriginske urfolk gjorde sterkt inntrykk."

Translation

"– This year, Sami Day feels extra special
A research stay on the other side of the globe has given fellow Camilla Porsanger a clearer look at language, identity and rights. – Being in places with such deep cultural and spiritual significance for Aboriginal indigenous peoples made a strong impression."

Here are some photos from Camilla on Sami Day above the Arctic Circle in Norway

Farewell Camilla Porsanger and family

We have loved having Camilla Porsanger and family visiting CSU from Nord University. We have learned so much, shared ideas, and had lots of fun. Farewell - and we hope that our collaboration continues. 

Farewell Camilla and family

We have loved having Camilla Porsanger and family visiting the Children's Voices Centre over the past few months. Camilla is undertaking her PhD through Nord University in Norway focusing on Sami children's language learning. We have learned so much from Camilla and her family and will miss them. We look forward to ongoing collaborations.

 

 

Camilla's presentation to the School of Indigenous Australian Studies

Giitu (thank you) Camilla Porsanger for your excellent presentation to the students in the School of Indigenous Australian Studies (SIAS) organised by Sharnie Hurford. Camilla is a visiting scholar in the Children's Voices Centre and SIAS - we have learned so much from her.

Learning more about Camilla's excellent PhD research

I have really enjoyed learning more about Camilla's excellent PhD research to understand Sami-speaking children's language maintenance.

It has been a joy to have Camilla and her family visiting Bathurst.

Sharynne  and Camilla in the Children's Voices Centre

 

Presentation about Sami language maintenance at the Children's Voices Centre

We were honoured to have a presentation by Camilla Porsanger at the Children's Voices Centre today. She shared with us about the history of the Sami community and languages (North, Lulu and South Sami) and the work she is doing with others in Norway to maintain Sami language and to support children with special needs. She is undertaking such important work.

 

 We concluded her presentation with sharing welcome home soup and some florentines.

Welcome to The Treehouse Camilla

Today we welcomed Camilla Porsanger to The Treehouse. She is studying her PhD at Nord University and has a scholarship to visit Australia. She is a visitor of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies and the Children's Voices Centre.

Camilla and Prof Lynn Williams both were welcomed at CVC today

 Camilla's family brought a Sami flag for the CVC and we discussed Wiradjuri land.

Camilla's children wearing Sami dress (photos shared with permission)

Nord University - Children's Voices Group

This afternoon Dr Belinda Downey presented a paper during our Nord University and Charles Sturt University collaboration for the Children's Voices Group. Her presentation was titled "Children's voices and the Sustainable Development Goals". The second presentation was titled "Sami Education Language Assessment Guide" by Prof Karianne Berg. There were 5 people from Nord University and 3 from CSU in attendance. What an interesting session.

CVC collaborations with the School of Indigenous Australian Studies (SIAS)

This morning I met with Dr Nick Ruddell to discuss the many areas of collaboration between CVC and the School of Indigenous Australian Studies (SIAS). One of the areas of collaboration are that we are co-hosting the visit of Camilla Porsanger from Nord University later this year.

14th May - Nick and I met with Camilla to organise her visit. We are looking forward to welcoming her.

 

Discussing research with colleagues in northern Norway

 A/Prof Kate Crowe and I have been discussing future research collaborations with colleagues from Nord University for some time on the topic of "Sámi Education Language Assessment Guidelines". We met again for further productive discussions.

Possibility of mobility visit for PhD student from Nord University

Tonight I had a wonderful conversation with Camilla and her two PhD supervisors from Nord University about the possibility of her visiting CSU for 6 months next year. Camilla has Sami heritage and is studying language maintenance of Sami children in Norway. I hope we are able to welcome her to CSU next year - there are so many areas of overlap between our work.

Nord University: Language of the Heart project with the Sámi community

This evening Kate Crowe and I met with Nord University researchers (Kathrin Olsen and Karianne Berg) to discuss their Language of the Heart research project with children within the Sámi community of Norway. What wonderful opportunities for collaboration. We have begun a plan.

Here is a description of the project from their website (https://www.uv.uio.no/spedaims/english/SpedAims-Language-of-the-Heart/):

In the research project SpedAims Language of the Heart, we want to find out more about how we can support Sami-speaking children's linguistic, academic and social learning and development opportunities in Norway. The study includes children from both Northern Sami, Lule Sami and Southern Sami language environments and language regions. It consists of both qualitative and quantitative studies, and we will follow a large number of children from all over the country through the last few years in kindergarten and further up to school.

Online meeting with Nord University

This morning I met with colleagues at Nord University in Norway to meet one another virtually and discuss future collaborations. Katrin Olsen visited Charles Sturt University in Bathurst a few months ago, so it was great to meet her colleagues, including Kristian Kristofferson who I have collaborated with for many years. The Nord University team are undertaking a study with children and families in Sami communities in Norway.

The Nordic House - University of Iceland

 The Nordic House is located at The University of Iceland. https://nordichouse.is/en/

It is a library of books and artwork from Nordic and Baltic countries. It has a vibrant children's section, hosts concerts and events, and was a wonderful place to visit to learn more about language and literature from: 

• Icelandic 
• Faroese 
• Sami 
• Greenlandic 
• Norwegian 
• Swedish 
• and  other languages

Kate showed me how many resources were found in multiple languages and I had lots of ideas to bring back to the International Children's Communication Centre at CSU.

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