Archived News

Living in Harmony and Surf Life Saving Australia

Living in Harmony, in partnership with Sutherland Shire Council, Surf Life Saving NSW and Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA), launched a partnership which will provide support to young Australians of an ethnic background to actively complete surf life saving qualifications and become intimately involved with the Australian Surf Life Saving movement. The program will also provide a full time cultural co-ordination officer to ensure that participants are fully supported into the Surf Clubs.

The purpose of this program is to provide a forum to gain appreciation of one another's cultures. It is hoped that it will provide a deeper understanding and respect for the beach culture and etiquette in the Sutherland Shire

Surf Lifesaving Australia together with living in harmony are making a difference. for more information please visit http://www.harmony.gov.au/media_releases/harmonyprojectforaustralianbeaches.pdf

SBS Harmony Day forum

On 27 February 2006 SBS held a Harmony Day forum to discuss the question: what role can Sport, as a universal language, play in promoting a cohesive, multicultural Australia?

The forum included Dateline presenter, George Negus, from SBS Television and a panel comprising Andrew Demetriou, CEO of the Australian Football League, Tony Pignata, CEO of the Football Federation Victoria, Carmel Guerra, Director of the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, Melanie Jones, from the Australian Women's Cricket Team, and Dr Brett Hutchins, lecturer in the school of English, Communications and Performance Studies, at Monash University.

The forum was officially launched by Victoria 's Minister for the Commonwealth Games, Justin Madden. Use this link to Listen to the forum

11th National Conference on Volunteering - 14.02.06

There is now less than 4 weeks to the 11 th National Conference on Volunteering hosted by Volunteering Australia. Places are still available, so don't miss this important opportunity:

When: 7 – 10 March 2006
Where: Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne – (Feel the buzz as the city prepares for the 2006 Commonwealth Games!)
How to Register: Online registration on the conference website – www.volunteering2006.com
Who's Speaking?

  • Robert Tickner, CEO Australian Red Cross and former Federal Minister . New speaker just confirmed.
  • Liz Burns, President of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) in Perspectives for a Global Age will present her views of how we should be organising and positioning ourselves to ensure that volunteering continues to make a positive impact on the lives of individuals and communities worldwide.
  • Justin Davis Smith, Director of the Institute for Volunteering Research in Volunteering in the 21 st Century: Opportunities and Challenges will argue that while the first half of the 21 st Century looks set to become the ‘Age of Volunteering' there are pressures and challenges which threaten to undermine the voluntary impulse.
  • Sarah Hayes, Corporate Volunteering Practitioner and Consultant in Corporate Volunteeering: History, Trends and Opportunities will share her experiences and current US-thinking in this growing area of volunteering.
  • David Brettell, Manager of the Sydney Olympics Volunteer program will share his experiences & learnings of managing the largest volunteer event workforce in Australia in 2000.
  • Melanie Oppenheimer, Historian and Researcher will provide an historical perspective on the role of Australian volunteers in large events such as the Empire, Commonwealth & Olympic Games movements.
  • David Templeman, Director General, Emergency Management Australia will bring experience of managing volunteer involvement in response to major natural disasters and discuss Issues, Challenges and Trends for the Emergency Management Sector

We will also be joined by the Deputy Premier of Victoria and Minister for Victorian Communities, The Hon. John Thwaites.

A wide variety of concurrent papers and practical workshops will appeal to delegates from across many sectors and backgrounds. See conference timetable for details of sessions and presenters – www.volunteering2006.com

Why attend?

This biennial National Conference on Volunteering is the key national forum for those who want to continue to see volunteering thrive. The conference provides an opportunity for you to take time out and think about the ‘big picture' issues and to discuss the fundamental and practical questions associated with volunteering. Through its planned proximity to the Melbourne2006 Commonwealth Games the conference will also celebrate the enormous contribution that volunteers make to the success of major events.

To register visit the conference website at www.volunteering2006.com .

Building Neighbourhood Community Harmony

14.02.06

The Living in Harmony initiative and the Centre for Research on Social Inclusion, Macquarie University are working together a one year action research strategy investigating local community harmony initiatives. The role of local government in building sustainable community across and between different cultural communities, and the development of innovative new models for promoting community harmony at the local level will be examined. The project is being supported through the Living in Harmony partnerships program.

Recent research in the area of community harmony has emphasised the importance of local initiatives that go beyond one-off ‘multicultural festival days’ and that strive, instead, to foster exchange at the level of everyday interaction. The current project stems from research conducted by Dr Amanda Wise entitled ‘Contact Zones’. This two year in-depth qualitative study investigated the factors contributing to racism and intercultural discomfort between Anglo-Celtic senior citizens and recent Chinese migrants in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield.

The initiatives developed will focus on accessing and influencing the widest possible audience; impacting the everyday lives and practices of residents, in order to ensure depth and sustainability of outcome; and focusing on face to face interactions and exchange.

The Partnership has established pilot locations with Ashfield Council (Metro NSW), Canning City Council (WA) and Griffith City Council (Regional NSW) and establish Community Harmony Working Groups. It will also survey all Local Government Authorities to undertake an audit of local government initiatives with regard to community harmony in order to identify "best practice" strategies. It is proposed that the Partnership will produce replicable community harmony models that all communities across Australia can access.

For more information about the project and to view the survey, visit http://www.crsi.mq.edu.au/LIH%20survey.htm

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