Busking for change is a concert held as part of Indigenous Literacy Day and all profits from the event will be donated to Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP) http://www.indigenousliteracyproject.org.au. Josh Pyke will be performing a solo set to an intimate audience along with guest speakers from ILP discussing the need for change in literacy levels in Indigenous communities.

Why did Josh get Involved?

 

"The beginnings of getting involved with the ILP came from me first having the idea for an event. I wanted to hold an event called Busking for Change, and instead of just donating money to a cause, i wanted to actually generate some money for someone by playing a gig. Success in the music industry can be fleeting, so i guess i wanted to do something while i had the profile to do it! I heard about the Indigenous Literacy Project, and it just struck a chord with me on so many levels.

Indigenous issues are something i've been interested in for many years, and the concept of words, and language and communicating ideas in that way is especially relevant to my own career.

To me, a decent level of literacy is really the cornerstone to being able to choose what type of life you want. If you can read and write and communicate with words, your world is opened up to further education, different creative pursuits, or just the escapism of reading a really good book at the end of a hard day at work. Being literate helps you put yourself in the context of the greater world that you live in.

The ILP already do such great work that it seemed like a no brainer to try to generate some much needed funds for them. This year will be the first Busking for Change event, and, depending on how well it all goes, i'd love to try to make it an annual event in future."