ON October 17, the Around the Campfire in Alice concert featuring East Journey, Warren H Williams and more will raise money to be directly donated to national programs dedicated to Closing the Gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia.

This special night in Central Australia, bringing together an inspiring collaboration of talent, is being hosted by the Alice Springs Convention Centre.

While promoting Indigenous music and art, Around the Campfire concerts hope to raise the level of understanding and education in the community in regards to Indigenous Australian culture.

Around the Campfire in Alice concert will feature East Arnhem Land music royalty; East Journey, Central Australian musicians; Warren H Williams, Tjintu Desert Band and Jacinta Price, Adelaide rap artist Caper, and APY Lands band; Iwantja Band.

During breaks between artists each community and foundation partner will use the time to show an inspirational audio/visual presentation to the audience highlighting the work they do to improve Indigenous Health and Literacy.

Proceeds from the event will be given directly to Around the Campfire Foundation partners; The Fred Hollows Foundation Indigenous Australia program, Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation APY Lands program, and the Born to Run Foundation for Juvenile Diabetes research. Around the Campfire Community Partner is the Port Adelaide Football Club (AFL). All organisations play an important role in improving Indigenous Health and Literacy in Australia.

Major sponsors of the Around the Campfire in Alice concert are Lasseters Centre of Entertainment in Alice Springs and Flight Centre Alice Springs. Without the support of these organisations we would not be able to hold such an important fundraising event.

Closing the Gap refers to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) and the gap between the global ranking of Australia as a country and that of Indigenous Australia.

Australia is ranked 2nd in the world, however Indigenous Australia on their own ranks equivalent to the 122nd country in the world, ranking lower than Thailand, Bolivia and Botswana. One of the components of the UN HDI is life expectancy at birth.

An East Kimberly indigenous man currently has a life expectancy of 46 years. Also currently 1 in 5 children in remote Indigenous communities in Australia is achieving the minimum NAPLAN standard.

The concerts also hope to inspire all Australians to be proud of their Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures by showcasing these inspiration role models and their music. Alice Springs will be the first Around the Campfire concert, with the details of an Adelaide concert in January 2015 released soon. There will be many more to follow in other locations over the next few years.

Tickets are $39 for adults, $29 for concession holders. All tickets are general admission; there is no reserved seating. Doors will open at 5:00pm for a 6:00pm start.

Tickets to be purchased at www.oztix.com.au