Australians are renowned for their capacity to ‘have a go’ and pull together to get things done.
The Can Do Community Awards, an initiative under the Commonwealth Government’s Stronger Families and Communities Strategy, will recognise communities that have demonstrated the Australian ‘can do’ spirit and come up with creative ways to solve their local problems.
The Awards program will recognise the contribution of communities, business and Local Government to community revitalisation and increasing social and economic participation.It is about encouraging communities to address their own local issues and celebrate their achievements. The Awards program provides incentives for communities to embrace, and to showcase innovative and effective strategies that strengthen community life.
When announcing the Awards, Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator Amanda Vanstone, said, “We recognise that governments don’t hold all the answers and the best source of knowledge about a particular community comes from that community itself.
“These Awards will continue to foster this new culture in Australian community life by highlighting and rewarding communities that have developed innovative local solutions to local problems. We’re looking for projects that have encouraged social participation and successfully tackled economic and social issues by building partnerships within local communities. Just as importantly, we want to identify projects that have made a lasting difference, and whose innovative solutions can be applied elsewhere.”
The Can Do Community Awards presentation will be made at the National General Assembly of Local Government in Alice Springs on 6 November this year. It will include a financial reward of $4,000 for each of the state and territory winners and an additional $4,000 for the winning national entry.
The Award winners will also have the opportunity to showcase their initiatives during 2003 through the National Office of Local Government Best Practice Seminars and through the Can Do Community web site.
The Can Do Community Awards will be judged by an independent panel, including representatives from the Commonwealth and Local Government and representatives of the community sector. The judging criteria for the Awards entries are as follows.
- The social impact of the initiative, including social participation and volunteering.
- The economic impact of the initiative, as measured by increased economic participation (jobs created, maintained; effect on any identified economic problems).
- The sustainability of the initiative and how it contributes to the sustainability of the community.
- The transferability of the initiative – elements of the initiative that can be used by other communities facing similar issues.
- The establishment of partnership between community groups, business and/or Local Government. Partnerships arrangements do not necessarily need to include Commonwealth Government programs.
The judging panel will assess the entries for each state and territory. The national Award will be chosen from the state and territory winners.The Australian Local Government Association will play a key role in promoting the Awards and participating in the judging process.
Interested organisations can access the nomination form from the Can Do Community web site, at www.facs.gov.au/cando. Alternatively, you can call the freecall number 1800 050 020 between Monday and Friday, from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm.
The closing date for all nominations is 5.00 pm on 13 September 2002.
