Greater Shepparton Women’s Charter Alliance Advisory Committee

Refugee Week event: The Good Lie Movie Night Wednesday 17 June 2015 – Shepparton Evaluation

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Contents Greater Shepparton Women’s Charter Alliance Advisory Committee ...... 3 Refugee Week event – The Good Lie movie night ...... 3 Date ...... 3 Venue ...... 3 Movie – The Good Lie ...... 3 Speaker: ...... 4 Sponsors/Partners ...... 5 Audience...... 5 Resources ...... 5 Catering ...... 6 Suppliers ...... 6 Budget ...... 6 Advertising ...... 6 Organising Committee ...... 7 Feedback ...... 7 Lessons for 2015 ...... 8 Appendices ...... 9 Appendix 1: Budget ...... 9 Appendix 2: Media coverage and advertising ...... 10 Appendix 3: Summary of feedback ...... 16

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Greater Shepparton Women’s Charter Alliance Advisory Committee

The Greater Shepparton Women’s Charter Alliance Advisory Committee (GSWCAAC) is a community advisory committee (of the Greater Shepparton City Council) that is part of a broader network of Local Government Area (LGA) advisory committees across the state that are guided and informed by the Victorian Local Government Women’s Charter. The Charter recognises the need to increase women’s participation in key decision making forums in the community and in democratic governance. A three point action plan focussing on Diversity, Active Citizenship and Gender Equity guides the key strategic objectives of this committee. The GSWCAAC is made up of community representatives and Council Officers, and is supported by Greater Shepparton City Council. The GSWCAAC meets monthly and community members are welcome to attend as guests, with an annual intake of members undertaken in March each year.

Left: Some of the members of the Greater Shepparton Women’s Charter Alliance Advisory Committee.

Refugee Week event – The Good Lie movie night Date Wednesday 17 June 2015, 5.30pm.

Venue Village Cinemas, Stewart Street, Shepparton.

Movie – The Good Lie The Good Lie was written by Margaret Nagle, directed by , and produced by amongst others.

They were known simply as 'The Lost Boys.'

Orphaned by the brutal Civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, these young victims travelled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3600 lost boys and girls to America. M15/38121 Page | 3

In 'The Good Lie,' Philippe Falardeau brings the story of their survival and triumph to life. Academy Award® winner stars alongside Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and newcomer Nyakuoth Weil, many of whom were also children of war.

The film trailer can be accessed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2tI5zW3IU8

Right: Still from the movie ‘The Good Lie’.

“The movie was excellent and Thon was very informative and interesting. Thank you for providing the opportunity to attend.” Feedback from an audience member.

Speaker: Thon Makuei Thon spoke before the movie. Thon was also a ‘Lost Boy’ and escaped persecution in Sudan before travelling hundreds of kilometres to a refugee camp. Thon eventually arrived in Australia, and currently resides in the Shepparton area. Thon’s speech was thought provoking and moving, and gave the audience an insight into the traumas and challenges faced by Sudanese refugees.

Left: Thon Makuei Thon spoke about his experiences as a refugee, before the screening of ‘The Good Lie’.

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“…very powerful hearing Thon Thon speak of his experience and then putting it into perspective watching the film.” Feedback from an audience member.

Sponsors/Partners Funding and in kind support was provided by:

 Greater Shepparton City Council  The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District  The Shepparton Interfaith Network

Audience Approximately 155 people attended the event. The audience was made up of men and women from a range of diverse multicultural backgrounds.

The cinema venue seated 190 people. All 190 tickets were allocated, and there was a large waiting list. On the evening approximately 155 people attended.

Above: Approximately 155 people attended the event.

Resources The GSWCAAC has an aim to provide resources at all their events, including resources from the Australian Human Right Commission’s ‘Know the Line’ sexual harassment campaign. These resources were provided along with brochures regarding other local community events. For example: Refugee Week brochures.

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Catering Sudanese food was provided by ‘Taste the Motherland Food’. The food included savoury mains and a sweet semolina dessert.

“The food was lovely and really added to the vibe for the night.” Feedback from an audience member.

Right: Sudanese food was provided before the movie.

Suppliers The following organisations/businesses provided services:

 Taste the Motherland Food – Sudanese catering  Village Cinemas Shepparton – Venue and film  Alluring Design –Design of posters  EventBrite ‐ Ticketing

Budget The event was funded by the GSWCAAC, Greater Shepparton City Council, The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District, and The Shepparton Interfaith Network.

There was ‘in kind’ support provided, as follows:

 Greater Shepparton City Council donated some communications, stationery, and staff.  The Shepparton News provided free coverage – before the event.  The GSWCAAC organising sub‐committee and the Committee as a whole donated their time.

Please see Appendix 1 for a full expenditure breakdown.

Advertising It should be noted very little advertising was required for this event as tickets ‘sold out’ well in advance of the event. This occurred due to a number of factors, such as; the GSWCAAC now has a large list of friends who attend and spread the word, the event was popular last year, the quality of the movie, and The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District and The Shepparton Interfaith Network being on board as partners.

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The following is a list of advertising that was used for the event. Some had a cost, and some was in kind.

 Flyer – distributed by committee members, via email and by Council  Facebook  Refugee Week brochure  Media Release  Greater Shepparton City Council website  Greater Shepparton City Council Internal website  EventBrite Ticketing

Please see Appendix 2 for media coverage and advertising.

Organising Committee Greater Shepparton Women’s Charter Alliance Advisory Committee – particularly the ‘Movie Sub‐Committee’.

Charlene Norton, Cultural Development Officer at Greater Shepparton City Council.

Feedback Rather than providing paper feedback forms on the evening of the event, a Survey Monkey survey was distributed to attendees via email the day after the event. This was the first time the GSWCAAC used a paperless survey asking for feedback.

77 people booked their tickets (and the tickets of others) through EventBrite. Of those 77, 39 people responded to this survey. Some of the survey results can be found in appendix 3. The survey was open for one week.

A brief summary of the survey results is as follows:

 The majority (71.79%) of the respondents found out about the event via email  Many of the respondents attended the movie to educate themselves about the experiences faced by refugees, and to show support  All (100%) of the respondents said the guest speaker was just right or high quality  All (100%) of the respondents said the movie was just right or high quality  The majority (89.75%) of respondents said the refreshments were just right or high quality  All (100%) of the respondents said they would be likely to attend other community and cultural events in future  Respondents had mixed responses about if the event should be free of charge or not – 43.59% said it is important to them that the event be free of charge. 56.41% said it was not important to them that the event be free of charge  The majority (79.49%) of respondents had heard of the Greater Shepparton Women’s Charter Alliance Advisory Committee prior to this event

Some of the comments given via the feedback survey include:

Feedback from an audience member:

“It left us spellbound”.

Feedback from an audience member:

“We need more of this in our community to bring different groups of people together who do not normally meet. Helps to break down barriers and build understanding, empathy and tolerance. Well done.” M15/38121 Page | 7

Lessons for 2015 As with any event, some things could be improved next time. Some suggestions are:

 Think about how we could reduce the number of ‘no shows’ – that is; people who have booked tickets but did not arrive on the night. Some of those who provided feedback suggested a small charge may help reduce the number of ‘no shows’.  Some of the feedback survey respondents suggested that they would have liked to an opportunity to make a donation on the night. Consider having a donation tin for a worthy cause for next time.  Some of the feedback respondents were disappointed there was only dessert available for vegetarians. Though the GSWCAAC had an option for those with dietary requirements to contact the organisers when booking tickets (no requests were received), perhaps vegetarians should automatically be catered for next time.  Explore sustainability options for future events

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Budget Item Company Cost ex. GST Cost Inc. GST Posters Alluring Designs 118.00 130.00 Village Cinema Cinema Shepparton 1900.00 2090.00 Catering Taste the Motherland 1685.00 1700.00 Misc. Various 33.00 Funding Shepparton Interfaith (300.00) (300.00) Funding Ethnic Council (272.73) (300.00) 3353.00

Please note: The costs were paid jointly by the Women’s Charter Alliance Advisory Committee and the Cultural Development Branch of Council, with financial support from the partners as outlined above.

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Appendix 2: Media coverage and advertising Poster for the event:

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Copy from the Greater Shepparton City Council website: FREE screening of 'The Good Lie'. As part of Refugee Week, the Greater Shepparton Women's Charter Alliance Advisory Committee (GSWCAAC), Greater Shepparton City Council, Ethnic Council of Shepparton & District, and Shepparton Interfaith Network, are screening the movie 'The Good Lie'.

When: Wed, 17 Jun 2015Wednesday 17th of June, 2015, at 5:30pm Where: Village Cinemas, Stewart Street, Shepparton

Cost: FREE

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Contact: Emma on 58329479 or [email protected]

They were known simply as 'The Lost Boys.'

Orphaned by the brutal Civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, these young victims traveled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3600 lost boys and girls to America.

In 'The Good Lie,' Philippe Falardeau brings the story of their survival and triumph to life. Academy Award® winner Reese Witherspoon stars alongside Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and newcomer Nyakuoth Weil, many of whom were also children of war.

Before the screening Thon Thon, a local man who was also a 'Lost Boy' from Sudan will share his story.

Bookings are essential and places are limited. Tickets can be booked at: http://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-good-lie-shepparton-movie-event-tickets-16951646832?aff=es2

This is an accessible event. Please contact the organisers to let them know of any requirements.

http://greatershepparton.com.au/event-details/!/464/event/free-screening-of-the-good-lie

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Article from the Shepparton News, 13 June 2015, page 10

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Article from the Shepparton News, 15 June 2015, Pages 1 and 4

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Appendix 3: Summary of feedback

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