How Lotterywest Grants Are Helping Promote Experiences With Our Oldest Living Culture

Have you ever wondered where the available profits from your Lotto tickets go (aside from the big prizes)? Along with putting you in the running to win a life-transforming prize, a portion of your Lotto ticket helps make great things happen around the state to the tune of $323 million last financial year via Lotterywest’s grants program.

Having explored Lotterywest grants’ impact on aged care and mental health, wildlife conservation, the arts and health, today we’re looking at the $30,000 that has gone towards helping share cultural experiences with WA’s indigenous communities.

Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operator Council (WAITOC) is WA’s Aboriginal Tourism peak body, supporting communities to share their culture with visitors from all over the world, in the process increasing their capacity to be self-sufficient and sustainable.

Through an array of truly authentic cultural experiences, WA has become a major player on the world stage in the growing indigenous tourism industry, and a $30,000 grant from Lotterywest is helping its growth

The grant is going towards the digitisation of WAITOC’s recently launched Aboriginal Cultural Experiences Map – making it easier for visitors from WA and abroad to connect and engage with Aboriginal cultural experiences around the State.

The map showcases more than 100 experiences that include ancient stories, art and festivals across an array of activities including bushwalks, foraging, fishing, 4WDing, camping and stargazing.

It’s another vital cog in making Aboriginal tourism a robust, diverse and self-supporting social enterprise sector, in the process empowering Aboriginal communities to be in control of their economic future.

It also creates opportunities for culture to continue to be passed down to future generations and expands different career pathways, along with gathering data to properly measure Aboriginal tourism on the national economy.

You can learn more on the WAITOC Website, and if you want to learn more about how Lotterywest grants are helping the WA community head to the Lotterywest Dream State Story Hub.

Header Image: Djirrily Dreaming courtesy of WAITOC

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This article is sponsored by Lotterywest and endorsed by us. Please see our Editorial Policy for more info.