The Shire of Katanning, with a population of just over 4000, was among a record field of outstanding nominees commended at the 2011 Multicultural Community Service Awards in Perth last month.
The ‘Implementing Multiculturalism Locally Award’ was presented to the Shire for conducting programs that advanced multicultural principles and ensured its services met the needs of all community members.
Western Australian Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Minister John Castrilli said it was the first time the category had been included in the awards, which this year attracted more than 50 nominations.
The Minister said this year’s quality of nominees clearly demonstrate the breadth of work being undertaken in multicultural services and business sectors.
“The awards promote cultural diversity as an international, economic and social asset for WA and I congratulate those who have made a positive difference in the lives of so many West Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds.” he said.
Katanning Deputy CEO Carl Beck said due to the large number of Cocos and Christmas Island, Afghan, Chinese, Burmese, African and other migrants and refugees that have moved to Katanning in recent years, it has been heavily involved in planning and implementing a wide range of programs aimed at effectively engaging these communities.
“This has included employing a CaLD staff member at the Katanning Leisure Centre to conduct community consultation, plan and implement physical activity and sports programs targeted at the CaLD community,” he said. “The aim of gaining the health benefits from activity as well as promoting integration into the community through sport.”
The Shire has also established the Katanning Harmony Festival as a major community event each year. This event attracts performers and stall holders from all of the multicultural communities in Katanning and allows them an opportunity to display their unique cultures.
Carl Beck said representatives of all the cultural groups are on both the planning committee for the event building strong relationships between the Shire and the different groups.
The Shire has also worked closely with the Katanning Senior High School to engage with the youth from the newly arrived CaLD communities. This has resulted in a number of CaLD students participating in Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) placements with the Shire, which again has contributed to the strong relationship developing between the CaLD communities and its Council.
Over the last two years the Shire has also actively recruited staff from the CaLD community to ensure the Shires workforce is reflective of its diverse community.
