Local Governments are increasingly taking the lead in creating better communities. The new Strength in Diversity Award, for the cultural diversity category of the Australian Government’s National Awards for Local Government, recognises and rewards leadership and excellence in responding to cultural diversity. Kingston City Council (Victoria) has won the 2003 award for its innovative approach to support for newly arrived refugees.
Kojonup Shire Council (WA) won the rural award for an interpretive museum that brought the whole community together, and Melville City Council (WA) received a commendation for its extensive multicultural program.
Sponsored by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, the Strength in Diversity Award celebrates the ingenuity, resourcefulness and self reliance of Local Government in community capacity building. It aims to promote and share expertise and experience of Local Governments in responding to cultural diversity to make better communities.
Kingston City Council’s Emerging Communities project, which focused on quilt making, was an innovative and culturally sensitive approach to supporting Kingston’s emerging Horn of Africa community. It brought together women from the Cook Islands, who became mentors to newly arrived women from the Horn of Africa.
“People make a square for the quilt and then we talk about it … that’s the whole idea, to throw in our stories and share,” said Nga Rima of the Cook Island community, who was a group mentor. “I can see myself in all of these women, because 16 years ago I was the same.”
Within a context of growing friendship and trust, Kingston Council responded to the information, training and other needs that participants identified. Service providers and agencies that came to talk to the group included Council representatives; State Government Departments, such as the Department of Human Services; Australian Government agencies, such as Centrelink; and organisations, such as the Migrant Resource Centre, Community Health Centre and Adult Multicultural Education Services.
Gerri Rebeira is from the Cheltenham branch of the Victorian Office of Housing.
“Coming to talk to the women wasn’t something that we had done before, but based on our experiences with the group, it is something I think we should do more of in the future with new arrivals,” she said.
This project exemplifies the real difference that Local Government can make in the fields of migrant settlement and community relations through supporting local leadership and responding creatively to local issues.
The rural winner of the Strength in Diversity Award was Kojonup Shire Council (WA) for its interpretive museum and tourist centre, The Kodja Place, which pays homage to the contributions to the local area by its Indigenous, pioneer, Australian born and migrant communities. The stories of their contributions are integrated throughout the centre. As a concept, in its development, and in its ongoing contribution to the community, this project is a testament to Australian multiculturalism. It demonstrates how diversity, inclusiveness and mutual respect can work for and unite a community, and is a commendable example of reconciliation.
As Glenys Russell, the Kodja Place Centre Manager and Promotions and Marketing Manager for Kojonup Shire, said, “Kodja Place’s existence and success provide a source of community pride, a community meeting place and a pivotal expression of the cultural make up of Kojonup.”
The 2002-2003 State of the Regions Report, produced by the Australian Local Government Association, highlights the benefits of cultural diversity for regional development. The challenge for Local Governments is to reap economic and social benefits for their regions – responding to and taking advantage of increased local cultural diversity, building community harmony and strengthening appreciation of citizenship.
The winners of the Strength in Diversity Award are meeting that challenge. Next year it could be your Council that wins the award. Entries will be called for in the first half of the 2004 calendar year. In the mean time, maybe you should be thinking about hosting a National Office of Local Government Leading Practice Seminar, to share ideas on meeting the challenges and making the best of the benefits of local cultural diversity. More information about the National Awards for Local Government and the Leading Practice Seminars is available at www.nolg.gov.au.
Information on Australian multiculturalism is at www.immi.gov.au/multicultural, and on the 2002-2003 State of the Regions Report at www.alga.asn.au/policy/regional/2002sor.php
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs is keen to build up networks and pass on information about good practice in managing cultural diversity. If you would like to receive information or commend a Council for its diversity management, please contact Richard.Manderson@immi.gov.au or phone (02) 6264 3852.
