Ad Hoc Projects 2007-08

Organisation: Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES)
Project Name: Making Connections
Location: City of Greater Dandenong, City of Casey, Vic.
Amount: $129 822
Project Summary:
The project involved AMES working with South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre (SERMRC) and the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) to deliver three sub-projects. The projects responded to issues impacting new and emerging communities in the Dandenong and Casey areas of south eastern Melbourne and aimed to build positive relationships within the broader community by working with local organisations to develop skills, provide support and deliver activities including:

  • a series of presentations and meetings to build understanding and relationships across generations and interest groups in the local community (AMES)
  • event management training and experience provided to refugee and migrant youth, who then staged two multicultural music concerts (SERMRC)
  • engaging young women from diverse cultural backgrounds in small group sessions (CMY).

The project's success was ensured through the use of Action Research (AR).

Organisation: Blacktown Migrant Resource Centre
Project Name: Discovery Challenge
Location: Blacktown, NSW
Amount: $63 290
Project Summary:
The Discovery Challenge project promoted understanding and reduced isolation affecting youth from a range of different cultural backgrounds living in the Blacktown area. The project saw students from schools in Blacktown and Mt Druitt work alongside industry professionals in a series of workshops to create a documentary on their own migration and settlement experiences, as well as their sense of belonging and identity in Australia.

Organisation: City of Port Adelaide Enfield
Project Name: Footprints
Location: Port Adelaide, SA
Amount: $44 400
Project Summary:
The Footprints project aims to promote mutual respect and community participation in response to issues affecting refugees and humanitarian entrants settling in the Port Adelaide Enfield area. The project is working with local schools to explore themes of diversity, culture and acceptance through drama and art workshops. Students involved in the project went on to develop plays, which they performed both in their schools and in public. The project's activities are currently being developed into a DVD learning tool for other communities living in South Australia.

Organisation: Dare Charity Inc (trading as DARE:Ops)
Project Name: Mixing it Up
Location: South–western Sydney, NSW
Amount: $50 000
Project Summary:
The project responds to issues of social isolation and discrimination by encouraging personal growth and breaking down social barriers. Project activities, delivered in partnership with the Independent Centre of Research Australia and Police Community Youth Clubs in Campbelltown and Bankstown, include a four-day camp and a six month follow-up program of meetings, affirmative text messages via mobile phones and email newsletters. The project improves community relations by encouraging the young participants to build personal skills, develop respect for cultural difference and form lasting positive relationships across cultures.

Organisation: Deception Bay Community Youth Programs Assoc Inc
Project Name: The D Bay Way
Location: Caboolture, QLD
Amount: $66 021
Project Summary:
The D Bay Way project responds to local social issues affecting youth in the area. Through the project, youth from a range of backgrounds are working with local community leaders and organisations to discuss their concerns and aspirations in a Youth Reference Group (YRG). Sport and music activities are being organised for the YRG and other youth living in the area to increase their self-confidence, understanding and respect towards people of different backgrounds. The project also works with other local organisations and community groups to support community events that involve a broad cross-section of the local community and promote community harmony.

Organisation: Griffith City Council
Project Name: Breaking New Ground
Location: Griffith, NSW
Amount: $53 500
Project Summary:
The Breaking New Ground project promoted understanding between youth of different cultural backgrounds in response to cases of bullying and harassment in Griffith NSW. The project's activities were developed in consultation with young people, and included barbeques, sports days and workshops on arts and multimedia in local settings. Police were also involved in delivering workshops to students from a number of local schools on cultural diversity, tolerance and the legal limits on behaviour.

Organisation: Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre Inc
Project Name: North Region Youth Community Support Project
Location: Perth, WA
Amount: $60 000
Project Summary:
The project is responding to tensions experienced between young people of various cultural backgrounds by promoting understanding and developing the leadership skills of project participants. Activities include seminars, events, arts and sports activities that focus on themes of community harmony. The project is also improving wider community relations in the area by supporting local initiatives, including an ongoing forum for parents and community leaders where they can discuss strategies that will continue to address issues as they arise.

Organisation: Newcastle University Students' Association
Project Name: Refugee-Student Support Program
Location: Newcastle, NSW
Amount: $28 950
Project Summary:
The Refugee-Student Support Program is addressing issues of intolerance and barriers to integration experienced by new and emerging community school students in Newcastle. The project has established a mentoring program between university student volunteers and students of Callaghan College, a multi-campus secondary school. Activities in the project are centred on a peer support/buddy system between refugee students and the university student volunteers, and include tutoring in computer literacy and civics, assistance with school work, and involvement in wider community social events. The project is also organising an essay writing competition for students from secondary schools throughout Newcastle on the theme of cultural diversity.

Organisation: The Benevolent Society
Project Name: Unify
Location: Paddington, NSW
Amount: $89 116
Project Summary:
Unify supported school students from Blacktown, Campbelltown, Fairfield and Liverpool in western Sydney who were faced with issues of intolerance, ignorance, and cross- cultural tensions. Through the project students were involved in a leadership and peer education program, which involving guest speakers from corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors, as well as workshops on leadership, working across difference, collaborative writing and understanding and responding to issues of racism. The students also worked together with a professional graphic artist to produce their own peer education resource comic to convey to their peers the importance of understanding, respect and acceptance.

Organisation: University of Tasmania
Project Name: Tasmanians Talking
Location: Tasmania
Amount: $125 000
Project Summary:
The project aimed to strengthen communities and address racism by facilitating mutual understanding, respect and intercultural learning. The project was piloted in six local government areas in Tasmania and included:

  • workshops with government, local police, community and organisation representatives
  • group dialogue workshops which linked participants from new and established migrant communities with long term residents in a series of discussions
  • dialogue sessions between local councils, service providers and community organisations with members of new and established migrant communities
  • a mentoring series between new migrants and established migrants
  • the development of an online resource kit.

See: Tasmanians Talking