2 SECTION The Diversity Dividend
Fire & Rescue NSW Harmony Day 2011 Principles of Multiculturalism in practice - highlights from NSW Government agencies and local councils The Principles of Multiculturalism in practice – highlights from NSW Government agencies and local councils
The depth and breadth of the cultural, linguistic and religious diversity in New South Wales compels us to find mechanisms for maintaining community harmony and social cohesion.
The Principles of Multiculturalism, outlined in section 3 of the Community Relations Commission and Principles of Multiculturalism Act 2000 (the Act), provide the conceptual core around which all of the objectives and functions of the Community Relations Commission revolve.
The Principles articulate the values of multiculturalism as the policy of the state of New South Wales (s.3(3)), to apply to every individual and group residing in New South Wales. However, the legislation places the responsibility for observing and upholding those values on the chief executive officer of every government agency (s.3(5)).
This section of the Act was amended in 2010 to bring greater clarity to the positioning of multiculturalism in New South Wales, and to highlight the fact that the policy is not about maintaining separate identities in a shared space, but about making a common commitment to the broader values of the Australian system of governance.
In New South Wales, multiculturalism is founded on the following principles (the ‘Principles of Multiculturalism’):
(a) the people of New South Wales are of different linguistic, religious, racial and ethnic backgrounds who, either individually or in community with other members of their respective groups, are free to profess, practise and maintain their own linguistic, religious, racial and ethnic heritage This principle commonly finds expression through the celebration of cultural or religious events. It may also include attempts to encourage communities to maintain their heritage by recording and sharing their cultural practices with younger generations, or with the broader community. (b) all individuals in New South Wales, irrespective of their linguistic, religious, racial and ethnic backgrounds, should demonstrate a unified commitment to Australia, its interests and future 2 0 1 and should recognise the importance of shared values governed by the rule of law within a democratic framework As a country, Australia has strong legislative, judicial and executive provisions in place to guarantee fairness for all citizens. The rule of law and democracy are solid foundations upon which our diverse community can equitably enjoy all that this country has to offer. It is important to recognise that while diversity is respected and facilitated, different cultural or religious practices should not interfere with those underlying values that are essential to our systems of governance. (c) all individuals in New South Wales should have the greatest possible opportunity to contribute to, and participate in, all aspects of public life in which they may legally participate C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
18 The provision of interpreting and translation services contributes greatly to the capacity of non-English speaking individuals to access and use public services in a meaningful way. This is underscored by policies and programs that are inclusive and respectful of cultural, linguistic and religious diversity. Clear communication, and marketing to diverse ethnic groups, enhances participation in public life. (d) all individuals and institutions should respect and make provision for the culture, language and religion of others within an Australian legal and institutional framework where English is the common language This principle recognises the common platform of the English language, and formal systems of governance and public institutions as the core around which all cultural, religious and linguistic expression should circulate. Within that common framework provision should be made to acknowledge, and respect, diversity. (e) all individuals should have the greatest possible opportunity to make use of and participate in relevant activities and programmes provided or administered by the Government of New South Wales The NSW Government is mandated to provide services for all persons resident in the state. However, it is widely acknowledged that not all people have equal capacity to participate in government initiated or sponsored programs. This principle directs government agencies to make special provision to enable all members of our culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse community to participate (f) all institutions of New South Wales should recognise the linguistic and cultural assets in the population of New South Wales as a valuable resource and promote this resource to maximise the development of the State The introduction of the Community Relations Commission and Principles of Multiculturalism Act 2000 a decade ago has underscored the positive contribution of diversity to the social and economic prosperity of the state. The declaration made in this principle has encouraged NSW agencies to look upon diversity as something to be celebrated and harnessed to achieve the broader goalsof our state.
This chapter highlights some of the programs and projects undertaken by NSW Government agencies
and local councils which illustrate the Principles of Multiculturalism in practice. The majority of C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t initiatives will have occurred during the calendar year of 2011, however some examples occurred during the latter months of 2010. Because these initiatives missed the production deadline for the earlier report, they have been included in this report. Similarly, the 2012 report may contain some activities from late 2011.
The initiatives featured in this chapter demonstrate innovative solutions to emerging and complex issues, the importance of partnership between public authorities and communities, and the invaluable input of volunteers. 2 0 1
19 COMMUNITY
Ageing, Disability and Home Care – Department of Family and Community Services
Ageing, Disability and Home Care released its first Language Services Policy (the Policy) and Language Services Guidelines in late 2010 and has started implementing the Policy, to enable ADHC staff to effectively communicate with clients and carers with low proficiency in English. In order to promote the Policy and its implications for ADHC staff and the funded sector, and to increase staff cultural competency, a series of seven workshops on the effective use of language services was delivered to approximately 260 staff across all of ADHC’s regions. A specific training program was developed for these workshops. This training program will continue to be refined and used by regions for future training sessions. The Language Services Guidelines and a range of practical factsheets on language services have also been developed and circulated to ADHC staff and funded partners as additional resources. These are available on ADHC’s intranet and through the Service Provider Portal.
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE In partnership with SBS, Ageing, Disability and Home Care launched a series of eleven radio broadcasts called the HomeReach series in February 2011. The HomeReach series is aimed at increasing awareness about services that are available to frail older people, younger people with disabilities, and their carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The series was produced in the following nine languages: Assyrian, Cantonese, English, Greek, Hindi, Laotian, Macedonian, Turkish, and Vietnamese. The series is now available by podcast at the Ageing, Disability & Home Care’s Home reach 2011 series SBS website. Transcripts of the episodes are also available on the ADHC intranet and website.
In May 2011, Ageing, Disability and Home Care introduced important changes to the way the agency collects and remediates cultural diversity data. Improved data collection will have a significant positive impact on ADHC’s ability to identify needs and plan culturally appropriate and effective services that meet the needs of people with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. ADHC staff are now recording consistent and more detailed information about both clients and primary carers. A factsheet which provides a rationale for these changes and guides staff in collecting this information
2 0 1 has been prepared and distributed through the ADHC intranet.
The Building Inclusive Communities in Auburn Pilot Project is a major new initiative, based on a partnership between Ageing, Disability and Home Care’s Metro North Region and Auburn Diversity Services Inc (ADSI). The key objective of the project is to support community development, so that people with a disability and their families/carers are included, have valued social roles and can fully participate as citizens. The project involves raising awareness of disability, breaking down stigma associated with disability, providing support to families accessing entry points into the community, and improving the integration of disability services into the mainstream community. The project has engaged and worked with all people with a disability and their families/carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who have been identified as being able to benefit from support. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
20 Commission for Children and Young People
The NSW Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) holds regular seminars and workshops to provide information on child safe and child-friendly practices to individuals and organisations. Across late 2010 and 2011, the CCYP pursued a number of initiatives to communicate these practices to culturally and linguistically diverse communities in New South Wales.
Working in consultation with the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools, they translated the Child Safe Check Up information sheet into four community languages: Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic.
In July 2011 the CCYC held a Child Safe Organisation seminar at the Arabic Workers Network and in September 2011 at the Community Relations Symposium.
They presented Child Safe Organisation workshops at the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools annual conference in October 2011 and advertised and promoted seminars and workshops to the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools membership.
And, again in conjunction with the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools, the CCYC held two Child Safe Organisation seminars in Campsie and Liverpool in September 2011, which attracted 75 representatives from 27 community language schools.
Community Relations Commission C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t
Community Relations Commission’s Community Relations Symposium 2011 2 0 1
21 The Community Relations Commission hosted the 2011 Community Relations Symposium in September. The theme was ‘Where do we go from here?’ which enabled participants to explore and discuss matters important to multicultural Australia. Approximately 230 participants took part in the Symposium including delegates representing community, government, academic, religious, corporate and sporting organisations. Five concurrent workshops in line with the theme encouraged discussion, the sharing of ideas and practical advice on issues of importance. The community views expressed and reported at the 2011 Symposium provided the Commission with further insight into priority issues for community organisations.
Community Relations Commission’s Youth Leaders Day 2011
The Community Relations Commission 2011 Youth Leaders Day was attended by approximately 200 participants. These included student delegates from a mix of private, government and religious schools from across Sydney, workshop presenters, facilitators and Commission staff. The Day was themed ‘Who Am I?’, which focused on young people and their search for identity. The Multicultural Youth Network (MYN) played a key role in the consultation and planning process for the day. Members of
2 0 1 the MYN participated in a facilitator training session in the lead-up to the event, to equip them with the skills to effectively facilitate one of the five concurrent workshops on the day.
In March 2011 the Community Relations Commission Multicultural Youth Network (MYN) organised a successful networking evening at the Riverside Theatre, Parramatta. The event enabled members of the MYN to undertake leadership roles in the planning and implementation of the event and they acted as hosts at the function. Over 90 young people between 16 and 30 years of age participated, from diverse cultural backgrounds and from youth organisations across Sydney. The event was an opportunity for young people to expand existing networks with other young people from different communities living in New South Wales, and fostered open and informative dialogue about a range of contemporary issues. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
22 In response to media coverage concerning identity and full face coverings, and following a request by the NSW Police Commissioner, the Community Relations Commission organised a working party with key members of the Islamic community to discuss their views on removal of the burqa and niqab for identity checks. The working party advised and made recommendations to the Commission on the concerns and experiences of Muslim community members in relation to the wearing of the burqa and niqab in the context of NSW Government service provision. The Community Relations Commission contacted a number of relevant NSW Government agencies requesting advice on existing policies and procedures which were then reviewed by the working party. In keeping with the Community Relations Commission and Principles of Multiculturalism Act, the working party agreed that people have the right to choose to wear religious coverings in Australia, but they must comply with requests for identification purposes.
Cabinet agreed on a common set of guidelines and the Identification Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 was assented on 20 September 2011.This Act amends certain legislation to enable police officers and certain other public officials to require the removal of face coverings for identification purposes; to enable police officers to request the identities of persons in connection with the giving of move on directions; and to provide for identification procedures in connection with statutory declarations and affidavits. In January 2012 the O’Farrell government issued Memorandum 2012–01 regarding ‘Policy on Identity and Full Face Coverings for NSW Public Sector Agencies’. The Community Relations Commission is continuing to work with communities to develop an education program to inform their members of their rights and obligations under the policy.
In 2011, The Community Relations Commission convened consultations in Gymea and Crows Nest. Community leaders and service providers throughout the Sydney metropolitan area attended these meetings and put forward their concerns to the Commission in relation to community harmony and social cohesion. Such consultations assist the Commission to analyse and feed into decision-making processes. C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Community Relations Commission’s Information Session for Egyptian overseas students
The Community Relations Commission also consulted with Egyptian community members and other Middle Eastern communities in light of overseas events affecting local communities. The Commission convened several meeting with leaders of the Egyptian community to discuss issues related to international students, the situation in Egypt and local community relations concerns. This resulted in an international student seminar for in excess of 60 Egyptian students in July 2011, where matters related to life in Australia, such as work rights, safety, accommodation rights and responsibilities, and pathway options were discussed.
Under the leadership of the Community Relations Commission, the NSW Government Immigration and Settlement Planning Committee is an effective mechanism in coordinating the development of NSW 2 0 1
23 policy and positions. In 2011, the Committee provided input to the review of the NSW State Migration Plan and concentrated on numerous matters, including international students, skilled migration, refugee health and housing, and Australia’s Migration and Humanitarian Programs. The Committee will provide input in 2012 to the newly established Select Council on Immigration and Settlement.
The Community Relations Commission’s work in the area of settlement planning is supported by its regular consultations with migrant communities and community settlement service providers through the Commission’s engagement with the Settlement Services Coalition. Ongoing quarterly meetings enable Community Settlement Service workers and refugee and humanitarian entrant workers to advocate issues of concern for their communities on a state level and provide input into service delivery, policy development and community programs with a NSW state focus. In 2011, the Coalition focused on a number of pressing issues including unaccompanied minors, community detention, rental accommodation for new arrivals and changes to the delivery of the Adult Migrant Education Program.
The aim of the Religious Workers’ Orientation Training Project is to provide a cultural orientation program for religious and community leaders of diverse faiths, including imams, to assist those involved and also to inform potential future strategies. The project was funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, under the National Action Plan, and executed by the Community Relations Commission. The Commission first established a multifaith, community-based steering committee for this project. Commission staff then drafted a text containing teaching, learning and assessment material and a course syllabus, entitled Serving in a New Land: an Orientation and Appraisal for Religious Workers Coming to Australia. After extensive consultation and redrafting the text was used as a curriculum for a pilot study, two-day, face-to-face multifaith training program conducted at the Melkite Catholic Eparchy in Sydney in February 2011. The short online course in the text was also piloted in face-to-face mode. The text has now been significantly rewritten and is currently in print and awaiting distribution. Text and online course materials will soon be available on the CRC website.
The aim of the Islamic Scripture Extension Project is to develop a resource kit for current Islamic religious education providers in NSW Government schools. The project was funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, under the National Action Plan, and has been executed by the Community Relations Commission since 2007. Commission staff initially drafted a text and learning material, entitled My Religion, Our Country: a Resource for Islamic Religious Education in Australia, and after tightly controlled consultation the document was significantly redrafted on two occasions. The current version is now ready for a more broad-based consultation, particularly with representatives of the various sects of Islam, and this process is currently underway. 2 0 1 The Audit Office of NSW undertook a performance audit of theCommunity Relations Commission and the Department of Premier and Cabinet in 2011 to examine how well New South Wales plans for, and responds to, the needs of humanitarian entrants on arrival, at initial settlement, and post orientation. With respect to the Commission, the audit team met with Commission staff and examined relevant documents and processes. The audit team also met with numerous service providers and government agencies in urban and regional areas of New South Wales. The fieldwork component of the audit has been completed. The Audit Office Report and recommendations are expected in March 2012.
The availability of affordable burial space is of concern to a large number of communities in the Sydney region. Over the last few years the NSW Government has been actively talking to ethnic and C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
24 religious leaders, members of the public and communities about this issue, in meetings facilitated by the Community Relations Commission. Various alternatives for the use and re-use of burial space have been discussed at these meetings. Due to the highly sensitive nature of this issue and the fact that a number of communities will be affected, the Community Relations Commission has made representations on behalf of a number of communities requesting that the introduction of renewable tenure be deferred until adequate provision has been made for communities requiring permanent tenure for gravesites.
The Community Relations Commission Multicultural Street Festival funding program enables local councils to build harmonious communities through participation and planning of events at the local level. The program highlights the partnership between state and local governments and communities. The Community Relations Commission offers three years of consecutive funding to selected local government areas on the proviso that the council enter into an agreement to run the Street Festivals program for a further two years. Wollongong City Council, Camden Council and Wagga Wagga City Council are currently participating in the Street Festival program, and held festivals during 2011. The Commission has approached Liverpool City Council, Orange City Council, Maitland City Council and Tamworth Regional Council to participate in the Street Festival program in 2012.
In 2011, Commissioners and staff of the Community Relations Commission visited the Sri Mandir Temple in Auburn following several serious attacks on the temple. The Community Relations Commission met with community and religious leaders in the area to discuss concerns and discuss prevention strategies. The Commission will continue to work closely with the community and other government agencies including the NSW Police Force to ensure harmony within the community.
The Community Relations Commission continued to work with the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services in 2011, to develop anti-corruption awareness in the new business migrant community. A range of strategies discussed avenues for education campaigns and information dissemination and the value of engaging community leaders in the promotion of anti-bribery initiatives.
The NSW State Migration Plan, which is designed to support the growth of industries in New South Wales by targeting skills needs where demand cannot be met locally, was implemented on 3 March 2011. The Community Relations Commission convened a working party under the NSW Government Immigration and Settlement Planning Committee to develop the NSW State Migration Plan. The Plan formalises state-sponsored skilled migration arrangements between New South Wales and the
Commonwealth. It means that New South Wales can access new provisions under the Commonwealth C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Migration Act 1958 which allow fast-track visa processing for skilled migrants sponsored by New South Wales to meet the identified skills needs of our state’s economy. Employers will continue to have access to highly skilled workers through the Employer Nomination Scheme, and employer-sponsored visa applications still receive the highest priority visa processing. The SMP provides a more targeted approach to skilled migration by allowing New South Wales to nominate highly skilled migrants in occupations that are not restricted to the Commonwealth’s Skilled Occupation List, and address the specific needs of employers in this state. The Plan will ensure that New South Wales continues to attract workers in high demand industries, such as finance, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology research. The first review of the NSW SMP was completed by the Commission in July 2011 with input from TAFE NSW, Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services, and the NSW
Government Immigration and Settlement Planning Committee SMP working party. 2 0 1
25 Premier O’Farrell at the Deepavali ‘The Festival of Lights’ 2011 celebration at New South Wales Parliament House
The Community Development Grants Program aims to promote community harmony, and to encourage the participation of people from multicultural communities in all aspects of life in New South Wales. Under the Local Partnership Grants category in 2010–11, the Community Relations Commission provided funding to six councils in regional New South Wales to employ workers to assist with the settlement of new migrants in their local areas. Seventy-three events and festivals celebrating the cultural diversity of New South Wales received grants under the Program Sponsorship category in 2010–11 and forty-six projects to be undertaken by community-based organisations in 2011–12 were funded under General Grants.
In 2011, the Community Relations Commission’s EmailLink database of ethnic communities was 2 0 1 utilised by government, business and community organisations to provide information or publicise events to the multicultural community.
Throughout the year, the Community Relations Commission continued to provide reports in English of articles that were published in ethnic newspapers, through its MediaLink service. MediaLink reports are available online and report on more than 100 issues of ethnic newspapers per week. In 2011, access to issues affecting or relevant to the multicultural community was expanded when the Commission made MediaLink reports available to all Federal and NSW Government Parliamentarians through the federal and state libraries. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
26 Regional Advisory Councils identify and provide advice to the Community Relations Commission on multicultural community relations issues affecting people in rural and regional areas of New South Wales. The Commission has established ten Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) across the state, each meeting four times per year. They are: Albury, Central Coast, Central West, Griffith, Hornsby, Hunter, Illawarra, Macarthur- Liverpool, Nepean-Blacktown, New England, and Northern,. The membership of the RACs is comprised of community members, as well as government representatives nominated by local councils, NSW Police, Area Health Networks, Housing NSW, Education and Fair Trading, among others. Issues raised at RAC meetings across the state in 2011 included employment assistance to refugees in Albury–Wodonga, housing shortages in the Central West, engagement between police and youth in Newcastle and settlement needs of emerging communities.
Sport is a highly effective means of reducing the isolation experienced by refugee youth who are newly arrived. The Community Relations Commission Refugee Youth Sports Sponsorship Program supports young people with a refugee background living in regional New South Wales by offering sponsorships to enable them to join their local sporting organisations. The program helps to remove the financial barriers to participating in sporting activities and has successfully led to positive social interaction between emerging refugee communities and the established community in regional areas. In 2011, 117 young players were registered to 24 participating sporting clubs across regional New South Wales. Refugee youth in Albury, Newcastle, Lismore and Coffs Harbour have been given an opportunity to participate in such diverse sports as athletics, basketball, cricket, football, netball and rugby.
Following the success of the Community Relations Commission’s Refugee Youth Sports Sponsorship Program, the Hunter African Communities Council (HACC), with the support of the CRC, the TAFE NSW Hunter Institute and the Australian Sports Commission, registered a soccer team in 2011, the Hunter Simba FC. The team played games in the Northern NSW Soccer Federation. The team is comprised mainly of African youth of refugee background but also includes a number of other local players from diverse backgrounds, who have greatly assisted with integrating the team. In its inaugural year, the team reached the semi finals and finished fourth on the ladder. The establishment of the team has provided an avenue for the youth to meet and build networks with the local players. Sport has proven to be an important tool in building confidence and a sense of belonging in the community.
A partnership was established between the NSW Police, the Community Relations Commission, the Newcastle Police-Citizens Youth Club and the Hunter African Communities Council. Following extensive consultations with the African communities in the Hunter region, the Introduction to Policing
Services (African) Program was developed. Program participants were identified by African elders from C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t the community. The program included first aid training and information sessions. Nine participants were selected to attend a three day event which included an address by serving police officers, a visit to Police Rescue, the Water Police and Newcastle Police Station, and an overnight visit to the Police Academy in Goulburn. While at the Academy, participants visited the weapons range, driver training and experienced life as a student of policing. Upon completion of the program, participants will receive their First Aid Certificate. The aim of the program was to build trust and engagement between the NSW Police and the African community, and educate program participants on the function of police in Australian society. The program has proven to be a positive experience for both the youth and officers involved. The Community Relations Commission assisted in the facilitation of the program, as well as providing some funding. 2 0 1
27 Arising from concerns raised by members of the Northern Regional Advisory Council that many new arrivals to the area do not have sufficient water safety awareness, a partnership was established between the Community Relations Commission, Coffs Harbour City Council, Refugee Support Services, Surf Life Saving, the Premier’s Department and the Office of Sport and Recreation to develop a water safety program. Approximately thirty people have expressed interest in participating in the program, which will educate recent arrivals in Australia who have no experience of the water or surf in safe practice. The Community Relations Commission has facilitated the organisation of the program including connecting relevant parties to further the project. Sport and Recreation undertook to progress this pilot project further once the initial stage was completed. At the end of 2011, preparation was underway for a pilot water safety program to be held in the Coffs Coast area.
The Community Relations Commission, in partnership with the Victorian Multicultural Commission, has funded the Albury-Wodonga Volunteer Resource Bureau, to support the settlement of newly arrived humanitarian entrants in the Albury-Wodonga area through a targeted community development program. To date, the Refugee Community Development Program has included a driver education program, community information seminars on tenancy and consumer affairs issues, the banking system and Australian burial practices, and cross-cultural parenting sessions along with community health issues, among other initiatives. These programs have been guided by continued consultation with the target communities. A significant number of Bhutanese refugee arrivals have now obtained their driver’s licence, secured full and part-time employment and are continuing training to improve their English language skills. Community support structures have now been established, which will help to maintain the progress made in reducing barriers to employment, supporting study and training, and strengthening links with the mainstream community and service providers.
The Multicultural Council of Griffith held its third annual Multicultural Festival in October 2011, funded by the Community Relations Commission and supported by the local community. The festival showcased diversity through food, dance and music by the participation of the diverse cultures in the local community. Communities represented in this year’s festival included the Pacific Islander communities, Indian, Italian, Indigenous, Celtic, South American and others. The festival engaged the whole community by bringing them together under the banner of cultural diversity. The festival was attended by thousands of people from Griffith and surrounding areas.
Department of Attorney General and Justice
In 2011 the Department of Attorney General and Justice launched its engagement with both Pacific
2 0 1 communities and Chinese communities, in addition to broadening its work beyond the Sudanese communities into the wider African communities. These population groups were selected on the basis of data showing the highest and fastest growing interpreter use in Department services and demographic trends in New South Wales. In response to the success of the work with the Sudanese and subsequent African communities, the Department has agreed to fund two permanent Community Liaison Officer positions. The officers in these positions are appointed on a temporary basis to rotate the focus on different communities, responding to the changing needs across New South Wales.
The Department of Attorney General and Justice established a court support program in 2011 at Blacktown local court. The program is staffed by Sudanese law students and provides support to African people appearing at Blacktown Court. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
28 The Department of Attorney General and Justice established an African Justice Learning Circle, which meets every six weeks for two hours with community elders and leaders. Each circle focuses on a specific topic as selected by the small community-led advisory committee of the circle, such as alternative dispute resolution. It is anticipated that the topics may lead into the development of a training program for elders and leaders. In 2011 there was also the establishment of a forum for young leaders, a sponsored national basketball competition, the annual African Women’s Dinner Dance, and various community festivals.
In 2011, the Department of Attorney General and Justice hosted a number of workshops for the Chinese and Pacific communities on topics such as: wills, powers of attorney, enduring guardianship, capacity building, anti-discrimination, court support and family law. The Department also translated a range of departmental service-specific articles for Chinese and Pacific newspapers and broadcast on the radio.
The Department of Attorney General and Justice established a Justice Pacific Community Steering Committee in partnership with the NSW Council for Pacific Communities. The focus of the steering committee is to collate and analyse evidence-based data relating to Pacific communities’ involvement in the criminal justice system. The aim of the committee is to advise on the most effective ways to reduce the number of members of Pacific communities coming into contact with the justice system. The steering committee will also review various Pacific-specific crime prevention programs conducted both locally and internationally to evaluate their effectiveness and potential applicability in New South Wales. The committee is chaired by an Assistant Director General and comprises Pacific community members. It first met on 9 November and will meet monthly for a year.
The Department of Attorney General and Justice held a number of consultations and large community forums to discuss services for the local Vietnamese communities with over 350 Vietnamese community participants.
Fire & Rescue NSW
The Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) National Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Working Group, continued to provide a consultative forum to effectively identify and address risks from fire to people from culturally diverse backgrounds, and to share initiatives and programs. Work was done to establish a national best practice model for all member agencies to follow when engaging with this demographic. All fire services across Australia supported and attended this forum which meets biannually. FRNSW C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t have worked with other fire services such as the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service, Rural Fire Service and Queensland Fire and Rescue Service through this forum to develop strategies on engaging with their local culturally diverse communities.
Fire & Rescue NSW have appointed and trained additional Community Fire Safety Volunteers, bringing the total number to 20. These volunteers from culturally and linguistically diverse communities use their language skills and cultural knowledge to spread fire safety messages to new migrants and community members with limited English. The most recent appointment for 2011 was a member of the local Indian community in Woolgoolga. 2 0 1
29 Fire & Rescue NSW Fire Prevention Week in May 2011, was celebrated with local multicultural service providers and key stakeholders across the state in partnership with local fire crews. This year’s event was conducted in partnership with a number of agencies including Sydwest Multicultural Services, Australian Centre for Languages, Adult Migrant Education Services and several TAFE units across New South Wales. NSW firefighters attended all engagements providing key fire safety information to the culturally diverse participants.
Fire & Rescue NSW updated translated fire safety resources, which were developed to increase the awareness of culturally diverse community groups of fire risks, and educate them on being better prepared should a fire occur in the home. Brochures on fire safety and smoke alarms were translated into six languages (Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Dinka, Thai and Hindi) and disseminated throughout New South Wales.
During 2010–11 Fire & Rescue NSW updated its Fire Safety Module, which has since been incorporated into the NSW Adult Migrant English Service accredited curriculum. This module covers home escape plans, smoke alarms, fire safety, and the triple zero emergency number. The teaching resource assists culturally diverse communities to be better prepared to deal with fires in the home and improves their understanding of fire risks. Free copies of the booklet were distributed to TAFE English students and the resource is also available on the Fire & Rescue NSW website.
Fire & Rescue NSW has been working closely with the Federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), which funds English class providers. During 2011, DIAC funded the inclusion of FRNSW’s winter and summer fire safety campaigns in the educational curriculum delivered by these providers in Griffith, Goulburn, Wagga Wagga, Albury and Wodonga. FRNSW continues to partner with DIAC, attending its quarterly Settlement Planning Committee meetings. 2 0 1
Fire & Rescue NSW Harmony Day 2011 Celebrations C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
30 Fire & Rescue NSW hosted the National Harmony Day launch for 2011 at the City of Sydney fire station. The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and Senator Kate Lundy attended and opened the launch. FRNSW also conducted and assisted with Harmony Day events across New South Wales, including in Wagga Wagga and Wollongong. Approximately 400 people attended the FRNSW Harmony Day launch where key fire safety information was provided to the attendees including students from the Adult Migrant English classes.
Firefighters from Woolgoolga attended the local Curryfest 2011 which was attended by around 11,000 people. Woolgoolga Curryfest is a signature event which celebrates the cultural diversity of the local area and its surrounding communities. It showcases multicultural cuisine, traditional and modern dances, music, comedy, arts and crafts, together with kids activities. The Woolgoolga crew handed out fire safety information throughout the day, assisted by new Community Fire Safety Volunteers Joginder Singh and Kamaldeep Singh from the local Indian community. Fire and Rescue NSW also staffed a stall, promoting fire safety messages to many of the 11,000 people who attended the festival throughout the day. Local radio stations broadcast from the festival with fire safety messages while three local newspapers also did follow-up stories about the fat fire simulator demonstrations. The crew discussed topics such as the SABRE and ‘Change Your Clock Change Your Battery’ programs, as well as other fire safety messages, with the local Indian community. They also showed off their Class 2 Pumper, including equipment used by Fire and Rescue staff.
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile Justice have developed a Pacific Reference Group that consists of relevant staff members from different areas of the Metropolitan Region, which have the highest concentration of offenders from Pacific communities. A total of 14 members volunteered to participate in the group, which included senior managers and frontline staff of both Pacific and non-Pacific background. The first meeting was held on 15 September 2011 and the second meeting in November 2011.
The main outcome of the first reference group meeting was the development of a strategic plan to ensure Pacific initiatives were coordinated, accountable and to ensure they were in line with current agency policies and based on best practice. The group is currently awaiting the outcome of the submission.
Juvenile Justice are also working collaboratively with other government departments, non-government agencies and the Pacific communities to address offending by members of these communities. In the past five months Juvenile Justice have been involved in a variety of discussions and meetings. C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t
In June 2011 Attorney Generals invited Juvenile Justice and other justice cluster agencies to a meeting with Pacific communities leaders regarding justice related issues. Juvenile Justice staff and the Deputy Director General attended the meeting which was chaired by the Director General of the Department of Attorney General and Justice, Laurie Glanfield.
Pacific communities representatives and the NSW Pacific Council worked intensely on a three day forum in August to address the recommendations raised at the June meeting, such as interventions that effectively address offending by Pacific community members. Juvenile Justice attended to observe and also liaise with Pacific communities. 2 0 1
31 The Pacific communities presented a 15-page document on their vision and ways to best address offending by their members and justice related issues. One of their recommendations was a ‘Justice and Pacific Communities Steering Committee’ to help guide the work of the Attorney General on Pacific-related issues. The recommendation was endorsed in November, and as a result an expression of interest and terms of reference were circulated amongst Pacific representatives. Juvenile Justice and other relevant agencies were invited to nominate representatives for the steering committee.
Juvenile Justice is seeking to become more visible to other agencies and Pacific communities and there is a future plan for Juvenile Justice to be more active in the work at the micro-level, such as a stronger presence in interventions with Pacific offenders and their families, and a clearer communication channel with the variety of Pacific communities.
Legal Aid NSW
In 2011, Legal Aid NSW partnered with the Institute of Family Practice to offer a traineeship program for lawyers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to become accredited Family Dispute Resolution practitioners. The main aims of this innovative project are to increase the cultural responsiveness of the family dispute resolution service and to redress over-representation of culturally and linguistically diverse families in litigation. As a result of this initiative, families from culturally diverse backgrounds who are separating can now make decisions about their lives with the help of mediators who understand their particular culture, values and history. Ten lawyers from Vietnamese, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Indian, African and Pakistani communities completed traineeships to work as mediators to improve their communities’ access to Australian family law processes. The lawyers graduated and are now accredited family mediators and part of the Legal Aid NSW Family Dispute Resolution Service. The initiative responds to a key recommendation in the KPMG report, Family dispute resolution services in legal aid: evaluation report – that all Australian Legal Aid commissions could improve access to family dispute resolution programs by culturally and linguistically diverse groups, making sure services are appropriate and effective for people from diverse backgrounds.
NSW Community Services
In 2010-11 NSW Community Services funded Settlement Services International and SydWest Multicultural Services to manage three multicultural foster carer recruitment initiatives, as demonstration projects in Sydney. The services were funded $45,000 each for the year, targeted at African, Greek and Arabic-speaking communities. They worked on the basis of multicultural services working in 2 0 1 partnership with NSW Community Services to engage with the target communities and encourage community members to apply to become foster carers in New South Wales. These projects have been effective in raising interest and understanding of foster care, and during the year 55 community members applied to become foster carers, with the largest number being from African communities. The next stage in the recruitment process is assessment and training.
In 2011, NSW Community Services provided training on child protection to Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) funded Settlement Grants Program workers and advice on how they can work effectively with NSW Community Services. The workers have many common clients with Community Services and both parties were keen to develop stronger working relationships. Workshops used a Community Services trainer and casework practitioners. The results of these workshops have C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
32 exceeded expectations, with the settlement workers and Community Services both expressing a greater understanding of each other’s work, and enthusiasm to work more closely together at a local level.
NSW Community Services held its biannual Multicultural Conference over a two day period in November 2011. The conference was attended by 250 managers and staff from NSW Community Services as well as participants from Housing NSW, Ageing Disability and Home Care, and Juvenile Justice. The focus was on the development of skills and information, and the aim was to promote multicultural service delivery within the agency’s strategic directions under the government’s Keep them Safe initiative, which emphasises service links with government and non government agencies.
The African Sessional Workers Program provides cultural and language assistance to caseworkers employed by NSW Community Services and funded partners who work with families from African backgrounds. The program also addresses barriers faced by caseworkers in successfully engaging with families from African backgrounds and supports community information sessions for these emerging communities, to increase understanding of the agency’s role and the child protection system. The program consists of 11 sessional staff from eight African communities. A total of 16 different language groups are covered by the program staff. In 2010–11 the program provided 109 occasions of service, supporting 29 African families with 150 individual family members. This program was managed by the Hills Holroyd Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre.
NSW Police Force
The NSW Police Force conducted a community consultation in March 2011 on behalf of the Commissioner’s Advisory Council on Culturally Responsive Policing (CACCRP). This was intended to identify emerging and priority issues that have an impact on groups within the community, police and on relationships within the community.
The Wollongong Local Area Command hosted the firstIllawarra Police and Multicultural Community Forum at the Nan Tien Temple in Berkeley. This involved officers from both the Wollongong and Lake Illawarra Local Area Commands.
The Cabramatta Local Area Command holds fortnightly crime prevention stalls to provide an opportunity for police to interact with the community in their local environment. Multicultural Community Liaison Officers staffing the stalls are able to provide information to community members C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t in various languages.
Blacktown Local Area Command worked collaboratively with community leaders and Westpoint Shopping Centre to engage young people and improve social outcomes in the area, through the Com4Unity – Connecting our minds 4unity project. The NSW Police Force worked with non- government organisations servicing the Blacktown area, representatives from Blacktown City Council, and Westpoint Shopping Centre to develop an action plan that emphasised the reduction of anti-social behaviour. The plan was developed using a survey of over 1800 young people as a foundation. This research emphasised the need for employment, accessible training opportunities and recreation facilities. Responding to this in 2011, the project implemented six sessions of the SWITCH music program, three Retail Operation Courses and two sessions of the Com4unity Soccer Cup. 2 0 1
33 Following a rising trend in serious assaults amongst youth from the local Sudanese community, the Newcastle City Local Area Command initiated a program to introduce youth from African countries to policing services in New South Wales and provide them with an insight into police work. The program is operated collaboratively with the Newcastle City Local Area Command, Police-Citizens Youth Clubs (PCYC), the communities from Africa, and the Community Relations Commission. Run over six weeks, it includes fitness, team building activities and first aid, and concludes with a visit to Goulburn Police Academy.
The Coffs/Clarence Local Area Command delivered presentations to over 120 young adults at the Emergency Services Forum and Service for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS). The objective was to break down barriers, develop rapport and discuss differences between the NSW Police Force and police in the country of origin of the refugees. The forums were extremely well received with good audience participation. Involvement was fostered and knowledge developed using role plays, and the rights and responsibilities of both police and community members were discussed during the sessions.
The Campsie Local Area Command has developed a number of strategies to assist youth in this culturally and ethnically diverse area including: ► working in partnership with Riverwood Community Centre Family Support Team on Kids Count to provide activities for young children aged 6–12 years and families in the Riverwood Estate during school holidays. Parent and community groups assisted with Family Fun Days that Campsie Police organised during school holidays ► presenting motivational talks on making the right choices in life to high school students from Arabic and Pacific backgrounds ► night patrols with community volunteers and the Youth Liaison and Multicultural Community Liaison Officers to engage with young people in hotspots ► an early intervention and proactive strategy to reduce anti-social behaviour of young people in the area and to strengthen the relationship between young people and police.
The Police–African Youth project was initiated by the Rosehill Local Area Command and Granville Multicultural Community Centre to enhance relationships between police and young people from African backgrounds who may have been involved in risk-taking or anti-social behaviour. Held monthly as a social event and soccer tournament, the project brought together more than 70 young Africans to develop and form relationships with the local police in order to break down miscommunication,
2 0 1 mistrust and stereotypes. The support of local youth workers gave the project a whole-of-community approach helping the new community members integrate into mainstream society. Nine workshops were organised on topics covering: ► ‘In Company’ video ► move on ► young people’s rights ► driving without a licence ► search and young people’s rights ► personal safety and reporting crime, bullying and youth violence C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
34 ► gang mentality and peer pressure ► sexual assault and sexual harassment.
Police from Liverpool Local Area Command held a meeting with residents in the Holsworthy, Wattle Grove and Hammondville areas to discuss the perception that Indian community members were targets of an increase in break and enters in the area. The meeting attracted more than 60 people from the community. Police provided break and enter statistics and information on home security measures and reporting procedures. As a result of the meeting, police identified a lack of reporting by the community. The Liverpool Local Area Commander made a commitment to increase patrols of the affected areas and a small working party was formed to start a neighbourhood watch program.
The Reach-out Action Movements (ROAM) project uses community collaboration to improve the safety of local residents. Commenced in April 2011, ROAM assists Macquarie Fields Local Area Command with the provision of regular night patrols and crime prevention solutions. Representative of a diversity of ages (over 18), gender and ethnicity, ROAM focuses on future generations by creating positive pathways to enhance the lives of residents. The objectives are to: ► create a safer community environment ► support and engage with youth through mentoring and offering productive and practical pathways ► develop pride within youth by enhancing their self esteem and self confidence ► promote community rights and responsibilities, bridging the gap between youth, elders, community and police ► encourage the importance of education generating sustainable opportunities for the future ► commit to informing the community frequently of the events and issues causing concern, and ► recognise the efforts and achievements of community cohesion. ROAM partners will determine project activities through regular consultations.
The Kuring Gai Local Area Command provided safety talks at various locations including the AMES Orientation Day, the Multicultural Integration Community Support group, the Seniors Safety at Healthy Living in Australia program for Chinese Seniors, and the Healthy Relations Forum with a
domestic and family violence focus. C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t
The Green Valley Local Area Command Arabic-Speaking BBQ and Crime Prevention Information Day provided a forum to disseminate crime prevention information, particularly relating to alcohol and drugs, to members of the Arabic-speaking community living in the local area. Information was made available in Arabic as well as English.
The NSW Police Force Transport Policy Unit collaborated with the NSW Taxi Council to provide Crime Prevention sessions to the Taxi Driver Silver Training. The need to improve taxi drivers’ safety was identified by a Multicultural Community Liaison Officer (MCLO) from Hurstville Local Area Command and in consultation with the taxi driver industry. Taxi drivers are often victims of crime as they carry money from fares. This culturally and linguistically diverse workforce is particularly 2 0 1 vulnerable because they tend to be less likely to report crime and less confident in their engagement with
35 police. A reference group was established with representatives from the NSW Police Force Transport Policy Unit, Department of Transport, NSW Taxi Council and the MCLO Program Coordinator. The group developed strategies to be used by MCLOs to support strong relationships between taxi drivers and police and provide information on the role and function of police in New South Wales, to engender realistic expectations regarding police activity. Information about the MCLO program was provided to the NSW Taxi Council for publication in the METER Magazine which is distributed to taxi drivers and owners around New South Wales.
As part of the police Policy Pathways project, the NSW Police Force Recruitment Branch launched an advertising campaign to recruit people from culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse backgrounds. The ethnic media campaign, involving the print and visual media including posters, resulted in increased interest from ethnically and culturally diverse community members.
A dedicated CALD Police Career Day was held at Fairfield High School with the support of theFairfield Local Area Command. Participants were offered access to Specialist Unit displays, information and advice from TAFE and other advisors, Q&A sessions with police officers from different divisions as well as demonstrations.
The Mt Druitt Local Area Command, in conjunction with Mt Druitt Police-Citizens Youth Club (PCYC), holds an annual Police Pathways Careers Day at the Mt Druitt PCYC. The purpose of the Police Pathways project is to provide members of the community from Western Sydney an opportunity to see the career opportunities within the NSW Police Force, the recruitment process of joining the police and to support those interested individuals in the application process and with fulfilling criteria. The careers day offers participants an opportunity to learn about a career in the NSWPF and the pathways they may wish to pursue once within the organisation. The day had a particular emphasis on reaching out and connecting with the multicultural members of the Mount Druitt community. Police officers from a variety of units such as Air Wing, Tactical Operations Unit, Mounted Police, Water Police, Recruitment, Dog Squad, Crime Scene and the Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit attended the event. A member from each unit made a 5-10 minute presentation to members of the public on the nature of their work and the part they play in policing in New South Wales. Community members were able to examine displays closely and ask current serving officers questions about their work. Community members interested in joining the NSW Police Force were able to speak directly with an officer about this.
The Police Open Day program creates an opportunity to build mutual understanding between the local police and the communities they serve. It enables the communities to have a better and realistic understanding of services the police are able to provide, police powers, local crime trends and crime 2 0 1 prevention strategies. The Hornsby Local Area Command organises Police Open Days with demonstrations on some common topics which are addressed by role playing, such as scams, and bag snatches. The programs create opportunities to break down barriers between the police and the community and build positive and trusting relationships.
The Coffs/Clarence Local Area Command embarked on a pilot project to train members of the local refugee community who are willing and able to act as bilingual support persons for members of their community when dealing with the NSW Police Force. The program has been developed in conjunction with the Cultural Diversity Team, Operational Programs Command. Community members were identified by the community and the group received training and support. Nine support persons C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
36 are expected to attend a final session where they will sign a confidentiality agreement and be available to act as support persons.
Personal safety issues for international students have been raised as one of the major concerns for overseas students studying in Australia. The NSW Police Force has been actively involved at various levels of government in addressing this important issue and has appointed a corporate spokesperson for international students. A number of Local Area Commands (LACs) have implemented strategies to reduce the risk of crime for this group. Some examples include: ► Coffs/Clarence Local Area Command Crime Management Unit officers regularly attend Southern Cross University and TAFE to speak with newly arrived international students about their safety and welfare, as well as the laws in New South Wales and what to do if they become a victim of crime. ► Wollongong Local Area Command and the University of Wollongong have launched their new ‘Call Me’ student safety campaign. The campaign was designed by a team of third year graphic design students as part of a subject assessment. Students were provided with a brief outlining the issues they needed to focus on when developing the campaign and had to come up with different ways of advertising the campaign once it was developed. The campaign consisted of a range of slogans that encouraged students to seek help or advice from police and it also promoted steps that could be taken by students to stay safe when out and about. The campaign targeted domestic and international students. ► Information in various community languages was distributed through local real estate agents to inform all newly arrived international students intending to reside in the Ashfield Local Area Command area about personal safety and contact information for police. Information sessions were also held to inform the students on these issues.
The Community Contact Unit (CCU) at the Counter Terrorism & Special Tactics (CT&ST) Command engages with communities and diasporas primarily on the issues of terrorism and radicalisation. During 2011, the CCU, Operation Group, Counter Terrorism & Special Tactics Command, initiated and contributed to a number of projects relating to cultural, linguistic and religious diversity.
CCU initiated a project concentrating on culturally diverse communities within rural and regional New South Wales. The aim is to build and enhance effective partnerships between the NSW Police Force and the various communities. Police officers attend major events within rural and regional New South
Wales such as country shows, agricultural shows, regional racing meetings, country music festivals and C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t paintball/skirmish businesses. The CCU engages with communities at risk of radicalisation, building contacts within rural and regional New South Wales and enhancing the NSW Police Force’s response to counter terrorism and national security issues.
The Commander, Operations Group CT&ST provided a joint presentation with psychologist Hannon Dover at the Leadership in Counter Terrorism (LinCT) course. The course is designed to enhance the skills of senior police in relation to counter terrorism and was attended by police from the USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. Hannon Dover is a prominent member of Sydney’s Muslim community. The presentation addressed community engagement in the counter terrorism context with communities that may feel alienated or threatened. 2 0 1
37 The Islamic Community Consultative Committee was established in 2009 and consists of a variety of leaders within the Islamic community and CT&ST officers. The aim of the committee is to improve communication, understanding and cooperation between these communities and the NSW Police Force in relation to contemporary terrorism issues, in line with the Community Engagement Model. A meeting was held in February 2011 where a number of issues were discussed and clarified. This included a presentation on Operation Pendennis, which was the arrest and trial of NSW and Victoria based terrorists, as well as a presentation and discussion on terrorism laws in New South Wales, with facilitation by the NSW Council for Civil Liberties.
Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics (CT&ST) pursued research into the effects of the Community Engagement Model through the services of the University of Western Sydney. A researcher is studying and analysing the effects of the NSW Police Force Community Engagement Model on local Islamic communities. The research will measure the model’s level of success in engendering trust and cooperation in relation to the radicalisation threat, as well as report on the implications of this strategy in understanding shifts in contemporary policing and the state response to radical ethnic and religious marginalisation.
The Canobolas Local Area Command Crime Management Unit (CMU) members attend regular meetings facilitated by the Orange Migrant Support Workers with Orange City Council. The meetings are called the ‘Multicultural Network Meetings’ with a number of different agencies (government and non-government) attending to discuss various programs and ways to assist with the integration of people from various cultural backgrounds to the township of Orange.
The police also held a meeting with members of the Sudanese community in order to discuss various aspects of the law and to address any potential concerns the Sudanese community may have. Senior Officers of the command attended the formal ceremony and celebrations of the South Sudan Independence Day, and presented a short speech to the Sudanese community, which included a welcome to Orange in order to foster a good relationship between police and the Sudanese community. CMU staff also attended various events facilitated by the local council during Multicultural Week within Orange.
Culture
Art Gallery of New South Wales
2 0 1 In February 2011, as part of the City of Sydney Chinese New Year Festival, The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) extended events to a full weekend program, which included the gallery opening until midnight. The First Emperor: China’s entombed warriors exhibition brought the world famous terracotta warrior figures from Xi’an to Australia. Throughout the weekend numerous community groups presented a range of activities including stories for children and fortune telling for adults. The program for the Chinese New Year events at the art gallery was translated into Chinese and was handed out after the opening event. Over 100 people attended the Auspicious Symbols tour in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. One hundred and fifty people attended a fan dance workshop presented by Bridget Poon with assistants from the Chinese Youth League. Visitors tried tai chi with Sue Chang from Tai Chi Fitness Australia; storytelling sessions with Singapore-born performer Kiran Shah were held in the evening. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
38 Art Gallery of New South Wales’ 2011 Chinese New Year Auspicious Symbols tour and 2011 Chinese New Year fan dance workshop
At the Artbar there were Chinese artists demonstrating martial arts and weaponry, magic and comedy, dance and drumming. The weekend attracted over 17,000 visitors to the gallery and the staging of this event is estimated to have brought $34 billion to the NSW economy through tourism and increased spending.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales offered a special teachers’ preview of The First Emperor: China’s entombed warriors to community language schools, complemented by lectures from educators explaining how to use the gallery’s collection to teach community languages. Professor Duan Qingbo from the Department of Archaeology, Northwest University was invited to deliver a Mandarin language lecture on ‘The design concept of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum’. In conjunction with the Homage to the ancestors: ritual art from the Chu kingdom exhibition, the Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial Museum also delivered a Mandarin-language lecture. Each lecture was attended by over 100 Chinese community members.
The NSW 2011 Seniors Week program in March had a Chinese focus at the Art Gallery of New South Wales with a traditional music recital, calligraphy demonstration and tours of The Homage to the ancestors: ritual art from the Chu kingdom exhibition, which featured stunning ritual objects, including bronze vessels, musical instruments, lacquer wares and jades from the holdings of the Hubei Provincial Museum in China. The April school holiday program at the AGNSW featured Chinese dance performances by two community organisations: the Chinese Youth League and the Black Swan C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Dance Group.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales launched a pilot program in 2011 recruiting and training Korean-speaking volunteers to promote the new contemporary galleries. Their first tour on the opening weekend attracted about 30 visitors and two articles in the Korean press. The group of five individuals established a regular Korean-language tour on Fridays at 11 am.
During 2011, 1200 visitors attended Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Japanese-language tours of the Art Gallery of New South Wales conducted by Community Ambassador volunteers. The Community Ambassadors also produced 18 articles in Japanese and Chinese for community newsletters and
press. 2 0 1
39 The Indian Empire: multiple realities exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales presented diverse viewpoints of India from the late 18th century. The Art After Hours program for the exhibition featured performances of Indian music, a Hindu puja and a Bollywood dance show.
The Art After Hours program at the Art Gallery of New South Wales focused on Chinese culture for the three months of The First Emperor exhibition in 2011. The celebrity spot series gave a strong profile to Chinese Australians and included martial arts performances, in keeping with the warrior theme.
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse Museum) 2011
The exhibition Spirit of jang-in: treasures of Korean metal craft at the Powerhouse Museum (October 2011 to February 2012), celebrated the Year of Friendship between Australia and the Republic of Korea, marking the 50 year anniversary of bilateral relations. The exhibition presented not only masterpieces of metal craft but also conveyed the concept of ‘jang-in’, the intangible essence of the making process. The exhibition created a sensory journey spanning thousands of years from the Bronze Powerhouse Museum Spirit of Jang-in: treasures of Korean metal craft Age through to the modern day.
The content included a wide range of Korean national treasures such as the Silla golden crown (5th – 6th century), Buddhist sculptures, jewellery, and a range of contemporary metalwork. The historical objects were on loan from the National Museum of Korea and Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. The contemporary objects were sourced from the Powerhouse Museum collection and selected artists in Korea and Australia. The opening coincided with the celebration of the Korean National Week. The exhibition was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, National Museum of Korea, POSCO, Korea Foundation and the Korea Tourism Organisation.
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE The Powerhouse Museum 2011 Chinese New Year program celebrating the Year of the Rabbit reached beyond the walls of the museum and engaged with the local Chinese community. 2 0 1
The foyer of the Powerhouse Museum hosted the start location for CHINA HEART. With a story by Annette Shun Wah, CHINA HEART was a free, interactive, multi-platform game for smartphones and web applications that is part love story, part mystery. Meshing video, real-world art installations and performance with a rich GPS gaming experience, CHINA HEART guided players on a walking tour of significant locations in Sydney’s Chinatown.
Players downloaded the game and started solving the clues at the Powerhouse Museum, learning about the history of Chinese Australians from the 19th century to now as they unravelled the mystery that is keeping a young couple apart. The story culminated at the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour with a stunning performance of a romantic scene featuring Chinese opera singers. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
40 Powerhouse Museum Chinese Knotting workshop
The Museum engaged the artist Dadi Xiong, who created the tassel for the jade seal at the Beijing Olympics, to conduct four outreach workshops on Chinese knotting in January with our neighbours at the Harris Community Centre, Ultimo Community Centre, NSW Adult Migrant Education Service, and with the Australian Nursing Home Foundation at the Stanley Hunt Centre
NSW Migration Heritage Centre
A migrant reunion day Back to Scheyville was hosted in May 2011 at the former migrant accommodation centre. The event was supported by the NSW Migration Heritage Centre and held in the Scheyville National Park in north-western Sydney, in the presence of the Governor of New South Wales, Her C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO. A heritage trail produced with the centre’s assistance was launched at the event to strengthen the interpretation of the centre and assist the development of tourism in Western Sydney.
The NSW Migration Heritage Centre produced video oral histories in conjunction with the reunion day, recording memories of survivors from Cambodia of the Khmer Rouge Pol Pot regime in an online exhibition entitled Leaving Cambodia. Participants reminisced vividly about family loss and separation, freedom and safety, through keepsakes and family photos. 2 0 1
41 In 2011 the NSW Migration Heritage Centre supported The Enemy At Home, an exhibition tracing the story of German internees in World War One Australia. It was displayed at the Museum of Sydney, a property of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW, and was actively promoted as a major exhibition by the Sydney Morning Herald. The centre collaborated on the exhibition and publication and produced a web exhibition. The exhibition drew from extensive regional collection surveys and research by the centre’s staff and an earlier partnership with Trial Bay Gaol.
A Migration Heritage Trail through the streets of Orange was researched by the Orange Regional Gallery and the NSW Migration Heritage Centre to showcase places associated with post-Second World War migration and to support local tourism.
The Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and the NSW Migration Heritage Centre commenced a research partnership in 2011 to commission a history, and produce an exhibition at the Glasshouse, about all waves of migration and settlement to the mid-north coast including contact with Indigenous communities. The project is recording the distinctive histories and community profiles of towns including Port Macquarie, Taree, Kempsey, South West Rocks, Wingham, Wauchope and Laurieton.
A NSW Migration Heritage Centre research partnership with the Maitland Regional Art Gallery for Maitland Jewish Cemetery: Monument to Dreams and Deeds by Janis Wilton won a 2011 National Trust Heritage Award.
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Tracking the Dragon: A History of the Chinese in the Riverina is a Museum of the Riverina and NSW Migration Heritage Centre partnership exhibition and illustrated publication, exploring the public and private lives of Chinese-Australian migrants. The project was promoted by the Chinese-Australian Historical Society and features numerous objects and photographs held by Riverina locals.
Over 11,000 people visited the exhibition in 2011. The Wagga Wagga local government area has a population of approximately 60,000 people and the Museum of the Riverina attracts approximately 43,000 visitors a year. Local Riverina residents, New South Wales and interstate visitors and a small percentage of overseas travellers attended the exhibition which supported cultural tourism and associated small businesses (shops, cafes, restaurants, petrol stations, hotels and motels) in Wagga Wagga and the surrounding region.
Later in 2011, the exhibition travelled to the Albury Library Museum where additional Murray River content was added. It again attracted over 11,000 people and supported local businesses. The centre produced an online version of the exhibition for its website for primary and secondary school teacher and student
2 0 1 audiences across the state.
The historical research, including collection surveys from local families, some descendants of Chinese settlers, spanned the Riverina from Wagga Wagga, west to Hillston, Booligal and Balranald, north to Temora, east to Tumut and Adelong and south to Albury on the Murray River, from 1850 to the present.
This exhibition is rewriting history. Chinese-Australians in the Riverina were not considered as a major economic threat, even if they were sometimes initially viewed with suspicion or curiosity; they were an important and integral part of the local labour force and Riverina community and helped shape the local economy and society. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
42 Screen NSW
Screen NSW provided financial support through its Industry Development Fund to Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) (an organisation based in Western Sydney which runs programs involving the community in the arts and technology). The funding was awarded to ICE for its work on digital storytelling with the refugee and migrant communities of Western Sydney.
In 2011, Screen NSW provided financial support through its Industry Development Fund to Metro Screen for its Multicultural Mentorship Scheme. This project provides filmmakers from diverse cultural and non English-speaking backgrounds with an industry mentor, equipment, stock, post-production facilities, and a $2000 budget to assist in the development of a short film project.
Throughout 2011, Screen NSW co-funded the Television Production Trainee Attachment Scheme with SBS. The project provides opportunities for individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to gain on-the-job training within professional film and television production companies.
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Screen NSW’s Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta (Once Upon a Time Productions) and Go Back to Where You Came From (Cordell Jigsaw)
The Screen NSW Production Committee, as part of its funding assessment process, considers the multicultural qualities of a project, and the long-term impact the project may have on the film industry and/or the Australian community. Projects funded, made, produced and/or screened representing culturally diverse voices and stories for 2011 include: Go Back To Where You Came From (series 1 and 2), Once C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Upon A Time in Cabramatta, 33 Postcards, East West 101 and Myanmar Times.
33 Postcards won the Community Relations Commission Award at the Sydney Film Festival in 2011 and the Asian New Talent Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival for lead actress Zhu Lin. The broad audience appeal of these projects was demonstrated when the Screen NSW-funded, SBS series, Go Back To Where You Came From, became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter and was watched by an average of 524,000 viewers in the five major metropolitan areas throughout Australia. The documentary series Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta premiered with a national audience of more than one million people across SBS One and SBS Two, and became the number two worldwide trending topic on Twitter during the broadcast. 2 0 1
43 Education
NSW Department of Education and Communities
Department of Education and Communities continued the Refugee Transition Program which operates in a number of targeted schools with a high refugee student enrolment to support refugee students in transition from intensive English programs into mainstream high school, and to help them plan their transition from school to further education, training or employment. The program provides additional teacher time to assist refugee students, as well as in-school support and professional learning for teachers by regional Refugee Student Support Officers. Some schools provide work readiness programs for students and employ bilingual school learning support officers to support refugee students in the classroom. The program operated in 20 schools in 2011.
Department of Education and Communities developed a ten hour professional learning course to support classroom teachers to develop their understanding of the educational needs of refugee students in order to provide effective teaching support. The aim is to develop participant understandings of the experiences, skills and knowledge that refugee students bring to schools as well as the language related needs of recently arrived refugee students with low levels of literacy. The course assists teachers to acquire the tools to effectively teach refugee students in mainstream class rooms and increases awareness of resources available to support refugee students. Over 120 teachers were trained to facilitate the training in their schools. Throughout 2010–11, 426 teachers participated in 26 courses across six regions.
In 2011 the Department of Education and Communities increased the number of School Learning Support Officers in schools across New South Wales. The Support Officers provide bilingual and bicultural support for refugee students to assist student learning and settlement within the school context. The officers also help to facilitate communication between the schools, students and their families. In 2011 School Support Officers have been working in schools in the Illawarra, Riverina and North Coast areas.
Young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds from four high schools in the Illawarra and South East Region participated in the Multicultural Youth Forum 2011, organised by the Department of Education and Communities. Youth workers and presenters with specialist skills and knowledge delivered a series of five workshops on bullying, drugs, alcohol and sexual health. The workshop topics were determined by students who attended the forum in 2010. The project culminated
2 0 1 in a one-day excursion to Killalea State Park where all four student groups had the opportunity to mingle and work together on physical outdoor challenges, in addition to reflecting on the ideas covered in the workshops. Feedback from the forums has been positive and has highlighted the need for targeted information and social support for culturally and linguistically diverse students. New connections were also made between schools and local youth services which paves the way for future inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse background students in regular service provision. The project was made possible by a strong partnership between Warrawong Intensive English Centre, Wollongong City Council, Shellharbour City Council, the Smith Family, Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra and Illawarra Multicultural Services. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
44 TAFE NSW, in partnership with the NSW Adult Migrant English Service, ran the Pathways to Aged Care Program to help students improve their English and provide vocational training and work experience that could lead into employment in the aged care sector. The students co-enrolled in courses in aged care and English language and literacy and undertook work experience. The 11 students were from European, Asian and South American countries and were all mature-aged.
In February 2011, the NSW Adult Migrant English Service and Ambulance Service NSW jointly developed and launched the Calling an Ambulance teaching resource. This teaching resource is designed to equip migrants with skills and confidence to call triple zero (000) in a medical emergency. The resource enables teachers to integrate information and skills development into English as a Second Language programs.
The Adult and Community Education Unit of the NSW Department of Education and Communities and the State Emergency Service continued to expand the blended learning program Cultural Points of View. This program is delivered by Adult and Community Education across rural, regional and metropolitan New South Wales and is for State Emergency Service volunteers and staff. It aims to ensure that local State Emergency Service workplaces are responsive to and inclusive of different cultures.
Department of Education and Communities Northern Sydney Region provided a series of parenting courses designed to explore parenting skills in the Australian context and to increase the involvement in schools of families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The courses, which involved eight schools and about 70 participants, received positive feedback and support from both participants and school principals. Courses included the delivery by the region’s Community Information Officers of the Triple P program (Positive Parent Program), an international program designed to provide practical solutions to many parenting problems, and the Living with Teens course delivered by Burnside to assist parents with teenage children. Due to the success of the 2011 program, the region plans to extend the program into 2012.
Everyone Belongs, Harmony Day community event, was held in Tweed Heads in 2011. About 100 community members aged 4–80 years attended the event to celebrate the cultural diversity of their local community. Thirty-five students studying Cultural and Aboriginal Studies at Tweed River High School were amongst the participants. The day opened with an acknowledgement of Country by an Aboriginal high school student followed by a welcome greeting in different languages by TAFE students. A welcome game called Standing on the Continent allowed participants to share information about their cultural background and develop notions of belonging in Australia. Participants shared C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t stories and developed understandings of the varied life experiences and journeys of Australians from diverse cultural backgrounds. Participants were also provided with an opportunity to reflect on the racism that exists in many societies and to reaffirm their commitment to the elimination of racism. The event was facilitated by the Department of Education and Communities North Coast Region in collaboration with Tweed Shire Council, Tweed River High School, TAFE NSW, NORTEC Employment, Centrelink and local Aboriginal and ethnic communities.
A booklet of resources, entitled Doing Diversity Differently was created by the Department of Education and Communities equity consultancy team in Hunter/Central Coast Region. The aim was to develop a ‘classroom friendly’ series of lessons, teaching strategies, and suggestions which
incorporated issues relating to cultural diversity. 2 0 1
45 Department of Education & Communities’ Doing Diversity Differently project
Sixteen schools participated in the project and each school formed student multicultural teams consisting of three to four students in primary schools and high schools. These teams recommended activities from the booklet to the school teaching staff, provided feedback on activities, promoted the project to the school and wider community, and shared information with teams in other schools via video-conference. In Term 4, a forum attended by 110 students was held to allow the school student teams to share their achievements and to plan future directions. International students from Newcastle University presented personal narratives on their experiences of cultural diversity in Australia, including Aboriginal students and students from the Congolese, Philippine, Saudi Arabian, Italian and Indian communities.
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Pathways for All, an initiative developed by Wagga Wagga High School in collaboration with Wagga 2 0 1 TAFE, Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Compact Career Counselling, was delivered in 2011 to develop students’ vocational skills across a range of schooling years and ability levels. Participants included students from language backgrounds other than English and Indigenous students. The intended outcomes of the initiative were to improve students’ English language skills, self confidence and vocational opportunities.
Activities undertaken by students who participated in the program included opportunities to research careers and jobs in hospitality and other areas; an eight hour barista training course through Wagga TAFE; English language and literacy development for vocational purposes; establishment and operation of a coffee shop; tour of Charles Sturt University and information sessions provided by the university student advisor. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
46 Student outcomes as a result of the program included improvements in literacy, numeracy and ICT skills, demonstrated improvements in student self confidence and increased understanding of school and work culture in Australia. Three students considered to be ‘at risk’ of disengaging from schooling continued through to complete their HSC studies, three students applied for university enrolment and another is exploring TAFE studies. A number of students obtained recognised TAFE qualifications in barista skills, four students obtained casual work, two others were actively seeking work, one student gained work experience in radiography, another in nursing and a third in paediatrics via work placements
Each school in South Western Sydney Region received a copy of a DVD/CD resource pack entitled: Freedom from fear: Supporting refugee students and their families – Lessons from refugee support initiatives in South Western Sydney Region schools. The region developed the resource to support schools with growing numbers of refugee students. The resource kit documents effective strategies for student wellbeing and behaviour, professional learning for teachers, transition to kindergarten, transition to primary school and building knowledge of community. The resource was launched in Refugee Week 2011.
Approximately 120 community members in Bathurst and Orange completed training to become mentors for students at risk of disengaging from schooling, as part of a new initiative developed by the Department of Education and Communities Western NSW Region. Training specifically targeted members from culturally diverse communities, including Aboriginal and Sudanese communities, to work with students from similar backgrounds. As part of the program, mentors receive ongoing support from regional Community Information Officers and participated in regular meetings to share ideas and raise and address issues of concern. In 2011, over 100 mentors provided regular and ongoing support to students identified by schools as in need of support to remain in education.
In 2011, the Department of Education and Communities Beverly Hills Intensive English Centre (BHIEC) established a new health initiative for migrant families, in partnership with the Foundation for Young Australians and the Australian Council for Educational Research, with a grant of $100,000 provided by the National Australia Bank. Through the program, bilingual staff from BHIEC help identify student health issues that could affect learning, such as vision or hearing impairments, and link them with the Multicultural Health Service and South East Sydney Local Health District. The program also involves regular information sessions for parents and other family members provided by nurses and health practitioners and tours of St George Hospital. On-site screening and early assessment of common and treatable health conditions will be available to students enrolled at BHIEC in 2012. C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Intensive English Centres provide intensive English language tuition to newly arrived high school aged students and assist them to make the transition to mainstream high schools.
Western Sydney held a region-wide Refugee Week Celebration to raise awareness in schools about refugee issues and experiences. Activities included school displays, government and non-government agency information stalls, guest speakers from the Department of Education and Communities and community members: four student speakers who were refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Sierra Leone. Students, teachers and parents from 25 primary and secondary schools attended the celebration along with members of the local community and staff from refugee support agencies. 2 0 1
47 As part of a range of programs relating to studies of Asian cultures and languages, the Department of Education and Communities Sydney Region introduced a strategy entitled Expanding horizons with Asia: India calling to incorporate a focus on the Hindi language and Indian culture through the Human Society and Its Environment curriculum.
As part of the program, students participated in a range of activities including: . a Hindi lesson every three weeks . three video-conferences per term focusing on the Hindi language and Indian music, dance and cooking . lessons and activities on the Holi festival and Indian geography and history . Indian art and craft activities . lessons and activities on Indian cooking and literature . Diwali Festival and celebrations . school-specific activities relating to the state of India.
Participating teachers shared resources and ideas through a project wiki. Positive feedback was received from students, parents and teachers through an evaluation survey conducted at the end of the project.
Orara High School in Coffs Harbour has a number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including humanitarian entrants. For this reason the school was seen as the ideal venue to host a Harmony Week 2011 event promoting cross-cultural understanding and awareness of diversity within the community. The event involved students from years 8 and 9 who participated in a variety of workshops including African Drumming and Dancing, Hip Hop Dancing, Bush Tucker Food and Multicultural Food. Following the workshops, parents, staff and community members attended a luncheon with a wonderful selection of multicultural and bush tucker food.
Board of Studies NSW
The Board of Studies NSW offers 17 language courses for students from kindergarten to year 10 and 63 courses in 34 languages for students in years 11 and 12. Fifty-seven of these language courses were examined for the 2011 Higher School Certificate. 2 0 1 In 2011, the Board of Studies NSW introduced the newly developed Stage 6 Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean Heritage Languages courses in schools with year 11 students. These new courses will be examined for the first time in the 2012 High School Certificate. Heritage language courses have been designed to cater for students who have been brought up in a home where the language is used and who have a connection to the culture but do not have proficiency to study a background speakers course in the language.
The Board of Studies NSW’s principles specifying that examination questions are to be accessible to all candidates and free of bias, stereotyping and tokenism were used in the development of the 2011 School Certificate test and Higher School Certificate examinations. A number of School Certificate and C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
48 Higher School Certificate examination papers underwent an additional review by an expert in literacy and English as a Second Language (ESL) to ensure that papers were accessible for ESL students in appropriate subject areas.
The Board of Studies NSW has made available various publications in community languages for parents, on their website in 2011. These publications include Parents’ Guide to the NSW Primary Syllabuses, NSW Curriculum Primary Foundation Statements, Using A–E Grades to Report Students’ Achievements and HSC Assessments and Submitted Works. The board’s website also includes links to other sites that provide information about current Board of Studies programs in key community languages.
The Making Multicultural Australia for the 21st Century website is one of Australia’s leading sources of quality educational resources on multiculturalism. The site was developed by the Board of Studies NSW in partnership with the Multicultural Program Unit of the Department of Education and Communities and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). In 2011 the Board of Studies continued to work in close collaboration with UTS in uploading new materials from across Australia to the site. The website assists young people, parents, teachers and the wider community to find quality resources on multiculturalism and to explore new strategies to promote cultural diversity and tolerance. The site is listed as an option for study in HSC English. It provides information on the contributions that different cultural groups have made to the development of Australian society. It also covers the various views toward immigration and multiculturalism that have historically influenced government policies and programs and transformed the Australian population.
Macquarie University C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t
Macquarie University’s Building Inclusive Communities Voluntary/Community award recipient Wafrica Wagga Wagga 2 0 1
49 Macquarie University and the Ethnic Communities’ Council of New South Wales launched the inaugural Building Inclusive Communities Awards in 2011.These awards recognise and showcase individuals and groups based in New South Wales whose work promotes understanding across cultures, and makes a significant contribution in helping to build an Australian community which celebrates cultural diversity. The awards were presented at Parliament House by Premier Barry O’Farrell in August. Of the 55 entrants, six winners were awarded in five categories: City of Sydney Living in Harmony Festival (Government), Bob Neville, Tingha Regeneration Program (Individual), Imagine Bankstown (Non-Government Organisation), Global Backyard Refugee Network Inc and Wafrica Wagga Wagga (Joint winners Voluntary/Community) and Football United (Youth).
Macquarie University launched its Learning, Education, Aspiration and Participation (LEAP) program which includes a refugee mentoring component. Under the outreach scheme, Macquarie student-mentors visit schools in western and south-western Sydney – primarily in the Blacktown and Bankstown area. The LEAP program is designed to actively encourage and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly refugee youth, to successfully transition into higher education.
Macquarie University researchers and academics continue to undertake work in the field of intercultural competence and communication. Two books were published in 2011, Ingrid Piller’s Intercultural Communication: A Critical Introduction, and Sabine Krajewski’s The Next Buddha may be a community: practising intercultural competence at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. The latter is a case study about intercultural competence including results of over 200 student questionnaires across faculties.
As part of Macquarie University’s Diversity Week program 2011 People, Power, Potential, a range of events celebrating the university’s culturally and linguistically diverse community were held for staff, students and the broader community. A special event included a film screening of Colourfest Film Festival on campus. The festival is Australia’s first national short film festival dedicated to the works of culturally diverse Australian film makers.
University of Newcastle
The University of Newcastle (Newcastle, Central Coast and Port Macquarie campuses) celebrated Harmony Week in March through a range of activities. Staff and students participated in A Taste of Harmony, a celebration of food and dance. During the lunch time event, international students were
2 0 1 supported by the University to prepare a selection of their favourite foods that staff and students could taste while they were entertained by a range of dance performances.
Living Library allowed members of the University of Newcastle community to meet people from different backgrounds. The Living Library offered students and staff the opportunity to share their life stories with each other. The ‘books’ were current university students who were willing to share their story, culture and experiences. The ‘readers’ were anyone in the university community who wished to learn more about the diversity of people on campus. The ‘books’ were ‘borrowed’ and participants share their stories. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
50 Piloted in late 2010 and expanded in 2011, the aim of Games for Overseas & Local Students & Staff was to assist the University of Newcastle’s international students develop friendships and networks with domestic students and academic staff, through a social sports program. Along with improving cross-cultural understanding amongst staff and students, the outcomes of this program included new friendships and networks among all participants. Football (soccer) was the sport of choice in 2011 with ‘the world game’ bringing together 111 students and staff from 36 different nations who enjoyed a weekly BBQ along with a game.
In 2011, the Equity and Diversity Unit of the University of Newcastle supported a community-led program called the Refugee Education And Language Development project or ‘REALD’ beyond a pilot phase to preliminary implementation. This initiative aimed to better connect at-risk refugee youth with community support services, increase their general employability and enhance their literacy and numeracy while helping them to stay engaged with the mainstream education system. This program was piloted in 2010 by the Hunter African Communities Council, NSW Service for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors, Northern Settlement Services, the Multicultural Neighbourhood Centre and Career Links. The Equity and Diversity Unit hosted a forum at Callaghan campus to help the steering committee garner further community support for the project. Then, in school terms 3 and 4 of 2011, the Equity and Diversity Unit funded and arranged for 13 high school aged student refugee participants from six Newcastle schools to attend the Callaghan campus on Fridays for literacy sessions with an English as a Second Language facilitator from the University English Language Foundations Studies Centre.
In 2011, the University of Newcastle ran the Local Connections program, a cross-cultural program that encourages intercultural interactions between international students and local families. The program provided an opportunity for international students to meet, visit and interact with local families, along with providing an opportunity for local families to build their knowledge and understanding of other cultures.
The University of Newcastle held the program A Women’s Perspective, which aimed to increase cross- cultural understanding between staff and students through the eyes of women. The evenings involved 25 female staff coming together with 25 female non English-speaking background students from a particular cultural group. A selection of the students presented an overview of their culture and then over a meal, staff and students had the opportunity to informally meet and talk about their respective experiences, including the challenges of juggling work and family responsibilities.
The University of Newcastle’s International Leadership Experience and Development (iLEAD) C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t program provided an opportunity for students of all backgrounds to gain international experience and leadership skills through participation in seminars, exchanges, volunteering, internships and community work. In addition to their academic studies, students learnt about global issues and how to build their leadership experience.
University of Technology Sydney
The Network Cafe program matches new students from overseas with experienced University of Technology Sydney (UTS) students so they have someone to answer questions, share tips on local culture, practise new language skills with, or just hang out. Having a Network Cafe partner is a way of extending social networks and linking in to groups and services both on and off campus. 2 0 1
51 In-fusion is a vibrant, public cultural festival hosted by University of Technology Sydney annually. It is run by the Student Services Unit and sponsored by the UTS Union and the City of Sydney Council. The aim of this internationally themed festival is to celebrate the cultural diversity that exists at UTS and within the surrounding community. In 2011, highlights from the festival included an Aboriginal acknowledgement of Country and educational performance, interactive Aboriginal painting workshop, Brazilian Capoeira, a cultural fusion of dance performance, Indian dance, Arabian and Egyptian belly dancing, Sumo wrestling, ‘Aussie’ props and displays, and an array of market stalls selling international food, jewellery and art. In 2011 students from across the globe also contributed to a Cultural Photo Competition and a Cultural Talent Quest.
University of Technology Sydney ensures cultural diversity in student accommodation through its allocation procedures and, with the assistance of students, the housing team schedules events and activities that encourage cross-cultural communication. Events in 2011 included a themed annual dinner, English conversation classes, a student-run Social Justice Committee that organised volunteering at a homeless shelter and a cooking competition where students produced fare from their home country. There is also a group of senior students who are paid to perform roles that support the student residence community, and these students are selected with a view to having a diversity of cultural backgrounds represented. Residential life offers students a unique opportunity to develop strong friendships with people from diverse backgrounds, and cultural exchange experiences that often might not be available in other environments. Students are challenged to overcome cultural biases, reassess stereotypical beliefs and develop friendships.
Each year the University of Technology Sydney provides a Multi-Faith Chaplaincy program. The chaplains are invited by the University to assist in the personal and spiritual needs of members of the university community. The chaplaincy service at University of Technology Sydney is available for students, faculty and staff of all denominations and all faiths. The policy of respect for the individual’s personal journey, and the right to their traditional beliefs, is given high value by all participating chaplains. As well as events sponsored by individual faith traditions, there are forums where different perspectives on faith and society are discussed. A cooperative effort between the University Executive, UTS Muslim Society students, staff and non-Muslim students of UTS will soon see Friday prayers relocating to a new on campus sports hall with a capacity of 400.
In 2011, University of Technology Sydney alumni and staff volunteered to run English conversation sessions. This is in line with the university’s commitment to implementing a systematic approach to ensure that all students have the necessary academic English language ability to succeed in their studies. The sessions are attended by students from non English-speaking backgrounds, enabling 2 0 1 cultural learning as well as skill development and confidence building. The sessions focus around general social conversation, as well as career-based conversations to develop interview, workplace and networking skills.
University of Technology Sydney’s Equity & Diversity Unit facilitated an information day for parents from priority schools in South Western Sydney in July. Approximately 100 parents, predominantly from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, attended the event and were accompanied by Department of Education and Communities Partnership Officers. The program included presentations from the Careers Service, Equity & Diversity and the Scholarships Office covering vital information about careers and courses, support at university, costs and fees. Parent’s Day is part of the UTS C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
52 Widening Participation Strategy which aims to increase the number of students from low socio- economic communities enrolling and studying at UTS. A significant proportion of these students are from culturally diverse backgrounds and UTS is committed to building aspiration, widening access and enhancing retention and success for all future students.
The nationally recognised University of Technology Sydney Refugee Special Admission Scheme in 2011 continued to support university applicants with a refugee background. UTS also provides an alternative assessment for permanent resident refugees who are unable to provide documentation of their past education due to their refugee circumstances. Applicants to both undergraduate and postgraduate courses come from a wide range of countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Burma, Uganda and Jordan. Graduates from this scheme have vastly improved employment and resettlement prospects.
In 2011, University of Technology Sydney joined a collaborative network of eight Australian universities in the development of the Courageous Conversations about Race (CCAR) Resource Manual. The manual is intended for facilitators of cultural competence workshops, using the Courageous Conversations model. This follows on from the series of CCAR workshops for UTS staff in 2010 and provides an opportunity for UTS to further enhance its commitment to an inclusive and diverse study and work environment. The Courageous Conversations model aims to challenge members of the university community to deepen dialogue by talking openly about race on campus, and beyond. The interactive sessions provide various tools to simulate and inform the conversation and help participants think through the different ways race affects people’s lives and professional practice. The sessions offer participants an opportunity to unpack their own unique racial story (linking it to the local, national and global context), understand the concept of race privilege and examine its influence. Development and implementation of the manual enables UTS to develop facilitators at a local level who have the capacity to deliver the training.
In September 2011 the University of Technology Sydney’s Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Research Centre (CCSRC) hosted a photographic exhibition Unsafe Haven: Hazaras in Afghanistan to highlight the issues faced by Afghan refugees in Australia, most of whom are from the Hazara people. The exhibition portrayed what daily life is like for Hazaras in Afghanistan, presenting images of human rights violations and continued persecution. CCSRC presented the exhibition in partnership with the Refugee Council of Australia, Amnesty International Australia and the Sydney Peace Foundation. As part of the exhibition the UTS Anti-Racism Club held a public forum with photographer and journalist
Abdul Karim Hekmat, who discussed the motivation behind his journey back to Afghanistan in 2010 C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t and some of the stories behind the photographs on display. The forum included discussion about the situation Hazaras (and others) face when seeking asylum in Australia, including a report on recent deportations to danger, the effects of detention (especially on mental health), and the recent protests taking place inside detention centres across Australia.
In 2011, University of Technology Sydney Interactive Media Learning unit ran three workshops titled Teaching and Learning in Culturally Diverse Tutorials, attended by 51 casual academic staff. These professional development workshops, run by academics who had worked extensively with students from culturally diverse backgrounds, were designed to address issues reported by both academic staff and students in either running or participating in tutorials with a culturally diverse student cohort.
Workshop content was informed by broader academic research and the university’s commissioned 2 0 1
53 research on the experiences of international students. Each session introduced a number of activities that could be easily incorporated into teaching practice and translated into various disciplinary and subject contexts, modelling inclusive classroom approaches.
The University of Technology Sydney’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology successfully partnered with the University of Science and Technology of China and separately with the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, Pakistan to qualify for and compete in the 2011 World RoboCup Soccer competition. The main objective of this exercise was to build multicultural teams of students and staff spanning distinct countries and cultures in an effort to strengthen relationships, build cross-cultural understanding, as well as research opportunities, collaboration and outcomes.
Ripple Effects: community building, participation and cultural citizenship through creative practices in Western Sydney is a research project run by academic staff within the University of Technology Sydney’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences which explores emerging communicative and creative practices in Western Sydney and their impact on community capacity building, cultural recognition and social participation. Developed in a three-year partnership with state and Federal arts agencies and the new media arts and community organization Information and Cultural Exchange, the project looks at creative and media practices as opportunities for engagement, social inclusion, cultural participation and artistic production. The project culminated in a symposium titled Creativity. Participation. Action., held in November 2011.
University of Technology Sydney staff worked with multicultural health workers from South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service to run cardiovascular health programs with seven different cultural groups. The groups included: Arabic, Turkish, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Greek, Italian, and an African and new arrival group, organised through the Mission Australia adult literacy program. The programs were held at local aged day care and community centres. The sessions covered basic information on cardiovascular health including the importance of exercise, stress management, information on healthy eating and salt intake, etc. Participants also had the opportunity to have their blood pressure tested, and were given weight and waist advice by exercise therapists and dieticians. As a result of the cardiovascular health sessions that were run throughout 2011, UTS hopes to be able to identify the cardiovascular health resources and activities that can improve the cardiovascular knowledge and health promotion skills of Illawarra and Shoalhaven community service providers.
University of Western Sydney
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
2 0 1 The University of Western Sydney (UWS) School of Computing and Mathematics and Parramatta City Council introduced the ParraConnect Technology Challenge, a competition open not only to UWS students but also the general public, to develop technology/software designs that will benefit the community that visit, live or work in Parramatta.
The overall idea is to show how technology can help solve the problems faced by Parramatta city residents and visitors, a high percentage of whom come from non English-speaking backgrounds. One of the competition themes was ‘Embracing multiculturalism’ and encouraged entries that help all of the people in the local area to feel supported and safe in their daily lives and interactions with community members and others including government services and local businesses. This type of activity encourages UWS students to consider those in the area around the Parramatta campus and how they might improve even small aspects of their lives. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
54 In 2011, University of Western Sydney School of Management organised two international workshops, in Vietnam and China, which facilitated the student international mobility learning experience. Students in the hospitality management and sports management major were engaged in the Vietnam project while students from the supply chain management major were involved in the China workshop. Both projects have a focus on building cultural understanding and providing students with a combination of discipline specific experiences in an international setting. Cultural awareness is developed through visits to universities in these countries and also through participating in culturally based activities whilst on tour. In the case of Vietnam, students visited an orphanage that uses hospitality skills as a means of helping equip the orphans with commercially useful life skills.
University of Western Sydney School of Computing and Mathematics held the Fusion of Cuisine and Ideas in 2011. The event involved an international lunch with staff, Honours and Higher Degree Research students, where everyone had to contribute a plate from the cuisine of their cultural background, and provide some information about the original recipe as well as ideas relating it to technology. There have been at least one of these per semester, including simultaneous events between three campuses using video-links.
The University of Western Sydney held an open forum, titled Multiculturalism, Terrorism and Peace – an Indian Experience, at the Parramatta campus in June. Professor Priyanker Upadhyaya, who holds the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair for Peace and Intercultural Understanding at Banaras Hindu University, discussed his efforts to broker peace talks and meaningful dialogue between warring factions in Pakistan and India. The Federal Member of Parliament for Parramatta also discussed multiculturalism from an Australian perspective. Former Australian Human Rights Commissioner and Director of Equity and Diversity at UWS, Dr Sev Ozdowski, acted as Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Professor Upadhaya discussed the holy city of Banaras, which despite the terrorist bombing of a sacred temple in 2006, has managed to present one of the world’s best examples of a peaceful communal coexistence among religious groups.
A free event was held at the University of Western Sydney Parramatta campus in August 2011 to celebrate Indian culture. The event featured Dhol players, Bollywood and Punjabi dancers, a Bhangra DJ, live music and free samosas and henna tattoos.
Environment C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE 2011 marked the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust’s (the Trust) eleventh year of their educational outreach partnership with Housing NSW. Community Greening and its offspring program, Youth Community Greening, encourages residents in social housing estates and associated school communities to take ownership of their local environment, develop an understanding of sustainable horticulture and make friends with their neighbours, often from different cultural backgrounds. Well over 300 communal garden projects have been established in public housing estates, on council land, in churches and in schools across New South Wales. These programs engage with a diverse range of ethnic communities, including Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean groups. Where possible the Trust provides translated material to allow full engagement with these communities. Workshop materials are kept simple and use simple language to 2 0 1 make allowances for limited literacy and language skills.
55 Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust’s Dandy Lions pre-schoolers program
The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust ensures public programs at its botanic estates address a culturally diverse range of themes as the plant collections are from all over the world. At the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the January 2011 school holiday program was based on Chinese and Japanese culture. Children and their families visited the Oriental Garden, heard Chinese legends delivered by a storyteller, made fish-shaped kites and created mini Zen gardens on plates to take home.
The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust pre-schoolers program, Dandy Lions, incorporated Chinese, Japanese, Jewish, and Russian themes in 2011. This program has engaged many multicultural participants (often temporary residents) with French, Brazilian, Filipino, Japanese, South American, Canadian, Swedish, Finnish, Irish, Chinese, Malaysian, Jewish, Spanish, Russian and New Zealand families attending.
The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust facilitated the installation of two multicultural outdoor exhibitions in March 2011, for its Autumn of the Arts event. The art installation, Dasmanila, in partnership with College of Fine Arts (COFA), was created by planting hundreds of plastic flowers around the Cunningham Pond, hand-woven from recycled rubbish by Filipino artisans to highlight the ecological damage to Manila’s waterways from urban pollution.
The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust annual Japanese Ikebana society installation and
2 0 1 workshops were held by the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. The event showcased the Japanese art of floral arrangement, which involved the constructing of a large installation on the foreshore lawn, made from bamboo. Teachers were on site to discuss their work and the philosophy behind it.
Office of Environment and Heritage
Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) worked in partnership with the Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW to deliver the Ethnic Communities Sustainable Living Project. The project assists organisations to engage culturally and linguistically diverse communities with learning programs that support sustainable living. During 2010–11 a team of 16 bilingual educators delivered 89 workshops and field trips to more than 1700 participants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
56 educator team also promoted the project and sustainable living at 13 festivals, reaching a multicultural audience of more than 5000.
The Office of Environment and Heritage Energy Efficiency Retailer Awareness Program provides resources in eight community languages, to participating stores and customers, on energy efficient appliances. These point of sale materials, available in Chinese, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Korean, help customers to make energy efficient purchases of household appliances.
The Home Power Savings Program provides free help to reduce energy costs for low income households. This program will support 220,000 households across New South Wales, and is aiming to reach a significant proportion of non English-speaking homes. To provide an effective service specifically for Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic-speaking households, Office of Environment and Heritage has translated program flyers, and provides booking and assessment services in these languages. A dedicated call centre line has been established for non English languages. OEH is working with the Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW to develop a strategy to reach smaller, emerging communities. OEH is also working on integrating the Home Power Savings Program into the curriculum for English language education and settlement services for new migrants across New South Wales.
Officeof Environment and Heritage continued to partner with Conservation Volunteers Australia to run a bush regeneration volunteer program at Bents Basin State Conservation Area aimed at engaging culturally and linguistically diverse communities that regularly visit Bents Basin. During 2010–11 the program completed 15 days of bush regeneration work in riparian habitat. It is planned to further develop this model for implementation in other locations.
Office of Environment and Heritage coordinated the Migrant Work Experience program in conjunction with NSW TAFE, with one student completing work experience with OEH’s Human Resources Advisory Services for six weeks in 2011.
Health
NSW Health
Sydney Children’s Hospital established the Bangladeshi Women’s Access Reference Group. The C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t group was formed to assist service providers who are working with the Bangladeshi community, who are a relatively recently settled group known to experience difficulties accessing some health and community services. A report Engaging the Bangladeshi Community in South Eastern Sydney: A collective Journey was launched in February 2011 and the reference group continues to meet and discuss initiatives and progress in this area.
In 2011, Sydney Children’s Hospital undertook an education program for all new staff, promoting diversity health issues through the monthly orientation program. This program was enhanced by doubling the duration of sessions to provide more detailed information on interpreter utilisation with diverse clients. NSW Health is currently redeveloping the program to facilitate a more hands-on,
interactive experience between presenters and participants. 2 0 1
57 Sydney Children’s Hospital undertook the study titled Longitudinal refugee child health which focused on the health and wellbeing of refugee children within the first two years of their settlement. The study examined changes over time in relation to physical health, development and psychological wellbeing. The study also investigated factors which may contribute to favourable heath outcomes, such as access to health services, socioeconomic resources and community support.
The Ambulance Service NSW has produced several publications in other languages which are available on the Service’s website for download. A series of factsheets are available in Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Greek and Vietnamese. The purpose of the factsheets is to assist people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with knowing when and how to call an ambulance, as well as provide information about the patient transport service and ambulance service. The factsheets also aimed to assist people when a paramedic attends their home or the location of a medical emergency. There is a free call phone number on the ‘Other Language’ page of the website for the Translating and Interpreting Service.
Blue Mountains Nepean Local Health Network developed a resource kit in 2010 for early childhood services working with children and families from migrant backgrounds and refugee families, which was launched in 2011. The kit was aimed at early childhood workers, community health workers and workers engaged with families and children (under five) in the Nepean area.
The Diversity Health Institute Clearinghouse online gateway contains freely accessible searchable databases on multicultural health information including translated resources, reports research, events and training. The site received an average of over 4000 visits per month; this was an increase of 27% from the monthly average of 3187 visits last year. The Clearinghouse team also provided approximately 83 information searches (per month) in response to enquires from clients, including health service providers, carers and consumers.
Hunter New England Local Health Network established a network-wide, permanent Nurse Manager Cultural Support position to monitor and support overseas trained nurses and allied health staff employed by Hunter New England Health. The program was developed to provide specific orientation programs and ongoing communication and monitoring, particularly for overseas trained staff appointed to rural hospitals.
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Network Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention program was launched in the Illawarra at an International Women’s Day event to raise awareness of heart disease. The event attracted over 400 women from 16 ethnic community groups. This was a project 2 0 1 in partnership between Multicultural Health Service, Women’s Health Service and Curtin University. It designed, delivered and evaluated culturally relevant activities to reduce risk factors from heart disease and raise awareness of heart attack signs amongst women from newly arrived migrant and refugee backgrounds. Programs were designed in consultation with communities and implemented for Arabic, Turkish, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Italian and Greek communities using translated materials and interpreters.
In 2011, the Multicultural Health Communication Service undertook a number of health promotion activities and programs targeting culturally and linguistically diverse communities including the C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
58 Multilingual Quitline, Get Healthy and Problem Gambling health promotions initiatives. The service also coordinated NSW Multicultural Health week and the Multicultural Health Communication Awards.
In 2011, the Multicultural HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C Service facilitated the program Clinical Support for culturally and linguistically diverse people living with HIV/AIDS which provided bilingual/ bicultural support to people from culturally diverse backgrounds living with HIV/AIDS. Over 65 clients are currently supported via the program. The program has a register of over 120 workers speaking more than 40 community languages to provide emotional support to clients living with HIV.
In 2011 the Multicultural Problem Gambling Service for NSW had 37 clinicians who gained accreditation with nationally recognised competencies as problem gambling counsellors. There clinicians provided problem gambling counselling in the following languages: Arabic, Assyrian, Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, German, Cantonese, Mandarin, Farsi, Greek, Telegu, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Indonesian, Korean, Maltese, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.
In February 2012, 147 women from communities that practise female genital mutilation (FGM) attended the Zero Tolerance event held by the NSW Health Education Program on Female Genital Mutilation. Some young women were specifically invited, as they are at risk of being pressured by family members to undergo FGM later, when they are over the age of 18 years or may be about to get married. The event reviewed the work being carried out with specific cultures across the Middle East, Europe and Australia to stop FGM.
NSW Refugee Health Service delivered health information to refugee communities with 172 orientation sessions delivered using bilingual Community Educators, attracting a total of 3477 participants. The sessions were delivered in Arabic, Assyrian, Farsi, Dari, Karen, Burmese, Rohingya, Sudanese, Bhutanese and Kirundi/Swahili.
Primary Health and Community Partnerships Branch coordinated the development of the NSW Refugee Health Plan 2011–2016 which was launched by the Minister for Health at the Marrickville Town Hall on 4 March 2011. The plan outlines measurable actions and priorities to guide the NSW health system’s work in the area of refugee health over the next five years.
Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) delivers Capoeira Angola groups at Miller Intensive English Centre (IEC), Fairfield IEC, Evans
IEC, Chester Hill IEC, Cabramatta IEC, Liverpool Boys High School and at STARTTS offices in C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Liverpool and Cabramatta. Capoeira Angola is an Afro-Brazilian art that can be likened to a dance, or a martial art. Music is an integral part of the game made up of several players including those on five key musical instruments. The groups have been evaluated for their psychological benefit using an appropriate assessment tool, which confirms the positive benefits of the program.
Sydney Local Health Network delivered the Triple P (Positive Parent Program) for Korean-speaking parents in 2011. The project aimed to enhance parental competence and confidence in raising children and improving the wellbeing of parents and children. The project targeted Korean-speaking parents with children aged 3-8 years. There was significant demand for the program with 44 participants registering for only 13 positions in the course. 2 0 1
59 Sydney South West Local Health Network held the Keeping community strong and active project which aimed to increase participation levels in physical activity among the Spanish-speaking communities in South West Sydney. Achievements of the program for 2011 included development of promotional material, recruitment of participants via primary health and community services, education on the benefits of physical activity and healthy lifestyles, a culturally appropriate ten session program of physical exercises and Qigong, and choreographed Latin dancing moves were also delivered.
Transcultural Aged Care Service (TACS) completed aged community population profiles for the Inner West, Sydney South West, Western Sydney and South East Sydney Aged Care Planning Regions and placed them on the newly developed TACS website. The profiles assisted aged care providers in planning their services, particularly when applying for places during the Aged Care Allocation Rounds.
Women’s Health at Work (WHAW) program undertook a research project called ‘Issues of customer perpetrated violence and personal safety for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds working in small retail workplaces’. In the pilot phase, 19 women were recruited and interviewed. Seven of this group had experienced violent crimes. Four of the 19 women interviewed had experienced robbery; one women had experienced two attempted robberies. WHAW are seeking to have the research published.
Information
New South Wales Electoral Commission
New South Wales Electoral Commission developed a community information strategy designed specifically to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse electors for the March 2011 state election. The strategy was informed by research and analysis of existing data to identify the electoral districts where there were large culturally and linguistically diverse populations, the languages spoken in those areas and the particular information needs of those communities. The strategy included: brochures (covering enrolment and the three levels of government in New South Wales) as well as instructions for voting at the NSW state election, translated into a number of languages; in-language posters advising people that information was available in their language; widely distributed newsletters providing information on each phase of the election (enrolment, early voting; voting on election day) and the recruitment and employment of bilingual staff (approximately 15% of all staff employed for the election were bilingual or multilingual).
2 0 1 Following the state election, a community information survey was sent out. Of the respondents, 86.6% said the information they received about the election was very or fairly useful and 94.8% of respondents rated the New South Wales Electoral Commission’s provision of information as good, very good or excellent. Additionally, 70.2% of respondents indicated that they had further distributed the information to other people in their networks, either by answering questions,
New South Wales Electoral Commission forwarding the newsletters or including information Community Information Strategy from the newsletters in their own publications. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
60 New South Wales Electoral Commission conducted a survey at a polling place at Greenacre in the electoral district of Bankstown on Election Day. A high proportion of people surveyed at Greenacre were from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (69%), with Arabic being the language spoken by most of the people surveyed. The satisfaction with assistance provided by electoral staff was exceptionally high, with a total of 99% satisfied (93% ‘very satisfied’ and 6% ‘fairly satisfied’). There was also high satisfaction with the ease of voting with almost all participants (99%), either ‘very satisfied’ (92%) or ‘fairly satisfied’ (7%) with the ease of voting.
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales works with the NSW public library network to provide access to information, collections and services to the diverse multicultural community. This is done by building their collections in a range of languages and developing services relevant to culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
The State Library of New South Wales manages the Multicultural Purchasing Cooperative on behalf of NSW public libraries, which purchases and catalogues multicultural collections to meet the specific language and cultural needs of local communities. In 2010–11 the State Library provided access to 74,000 books in 44 languages through the public library network, developed and strengthened the Chinese collection through the purchase of audio books in Mandarin and books in simplified and traditional Chinese and coordinated the purchase of collections worth a record $934,635 in 43 languages other than English. In 2010–11 the Multicultural Purchasing Cooperative purchased, catalogued and end-processed 25,231 items that included printed and audio books, children’s and adults’ picture books, non-fiction books and English as a Second Language resources.
In 2011 the State Library of New South Wales volunteer program welcomed members of the broader community to participate in the library’s activities. Volunteers range in age from their early twenties to over 90 years old, and contribute to work across the organisation. The volunteers supporting multicultural services include professionals and recently arrived migrants with language skills. They contributed to the selection of in-language collections, and with the promotion of multicultural services to targeted communities.
In 2011 the State Library of New South Wales piloted the project Health information in your language. The project aimed to develop a service that improves awareness and access to health information for culturally and linguistically diverse communities in New South Wales via local public libraries, and to develop a sustainable model that will benefit the community. The project was officially launched in C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t September by the Hon Victor Dominello MP, Minister for Citizenship and Communities. Three public libraries participated in the pilot across New South Wales: Fairfield, Wagga Wagga and Marrickville.
State Records Authority of NSW
In 2011, State Records Authority of NSW updated its Immigration from Many Lands webpage, with the addition of a selection of photographs and copies of records showcasing the diversity of the state’s shared history. The page includes links to the Archives in Brief (factsheets) listing records sourced in the NSW State archives relating to some of the many national and cultural groups that have made NSW home. One of the highlights of the updated webpage is a section on Russian migration and 2 0 1 settlement in New South Wales.
61 In the first half of 2011 State Records Authority of NSW made significant updates to Archives in Brief 23: Chinese migration and settlement, as well as Archive in Brief 62: Lebanese migration and settlement. State Records’ suite of Archives in Brief is available online and hard copies are available in both reading rooms.
In August 2011 the NSW Migration Heritage Centre linked to State Records Authority of NSW’s Immigration from Many Lands on its website in the family history section. The NSW Migration Heritage Centre’s website is popular with primary and secondary school teachers.
Infrastructure
NSW Department of Trade & Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services Cluster
The Irrigation Scheduling (SMS) component of the Division of Primary Industries and Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Authority WaterSmart Farms project developed a training package that was delivered in Vietnamese, Cantonese and Arabic to engage irrigators from these backgrounds. Vietnamese and Cantonese bilingual officers have also assisted growers with training in the use of compost on farms as part of the NutrientSmart Farms compost program. Significant work has also been undertaken by the Arabic and Chinese bilingual officers to effectively engage Arabic and Cantonese growers in the WaterSmart Farms potable water grants program. Bilingual officers undertook farm natural resource management surveys with Vietnamese, Chinese and Arabic landholders to ensure a representative sample from the Hawkesbury Nepean region is achieved.
In 2011, offices undertook fishing and information workshops. Two hundred and forty children, parents and relatives including disabled youth and refugees from Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean and Philippine communities participated in the one-day fishing and information workshops. Various organisations and community groups provided support for these workshops including the Australian- Korean Welfare Association, Korean Society of Sydney, Asian Women at Work, Hills Chinese Women Association, Office of Environment and Heritage, NSW Surf Life Saving Australia and the Underwater Skindivers and Fisherman’s Association.
Division of Primary Industries also conducted four fishing workshops for 56 disabled youth and adults from various cultural backgrounds including Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Fijian, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Indian in the Georges River National Park. These workshops were organised in conjunction with 2 0 1 Ageing, Disability and Home Care, and Baptist Community Services. A special Chinese community fishing workshop, organised in conjunction with Hills Chinese Women Association, NSW Sport and Recreation and the Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW was conducted for more than 70 children, parents and grandparents at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in September 2011.
Division of Primary Industries together with the Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW produced and distributed over 300,000 multilingual brochures with information on fisheries rules, rock fishing safety, conservation, ornamental fish, marine pests and releasing plants or animals into waterways.
The Division also provided an in-house telephone interpreting service in Vietnamese and Cantonese for people seeking fisheries information and for Fisheries Officers talking with recreational fishers. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
62 In 2011, Division of Primary Industries conducted a presentation and tour of the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute for delegates from China and Indonesia with a focus on aquaculture, conservation, and the import and export of produce. In September, a representative from the Taiwan Marine Fisheries Division, Fisheries Research Institute visited Port Stephens Fisheries Institute to look at oyster breeding programs and a range of studies on oyster biology and ecology.
Throughout the year the Industry, Innovation and Investment Division developed integrated strategic marketing initiatives promoting business programs and services to culturally diverse populations in New South Wales, Australia and internationally. Using a mix of communication channels and collateral, the division produced materials to support various campaigns, such as United Arab Emirates and NSW – A dynamic partnership, China and NSW – A dynamic partnership, India and NSW – A dynamic partnership, and Premier’s Mission to China – mission booklet and delegate profile. These publications were developed to position Sydney and New South Wales as the leading global hub for business and were tailored specifically to each country to deliver market specific communication to clients.
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
The Division of Primary Industries established a new Multicultural Business Advisory Panel in May 2011. The panel’s functions are to harness cultural diversity, language skills and overseas contacts to assist in growing the NSW economy. It also aims to support the Government in its efforts to attract new business and build close relationships, in particular with the Asia–Pacific region, as well as other opportunities. The panel will: • advise on ways of building deeper business relationships with key priority markets including, but not limited to, the fast growing Asia–Pacific region • provide advice on strategies and actions to promote NSW export capabilities and inward investment opportunities in key areas such as international education, in-bound multicultural tourism and other strategic opportunities • have a strong focus on promoting the cultural diversity of New South Wales as a positioning and trade asset • create links with think tanks, academic institutions and research bodies to inform the NSW Government and the business community of opportunities in target markets • provide advice on issues that impact on business and multicultural communities in New South Wales as required
• leverage discussions at a Multicultural NSW Business Summit organised by the Minister for C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Citizenship and Communities, and involving the Deputy Premier, Parliamentary Secretary for Asia–Pacific Trade, other NSW Government participants, Consuls-General, cultural community leaders, and chambers of commerce • provide support to the National Multicultural Marketing Awards • host the annual Premier’s Asia Business Dinner. In October 2011, a Multicultural NSW Business Summit was co-hosted by the Department and the Community Relations Commission to draw on the knowledge and expertise of Consuls General and diplomatic representatives, senior representatives from trade and industry, small and medium enterprises, and bilateral business chambers to explore ways to use our cultural diversity to build economic growth. 2 0 1
63 Industry, Innovation and Investment Division has continued to work with Bilateral Chambers of Commerce and Business Councils to ensure that business programs and assistance are available to all members of the business community regardless of cultural background. The Department has strong links with over 20 Bilateral Chambers and Business Councils, however, it has worked closely with the Australia China Business Council, the Australia India Business Council, the Australia–Latin America Business Council, the Australian British Chamber of Commerce, the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce and the German–Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. In addition, the Department undertook joint activities with Sydney-based foreign government trade organisations including the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the European Australian Business Council.
The Industry, Innovation and Investment Division Business Advisory Services (BAS) are located in areas with a high proportion of business/owner operators from culturally diverse backgrounds. They deliver special information services for particular language groups on a demand-driven basis. The Sydney Business Advisory Service, for example, has a number of clients from non English-speaking backgrounds and is in regular liaison with multicultural communities in metropolitan areas, in particular: • Fairfield – Vietnamese • Bankstown – Arabic • Strathfield – Korean • Blacktown – Sudanese • Hurstville – Chinese.
Representatives of the Sydney BAS also attended regular meetings with the NSW Adult Migrant English Service centres to highlight BAS services. The Sydney BAS ran regular import and export workshops, drawing high participation from the multicultural community. The BAS will continue to liaise with the multicultural Chambers of Commerce in Sydney to determine their interests and information needs and to organise small business seminars in community languages across the specific areas.
Industry, Innovation and Investment Division continues to update a range of small business factsheets, seven of which were translated into seven languages (Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Korean and Turkish). These brochures were distributed through the Department’s ethnic community business networks and Business Advisory Services program contractors. The factsheets were accessible on the Department’s small business website (www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au) and were 2 0 1 sent to members of the community on request.
Industry, Innovation and Investment Division promoted the business and skilled migration program, which provides support to recently arrived migrants wishing to establish a business in New South Wales. The program’s services include information materials, consultancy, visa sponsorship and information and networking seminars. The Department provides a number of materials designed to assist migrants establishing a business in New South Wales. The program provided the following: ► Guide to Doing Business in NSW in English and Chinese ► NSW Welcomes Business Migrants flyers in English and Chinese C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
64 ► Business Migration to NSW in English and Chinese ► sixty seven meetings with prospective business migrants to discuss their business plans ► two seminars with newly arrived business migrants in New South Wales, predominantly from China ► participation in two onshore migration expos targeting prospective skilled migrants visiting Sydney and Melbourne on temporary visas ► participation in three offshore migration promotions in the UK with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and other state/territory government agencies promoting skilled migration to Sydney and regional New South Wales.
The Responsible Gambling Fund (RGF) provides more than $1.28 million a year for gambling counselling, research and education and awareness programs within culturally and linguistically diverse communities. RGF has a dedicated culturally and linguistically diverse marketing strategy, the Prevention, Early Intervention and Community Engagement Strategy (PIECES), to engage with various communities to increase awareness around problem gambling and the free information, materials, specialist counselling, financial and legal help available. PIECES has operated for more than a year (initially as a pilot). In that time, the RGF partner services, Arab Council of Australia, Auburn Asian Welfare Centre, Greek Welfare Centre, Italian Association of Assistance, Vietnamese Community in Australia and the Multicultural Problem Gambling Service have worked within their respective communities to communicate the Gambling Help message.
Over the past year, feedback from Responsible Gambling Fund-funded counsellors, community leaders, local organisations and the general public has been very positive. However, the most significant achievement of all, is that the number of clients attending in-language Gambling Help counselling increased by 45%, indicating a need for in-language and culturally appropriate communication on the issue of problem gambling.
Responsible Gambling Awareness Week (RGAW) was held in May 2011 and the Responsible Gambling Fund ensured culturally and linguistically diverse communications formed part of the RGAW strategy. A community event was staged, attracting more than 200 service providers, members of the general public and media, and considerable media coverage was generated in the lead-up to, during and post event. In addition to editorial driven by public relations activities, RGF scheduled a series of advertisements promoting in-language counselling services and free materials in targeted C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t community publications.
Responsible Gambling Fund has begun development work on a brand new culturally and linguistically diverse problem gambling documentary DVD, which will be filmed in six languages – Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Mandarin and Vietnamese. The DVD will cover the stigmas associated with gambling and will include accounts from problem gamblers and their families, along with advice from counsellors, professionals and community leaders. The free DVD will contain a Gambling Help workbook with information about how to recognise problem gambling, how to deal with problem gambling, how to stop, and detailed material on the range of free help services available. There is also a section for family and friends of problem gamblers. 2 0 1
65 Resources & Energy Division delivered emergency bill assistance through community welfare organisations throughout New South Wales including a large number catering to culturally and linguistically diverse clients. The Department also delivered energy market and customer assistance training programs for financial counsellors and community workers and volunteers, including those delivering emergency relief to culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Sydney and regional New South Wales.
Resources & Energy Division placed radio and print advertisements for the Price Comparison Service in seven community languages in mainstream and ethnic media.
In 2011, Arts NSW hosted the Meeting of Cultural Ministers. The National Cultural Policy was discussed and the themes in the paper (and communiqué) were noted as broadly consistent with work underway by Arts NSW to reflect the diversity of modern Australia. Arts NSW established its commitment to a creative and diverse cultural sector, supporting new works and improving access to the arts for all Australians. For example, funding was recently provided to the Arab Film Festival which showcased stories from diverse Arabic-speaking cultures to broad Australian audiences.
Destination NSW undertook two research surveys into ethnicity as a tourism driver. The surveys looked at the Sydney and wider-Australian market sources to help better understand marketing opportunities to culturally diverse communities. Findings included that domestic tourism is favoured by those who have an English-speaking background, whilst respondents of Asian heritage tend to save for overseas family reunion travel. Asian Australians encourage their overseas friends and family to visit Australia and are likely to accompany them to local tourist attractions.
Destination NSW continues to develop and support 17 multilingual consumer websites in seven languages other than English, namely traditional and simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, French and German, to promote Sydney and New South Wales in key domestic and international markets
Local Councils
Blacktown City Council
Blacktown City Council Library Services Multicultural Story Time continued to grow in popularity throughout the Blacktown City libraries in 2011. Cultural literacy and diversity is celebrated through weekly programs of bilingual story telling, picture books, puppets and DVDs all with a great deal of 2 0 1 audience participation.
Blacktown City Council Library Multicultural Community committee once again held its POETRY ALOUD event. The 2011 event grew to include workshops on poetry and performing and writing. There was also live performance in the evenings throughout September.
In 2011 Blacktown City Council Arts Centre’s African theatre production, My name is Sud, was documented in an education kit designed around the NSW high school curriculum. The original production was written by a group of emerging young Sudanese writers from the Blacktown area. These writers have been mentored by a professional writer/theatre director so their story could be developed into a production. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
66 Blacktown City Council Arts Centre continued it annual performing arts residency program in 2011. The program encourages multicultural and Aboriginal cross-cultural collaborations when local artists are developing new works.
Broken Hill City Council
In recognition of Broken Hill’s long association with the Islamic faith, the documentary In the Footsteps of the Ancestors – Muslims Down Under was premiered in December 2010 at the Broken Hill City Council Regional Art Gallery. The event attracted national and international attention through the Middle East based television network, Aljazeera, which broadcasts to more than 220 million households in over 100 countries.
Burwood Council
Burwood Council’s weekly Speakers Corner Program continues to grow in popularity. The program is run in partnership with Chinese Australian Social Services (CASS) and the council’s volunteer network. The English-language conversation program, which supports Chinese people to practise and enhance their language skills, is now in its second year. There are, on average, 40–50 participants and 18 volunteers in each program, with a growth in Chinese participants. In 2011 the program included four training sessions for the tutors, production of the Chinese Moon Festival event and translated health talks to participants.
In 2011, Burwood Council initiated the Developing People Different Voices Project. The project commenced in September 2011 with aims to address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse young people. A Youth Service map was developed that will be used as a community resource highlighting youth services available within the Inner West. The project will also develop an intercultural board game which will be used as an educational resource aimed at young people aged between 13 and 15 years. The project has been run in partnership with the Multicultural Youth Affairs Network, Inner West Skills Centre, Burwood and Ashfield Local Area Commands, NSW Police Force Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command, the Metro Migrant Resource Centre and Wesley Mission Outreach.
Camden Council C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Using a partnership approach, in 2011 Camden Council established the Leppington Community House. Leppington is a designated South West growth centre and will transform from a rural market garden area to an urban centre in the next 10 to 15 years. The Community House is now used as a focal point for the isolated community members to meet and get assistance. A number of local community service organisations and volunteers have come together at the house to identify and respond to the needs of the growing multicultural community.
For the third year, Camden Council held its Harmony@Twilight event. This year’s event included a bocce competition which was entered by over 12 teams. Participants were invited to bring a plate of food, while the council and local service groups put on a barbeque. A local choir provided entertainment,
and games for all were organised by the Scout group. 2 0 1
67 Campbelltown City Council
In 2011, Campbelltown City Council provided training and advice to local community services to improve their accessibility to non English-speaking residents. This included encouraging culturally and linguistically diverse groups to apply for community grants, providing translated online and printed materials, an online community database which enables access to a comprehensive range of community services, stationery that carries a printed message regarding interpreting services available in the top ten languages spoken in the area, and approximately 5763 items in 12 community languages available from council libraries.
As part of the Sydney Festival program, Edge of Elsewhere, launched by Campbelltown City Council in January 2010, was held again in 2011. The event is an artistic collaboration, testing and presenting new ways in which art can give a voice to collective community experiences, suburban stories and contemporary community ideas. The artists in Edge of Elsewhere worked with local residents and community groups in order to explore some of the local communities’ individual stories and translate them into artworks. Thirteen artists collaborated with a number of local ethnic communities to create the displayed art works.
Campbelltown City Council held Comedy@C_town 2011, which involved local audiences being treated to some of Australia’s most refreshing and sought-after cultural comedy acts. This included Fear of a Brown Planet, tackling the topics of immigration, race relations and the war on terror with Aamer Rahman and Nazeem Hussain as well as The Laughing Samoans, one of the Pacific’s most loved comedy duos Eteuati Ete and Tofiga Fepulea’I.
Campbelltown City Council Arts Centre was once again host to the Sydney Writers’ Festival in 2011. Ajoa Yeboah-Afari presented the awards for the event and facilitated an insightful discussion with the winners of the 2011 African region Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Aminatta Forna, author of the acclaimed The Memory of Love, and rising star Cynthia Jele, author of Happiness is a Four Letter Word.
Campbelltown City Council Arts Centre’s artist in residence Ahilan Ratnamohan, spent 2011 developing new works that explore language. His work uses games that explore the power of language in Australian culture and the funny things that happen when speaking a second language.
City of Sydney 2 0 1 Throughout 2011, City of Sydney presented over 19 events to celebrate the Living in Harmony Festival; partnerships were established with 36 multicultural, gay lesbian bisexual and transgender, and disability organisations. Over 10,500 people attended the festival. Key achievements from the events were greater engagement with the ethnic media and support work and trust between a number of different ethnic groups. The festival engaged over 200 volunteers and five interns from the University of Notre Dame, who played a key role in the planning and delivery of the festival and were instrumental to the overwhelming success. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
68 The Year of the Tiger, 2011 was the 15th year City of Sydney has hosted the Chinese New Year Festival. Today the largest Lunar New Year celebrations outside of Asia, 55 events were produced including the famous dragon boat races and the heavily attended Twilight Parade. The festival’s launch drew a crowd of over 8000 people to Belmore Park.
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE December 2010, saw City of Sydney deliver the Pride in Colour community forum. The forum partnered with 17 community organisations and a number of individuals from the multicultural and gay lesbian bisexual and transgender community. Participants attended an evening forum Sharing our Stories and dialogue was opened about diversity in all forms. The Pride in Colour working group was established and a public consultation was held in April 2011 as part of the Living in Harmony Festival.
In partnership with the Sydney Korean Women’s Association, and with the support of the Korean community and business organisers, City of Sydney conducted research in 2011 aimed to identify and document the experiences of the Korean community in the city. The report produced provides key recommendations to the council on working in partnership with Korean community members, community service providers and other levels of government to address the needs of the growing Korean community.
During 2011, City of Sydney hosted skilled migrant work experience and internships for people from diverse backgrounds. Participants were assisted in developing their understanding of workplace culture, enhancing their abilities and chances of gaining employment. Following the internships, four of the eight participants successfully gained employment.
Approximately 200 community workers, volunteers and board members attended Connect Sydney, which aims to build the capacity of community organisations by providing free governance training. In 2010–11 City of Sydney delivered seven training sessions on writing funding submissions, facilitative leadership, cultural intelligence and organisational governance.
In 2011, City of Sydney continued to support multicultural communities through its Grants and Sponsorship Program. In 2010–11 the council provided $140,000 to 30 community organisations.
City of Sydney continues to provide multilingual information to schools, childcare centres, community C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t organisations and community health centres. In 2011 this information included a Community Service Directory printed in 10 different community languages, the telephone interpreter service information card in 16 different languages and multilingual welcome posters and language identification cards.
In 2011, the City of Sydney continued to implement its Asylum Seeker and Refugee Access Project. The project provides free access to council-run swimming pools, libraries and the city’s centre-based meal service, for refugees and asylum seekers living in the local government area. 2 0 1
69 Coffs Harbour City Council
Once again in 2011, Coffs Harbour City Council held its Multicultural Harmony Festival. The festival focused on celebrating the cultural diversity within the Coffs community. This year’s festival attracted over 3000 participants from all different age groups and cultural backgrounds.
Coffs Harbour City Council hosted the Australian Refugee Film Festival at the Jetty Memorial Theatre, the success of the 2011 attributed to a team of local refugees who ran and managed the film festival themselves.
International Women’s Day held in 2011 by Coffs Harbour City Council, focused on women in the Coffs Harbour community with a disability and migrants affected by torture and trauma. A morning tea was held with a number of guest speakers, some from refugee backgrounds, who told their migration story and were an inspiration to many of the women who participated.
Gosford City Council
In 2011 Film Global was hosted by Gosford City Council Youth Services and the Northern Settlement Services Central Coast Multicultural Family Support Program. The event featured a series of film nights celebrating a different culture each month. The past 12 months have seen French, Iranian, Columbian, Greek, Japanese, Maori, Australian, Italian, Filipino and Uruguayan films. This year was the third year Film Global has been running, and continues to be a popular event within the community.
Gosford City Council again organised and led a festival of cultures with 5 Land Walk. The annual festival links five coastal villages along a path of nine kilometres which patrons are invited to walk as they attend a free program of cultural activities including concerts, exhibitions, talks, folk dances, Aboriginal ceremonies and theatre performances. In 2011 the 5 Lands Walk was recognised as one of the top five tourist flagship events of the Central Gosford City Council 5 Lands Walk project Coast region.
2 0 1 Both Gosford City Council and Wyong Shire Council provided funding and support for the Multicultural Expo initiative organised by the Central Coast Multicultural Interagency. The aim of this initiative is to expose and publicise the quantity and quality of not-for-profit agencies that assist the multicultural communities in the region. Approximately 400 people attended the expo and 38 service providers held information stands.
For Refugee Week 2011, Gosford City Council childcare centres ran a program where children illustrated postcards about how they would make refugees feel welcome in the community. The postcards were exhibited at Erina Fair Shopping Centre during the July school holidays. The children enjoyed the activities and learnt about the diverse nature of the community, developing a better understanding of the plight of refugees around the world. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
70 Gosford City Council Mayor’s meeting with Multicultural and Aboriginal leaders
Multicultural and Aboriginal leaders were invited to attend the Gosford City Council Chambers for a meeting with the Mayor. The purpose was to formally acknowledge the importance of the civic leadership role performed by these community members. During the meeting, multicultural and Aboriginal leaders had a chance to address the Mayor in an open forum. Fifty community leaders attend this function in 2011.
Hornsby Shire Council
Hornsby Shire Council partnered with the Australian Artists Society (AAS) to organise an exhibition of Chinese calligraphy and paintings in April 2011. Fifty art works including Chinese calligraphy, paintings and micro carvings were on exhibition, and included demonstrations and production of calligraphy and paintings by Chinese artists. The exhibition was launched by the council’s Mayor. Approximately 70 people including local artists, art teachers and local residents attended the launch. The exhibition provided an opportunity for the local community to learn more about Chinese culture and raise awareness of diversity within the community, and generated a large amount of interest. C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t Council has received an overwhelming response from the local community to learn more about different cultures. In response to this, council has now set up a local art group in partnership with AAS. The group meet fortnightly and provide calligraphy workshops for local residents.
Hornsby Shire Council in partnership with the Transcultural Mental Health Centre and Iranian Senior Women’s Association organised an information session in September 2011 on attachment and loss, for the Farsi-speaking community. The session focused on dealing with issues of grief and loss as a result of moving away from families and friends and settling in a new environment. Over 30 people participated in an interactive discussion about their experiences and shared information about how to deal with such issues. 2 0 1
71 Hornsby Shire Council, in partnership with Hornsby TAFE, Australian Chinese Community Association and Transcultural Mental Health Centre, organised an intergenerational workshop for the Mandarin- speaking community in 2011. The workshop focused on intergenerational issues in the Chinese community. The topics included how to help families communicate better, how to bridge intergenerational gaps, and services available in the community. Two different generations had an opportunity to share their stories and issues and worked out strategies to deal with them. The participants were Hornsby Shire Council’s Chinese Calligraphy and Paintings also given resources about the local services exhibition available for them . Hornsby Shire Council partnered with Hornsby/Waitara Community Hub to organise Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) group sessions for Chinese families. The group sessions were booked out and attended by parents and grandparents. The participants had very intensive and interactive discussions around the issues of child rearing, from different aspects, being a mum, dad or grandparent. They also had an opportunity to give feedback to the group each week on their learning and reflections. The feedback from the group was positive and they wanted to have more opportunities to learn about child rearing practice in Australia.
Hornsby Shire Council partnered with Department of Education and Communities (DEC), Hornsby/ Waitara Community Hub and NSW Health to deliver sessions on transition to school for Korean families. The sessions had guest speakers from DEC and NSW Health and panel discussion that included a Community Paediatrician, Early Childhood Consultant and the Multicultural Liaison Officer from DEC and the Liaison Officer from Board of Studies. The Early Childhood Consultant provided information regarding transition from the early childhood environment to the school environment and the Community Paediatrician talked about health issues that parents need to know to prepare their child for school.
As part of the Seniors Week Festival 2011 organised by Hornsby Shire Council, the Iranian Senior Women’s Association celebrated the Persian New Year Festival in March. The celebrations included 2 0 1 Persian food, dance, music, Nou Rooz celebrations and art and craft displays. The festival celebrated the Persian New Year and culture.
The crime prevention Be Safe be Prepared project funded by the Australian Government and auspiced by Hornsby Shire Council provided community information sessions on how to reduce the chances of being a victim of crime to the Cantonese, Mandarin and Farsi-speaking communities. The sessions were presented by a range of speakers including police and bank managers, on issues such as internet banking fraud and scamming. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
72 Hornsby Shire Council facilitated a Multicultural Soccer Tournament in 2011, which involved teams from the Iranian, Korean, Chinese and Spanish-speaking communities, NSW Police and council. The event created a huge response among local culturally diverse communities, who commenced weekly soccer practice sessions to improve their skills. Over 400 people attended, and each team brought their own cultural food to share. There was a jumping castle, balloon making and face painting for the children, and displays from Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service. The event provided opportunities for real local connection between the multicultural community, service providers and local residents, which included NSW Police, council, Relationships Australia and the Hornsby Lions Club.
A Police Open Day was facilitated by Hornsby Shire Council to educate newly arrived migrants on crime, safety and road safety issues. The day was interactive and included morning tea with the police who demonstrated some police equipment including handcuffs, fingerprinting and a visit to the holding cells. Since the first Police Open Day, designed for the Indian community, many other communities requested to participate in this program (e.g. Iranian, Nepali, Korean, Chinese, Spanish-speaking communities, TAFE English class and local church English class students). As a result of the open day, new migrant communities reported that they feel much safer and are more comfortable in approaching the police.
Hurstville City Council
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t
Hurstville City Council’s St George Interfaith Forum Hurstville City Council, in partnership with local organisations and community groups, organised St George Interfaith Forum in March 2011. Religious leaders from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Baha’i faiths came together in a panel discussion to express their views and understanding of religious and spiritual diversity in the St George region. The forum was aimed at community leaders, police officers, local government and non government agencies, health professionals and general service providers. Over 100 attendees took part in the interactive panel and learnt how people of different faiths engage with society to promote community harmony, their religious expectations among the family and the wider community, and how they interact with other religious groups. 2 0 1
73 Moree Plains Shire Council
Throughout 2011, Moree Plains Shire Council published its regular Significant Day email that describes to the reader the significance and history of a particular cultural day, and a description of celebratory events. The email has over 200 subscribers. The shire also recognises and supports financially, other countries’ national day celebrations, International Women’s Day, and observes the annual Harmony Day celebration.
Recently the Moree Plains Shire Council has been declared a Refugee Welcome Zone. The council held bi-monthly morning and afternoon teas for new residents in 2011, displaying welcome banners in 24 languages around the shire, and has awarded each person a certificate of welcome to the community. The certificate begins by welcoming the person in their first language.
Moree Plains Shire Council works with, and supports financially, sporting events for newly arrived residents. In 2011 the council hosted a cricket tournament where local Tamil residents played the local cricket team.
Moree Plains Shire Council Community Library held its annual Living Library to coincide with Harmony Day celebrations and encouraged primary schools in the area to attend and learn about a range of different cultures. In 2011 the library also displayed a number of foreign newspapers and books in other languages.
In 2011, Moree Plains Shire Council held information sessions for new residents about How to apply for work with the Council; these information sessions were held by council staff on a voluntary basis. Council has also undertaken a skills audit of local businesses throughout the shire which was aimed at identifying the skills businesses are seeking; this information is available to assist the multicultural community who often have difficulty obtaining employment.
Mosman Municipal Council
In 2011, Mosman Municipal Council successfully facilitated a multicultural expo with the Crows Nest Centre Settlement Services at the Mosman Markets; the expo involved the sharing of ‘inclusion information’ at the councils Children’s Services Network Meeting for Mosman childcare providers.
Mosman Municipal Council’s Children’s Library ran the Thursday Kids after-school program.
2 0 1 Throughout the year the programs have celebrated a number of cultural events from around the world for the children to learn and experience different cultures. On Harmony Day 2011, the children made a poster celebrating the diversity of culture in Australia. The celebration for Chinese New Year involved the children sampling Chinese food, hearing stories and making craft items particular to the culture.
Children’s book week for 2011 had the theme One World, Many Stories. Mosman Municipal Council Library invited local school children to attend the library to participate in activities based on the international theme. On display were a collection of cultural items from around the world including souvenirs, costumes and artefacts, as well as flags, maps and postcards to encourage children to think about what life would be like in other regions of the world. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
74 Mosman Municipal Council Art Gallery and Cultural Services team have delivered exhibitions and programs that have promoted and celebrated cultural diversity. In 2011, Festivals of Mosman involved a series of world drumming workshops, world food cook-out and a world drumming concert on Sydney Harbour. Western, Pacific Islander, African, Indian, Middle Eastern, Japanese and Chinese traditions were featured at the event. The festival featured African Rhythms at Mosman Library and the Zhongjjan: Midway exhibition/educational workshop at the Mosman Art Gallery, which brought together the works of China’s and Australia’s most significant artists.
2011 saw the Mosman Municipal Council Art Gallery commence a series of Sunday concerts, which featured local residents enjoying Latin rhythms of Brazilian Samba and Bossa Nova. The Gallery also participated in the inaugural Sydney Sacred Music Festival, where Riley Lee and Cilona Molins ‘combined the sacred tones of the Japanese shakuhachi and the heavenly sounds of the Irish and concert harp’.
Mosman Municipal Council and local residents hosted six students from Mosman Chinese Friendship City, Madanjiang. This provided an unforgettable experience for these six young women, their host families and local schools. The council also hosted families from its Japanese Friendship City, Otsu.
North Sydney Council
The Faith Leaders’ Forum on Family Harmony was held on 9 December 2010 at North Sydney Council. The forum was organised by North Sydney Council in association with the Lower North Shore Domestic Violence Network. There were presentations about family law and local services, plus interactive discussions. Forty-six people attended, comprising 24 faith leaders and 24 representatives from local services and other organisations.
The fifthNorthern Sydney Region Migrant Employment Expo took place on May 2011 at the North Sydney Council Chambers. This year’s expo covered a broad range of industry sectors. The target audience included migrants and international students. The aims were to promote employment, training and volunteering opportunities and build relationships between job seekers, employers and other organisations. Approximately 250 people attended.
Parramatta City Council
In 2011 Parramatta City Council adopted its Ethnic Communications Plan. The aim of this plan is C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t to engage better with the 40% of Parramatta residents who speak a language other than English and to ensure council’s services are accessible and equitable to the local community. While the majority of resources in the Ethnic Communications Plan are directed at the local government area’s top six community languages, special efforts were made to engage the African refugees and Islander groups living in the area.
In 2011 Parramatta City Council funded an empowerment program for women from Tamil and Sri Lankan backgrounds; cultural and sporting activities for the Bhutanese, Ethiopian and Southern Sudanese communities; and community education programs for East African and Central African communities. Funding was also given for volunteer recruitment among not-for-profit services to increase the number of volunteers from diverse backgrounds, particularly women. 2 0 1
75 Parramatta City Council’s Community Capacity Building Team held a community forum with council’s Community Advisory Committee in Harris Park, in order to engage with members of the South East Asian communities and be informed regarding their experiences, priorities and needs. A Youth Issues Forum was also held involving young people from high schools in the local area and consulting with them regarding their experiences, priorities and needs within Parramatta local area. The young people (most from diverse backgrounds) raised concerns around racism when talking about what it was like living as a young person in Parramatta.
In 2011 Parramatta City Council’s Community Capacity Building Team worked with Relationships Australia and Anglicare on a program to support newly arrived immigrants dealing with family and community cohesion challenges.
Destination NSW and Parramatta City Council together hosted Parramasala the Australian festival of South Asian arts, in October and November 2011. The event brought together traditional and contemporary performers and producers of music, dance, theatre, film and the visual arts from around the world, each inspired by artistic traditions and cultures that originate in South Asia. The City of Parramatta was chosen as the setting because it has one of the country’s highest concentrations of South Asian residents as well as the infrastructure to stage a major arts festival. More than 50,000 people attended events, with many programs selling out.
In 2011 Parramatta City Council Library Services hosted early literacy programs, including bilingual story times in English, Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese and Hindi. Evening story times, and a fathers’ Saturday story time were also held at Parramatta library, which have seen an average of 50 dads and kids enjoying stories, songs and craft in Arabic, Hindi and English.
Parramatta City Council Library Services hosted a range of health seminars during 2011, presented by the Australian Chinese Medical Association and the Cancer Council of NSW in Mandarin, Cantonese and Korean. Also Library Services delivered free English conversation classes with volunteer tutors in English, Chinese and Arabic and distributed brochures in 17 languages: English, Arabic, Burmese, Chinese (traditional script), Chinese (simplified script), Dinka, French, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Nepali, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish, Vietnamese, and specific information on the housebound library service in six of these.
Penrith City Council
2 0 1 In February 2011, the regular Penrith Premium Farmers Market coincided with Chinese New Year, so traditional lion dancing and a Chinese New Year stall were held in conjunction with the market. Penrith’s emerging Chinese community was successful in receiving a Penrith City Council Community Assistance Program (CAP) grant which enabled them to hold a cultural celebration at the civic space, Penrith City Centre. As well as raising the profile of this emerging community, the stall had a number of positive outcomes such as bringing together a market growers group of Chinese residents from the northern rural areas of Penrith and the Chinese residents who reside in the urban part of the city. A number of isolated Chinese residents have begun to attend the regular meeting of the market growers group, and the Farmers Market has now invited the Chinese vegetable growers to have a regular stall at the market. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
76 In March 2011, as a part of Penrith City Council’s Refugee Welcome Zone Commitment, council partnered with Mamre Homestead to accompany around 45 women on an excursion to Parliament House Canberra. This experience assisted the Sudanese and Iraqi refugee communities to better understand the levels of government and how local Members of Parliament represent Penrith at the Federal level. A brief meeting was also held with the local Federal Member of Parliament. Another aim was to assist the participants who were preparing for their Citizenship test.
In June 2011, over 100 Diversity in Practice kits were distributed at a forum of Nepean Area Early Childhood and Family Services with a further 800 copies disseminated to services in the region. The resource consists of seven factsheets on enhancing access for culturally diverse communities, including refugee groups, to early childhood services. Penrith City Council, along with the NSW Government-funded Family Worker Training and Development Project, was a key partner in developing the resources for the Penrith Migrant and Refugee Children’s Support working party. The resource will engage and build the capacity of early childhood workers in providing better access for migrant and refugee children and families to their services, in an area where emerging refugee communities are now settling.
Randwick City Council
Randwick City Council, along with a multilingual working party, have produced essential council information in easy-to-understand English and have translated it into the top five community languages (Chinese, Greek, Indonesian, Russian and Spanish). In March 2011 the website was launched and it received 1088 hits in five months, assisting residents to obtain necessary information on council services. Also, a number of brochures that had previously only been available in English, were developed in the five languages. The website also provides linkages to other local communities and government services, in these community languages.
Randwick City Council has undertaken a number of initiatives in 2011, including Harmony Day, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Information Day and the Overseas Sister Cities Schools’ Cultural Exchange Program. Importantly, these projects reflect Randwick City Council’s commitment to an inclusive and prospering city which values the cultural diversity of the Randwick community.
The Hills Shire Council C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t The Hills Shire Council held its annual Cultural Festival again in 2011. The event is organised in partnership with the local town centre at Rouse Hill, community service providers and local multicultural communities. The festival features interactive performances, cross-cultural awareness workshops and community information sessions. It provided opportunity for the community to experience, learn and celebrate the richness of the growing diverse population. Over 2000 people attended this year’s festival.
The Hills Shire Council once again provided funding to community groups for 2010–11, including the Hills Interfaith Dialogue Group which aims to meet, discuss, exchange and share culture. Multicultural Families Group also received funding to assist newly arrived families and help connect them to mainstream services, support and information. 2 0 1
77 In 2011, The Hills Shire Council employed a Community Program Officer who provides information, advice and support to both council and external customers regarding the needs of the shire’s multicultural communities. This position also supports the Hills Multicultural Network, which holds bi-monthly meetings to plan for and identify needs of the local multicultural communities.
Tweed Shire Council
Tweed Shire Council’s Sweet Harvests: Stories of Indian and South Sea Islander workers in the sugar cane and banana industries DVD
In 2011 the Tweed River Regional Museum, supported by the NSW Migration Heritage Centre and Tweed Shire Council, produced the DVD Sweet Harvests: Stories of Indian and South Sea Islander workers in the sugar cane and banana industries. It features oral histories and historic images exploring the tenacity, camaraderie, humour and sheer hard work of the South Sea Islander and Indian populations who worked the banana farms and cane fields of the Tweed region.
Waverley Council
For the second year running Waverley Council partnered with the Australian Refugee Film Festival Inc to showcase their film festival to the Waverley community. This year the guest speakers were Judy McLallen and Hassan Sabbagh who spoke about the film they made,Tea for Two, based on their stories of meeting and forming a friendship in Villawood detention centre. Hassan also spoke about being detained in Woomera detention centre for four years and three months.
2 0 1 Waverley Council celebrated Harmony week with Deliciously Diverse a campaign to highlight the range of diverse food businesses in Waverley. For 2011, the campaign was tied in with the annual Global Table event which attracts thousands of people to Bondi Junction to experience food, music and dancing from around the globe. Many of the businesses involved in Global Table have become regulars at the Bondi markets which are held weekly in Oxford Street Mall. This is an economic opportunity for local multicultural businesses to promote themselves and sell their goods and services in Bondi Junction. C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t t i o n s R e p a R e l y C o m u n i t
78 Wollongong City Council
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Wollongong City Council, in partnership with TAFE NSW, Department of Education and Communities State Training Service, Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Centrelink, the Textiles Clothing and Footwear Union and various employers including Pacific Brands, developed customer training programs for retrenched workers. The aim of this initiative was to develop programs for workers affected by dislocation in the clothing manufacturing sector in the Illawarra region. Over 200 students were drawn from language backgrounds other than English. They were mainly mature-age women with a long history of service with the companies involved. The focus was on workers facing redundancy and the need to equip them with skills to help them retrain and be in a better position to find further employment.
A series of art workshops with the retrenched women, the majority of whom were from multicultural backgrounds, culminated in an exhibition that celebrated the achievements of the women. Video footage, photographs and stories in English and in the women’s first languages were documented at the exhibition. The event was launched on 15 June 2011 with 130 people in attendance.
Wollongong City Council hosted a Refugee Education Forum to explore what prevents children and young people from refugee backgrounds achieving the best outcomes from the education system. Partnership strategies to improve educational outcomes for this group were developed. In addition council, together with Centrelink, TAFE, National Farmers Federation, Police-Citizens Youth Clubs and Job Services Australia, supported the Pathways to Primary Industry Project. The aim of this project was to assist refugees in developing skills and to improve their employment opportunities in agricultural industries.
Wollongong City Council and Shellharbour City Council have jointly been awarded a State Government tender to deliver community transport to people who are unable to access public transport because of physical, social or geographical constraints. In ensuring fair access to the service Community Transport and Taxi Voucher brochures have been translated into 12 community languages: Macedonian, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Croatian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, German and Arabic. In addition Wollongong City Council has translated its Social Support and Respite Services brochures into six community languages.
In November 2010, Wollongong City Council Gallery commissioned artist Joanne Saad to develop and present an exhibition that explored the first accommodation experiences of migrants who settled in the Illawarra. This exhibition called Garage Days, through photograph and film, explored the C o m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s R e p o r t memories and stories of ten migrant families who lived in converted garages when they first arrived here. These artworks were decommissioned from the gallery in early 2011 and moved to the exterior wall of council’s administration building, where this recognition and celebration of the city’s cultural diversity is now enjoyed by many local residents and visitors every day.
Wollongong City Council Library purchased a number of bilingual story time packs to distribute to members of the community through bilingual story time events in 2011. These included nine English/ Burmese/ Somali/ Tamil/ Farsi packs and ten English/ Amharic/ Chinese/ Arabic/ French packs featuring the classic children’s story Wilbur. 2 0 1
79 A Community Reference Panel was established in March 2011 by Wollongong City Council, to assist council in developing a community engagement strategy as part of its integrated planning and reporting process, which will lead to the creation of an integrated and long-term Community Plan by mid-2012. Every endeavour was made to engage a panel reflective of the city’s diversity, with representation actively sought from particular groups within the community – people who speak a language other than English, Aboriginal people and people with a disability.
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