Kulila!, meaning "listen, think and understand", is a free app helping Anangu people in the centre of Australia to connect and talk about trauma and mental health in their own language.
Senior Anangu women from cross-border communities of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) region in Central Australia embraced new technology to develop the 'Kulila!' language app. The app records and translates health and medical terms into Pitjantjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra and English.
Traditional healers and interpreters use the language app like a virtual dictionary to record and translate the local Aboriginal languages and help people explain their emotions and health issues using audio, text and images.
Age-old healing knowledge has combined with modern technology to protect an ancient language spoken in 26 communities across over 350,000 square kilometres in the remote NPY region of Central Australia.
The app crosses the language barrier for more than 6,000 people in the remote NPY lands by helping them connect with health workers who provide mental health and suicide prevention services in the region.
Valuable community services can be delivered by partnering age-old healing knowledge with modern digital technology. The app also helps to protect the ancient languages spoken across the NPY region for future generations.
Using a simple touch and listen feature on mobile devices, local and visiting health workers use the app to talk with local people about mental health, while recording and protecting traditional languages for future generations.
