The party included migrants from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal who met and socialized with other Australians. The party was an opportunity for swapping stories, sharing food and building new friendships between people of different cultural backgrounds.

ECCV Board Member and former Young Victorian of the Year Wesa Chau said the party was a great opportunity to break down barriers and develop stronger community bonds.

“Welcome Parties show that the vast majority of Australians want to get to know new arrivals and make them feel a part of the Australian community,” Ms Chau said.

“I hope that families and friends everywhere will seize the opportunity to make Australia a more harmonious society by holding a party like this.”

The Council supports initiatives such as the Welcome Parties which encourage friendships and new understanding between migrants and more established members of the community.

If you are interested in holding a Welcome Party in Victoria contact Jo Pride jo@welcometoaustralia.org.au or visit the Welcome to Australia website.  

 Each tender seeks submissions from a partnership of organisations to implement three-year pilot project in a Victorian workplace setting.

In these three-year pilot projects, a large-scale study in a Victorian workplace/s will be undertaken to both test and expand the current evidence base on workplace health interventions.  The outcomes from these projects will contribute to the development of tools and resources for Victorian workplaces.

Tenders are open on www.tenders.vic.gov.au.

The reference numbers are:Pilot project: reducing race-based discrimination and supporting cultural diversity in the workplace: RFx 2012-0129 Pilot project: reducing alcohol-related harm in the workplace: RFx 2012-0128

Applications close 1 June 2012.

 The $95m Federal Government budget funding boost for SBS is a key opportunity to expand its role as Australia’s leading information provider to diverse Australia.

The Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria Chairperson Joe Caputo said today that SBS must use this funding to meet the communication needs of multicultural Australia.

“In a tight budget with many cutbacks, the Federal Government has endorsed the current work of SBS in reaching diverse Australia,” Mr Caputo said.

“The work of SBS is vital in promoting the rich cultures, skills and talent of the Australian people and in promoting social inclusion.”

Mr Caputo said he urged SBS to use the budget funding to expand and renew its commitment to reaching ageing diverse Australians in particular through radio.

 “Radio is unique because it targets diverse communities specifically, can deliver important community information announcements and can reach isolated individuals within those communities.”

Mr Caputo said the recent SBS radio services review must ensure that greater weight is given to providing radio services for the language needs for the elderly.

“Older diverse Australians are rapidly outgrowing other sections of the population,” Mr Caputo said.

“Our consultations show these individuals are the predominate group to rely heavily on radio to provide key information services in their preferred language.”

Mr Caputo said the Council also saw benefits in expanding SBS services across new TV formats, social media platforms and online services.

“We support SBS reaching a wider cross section of the community to promote a strong multicultural society,” Mr Caputo said.

 “As SBS Ambassador, I wish to promote new SBS media content, while also ensuring that SBS’s core audience receive the vital communication services they need.”

Mr Joe Caputo OAM is available for comment. Contact Sarah Hunt (03) 9349 4122.

Why is promoting cultural diversity in the arts so important?

Art is a way of sharing culture with the wider community and is important in promoting cultural literacy. Racism often stems from ignorance, so art educates the community and acts as the perfect tool for social cohesion. 

Do you think art plays a vital role in enabling those from CALD backgrounds to tell their stories?

Absolutely, it helps the wider community to connect when they can hear really powerful refugee stories and even physically meet refugees.  The arts reflect radically changing demographics, hybrid models and changing mediums of showcasing a contemporary Australia.

Tell me about your background and what led you to work at Multicultural Arts Victoria?

My family is from a convict background so I consider myself to be from good Irish stock. I’ve always worked in the arts; I formerly worked in theatre and did some youth work, and I have also worked closely with the Koori community developing arts programs.  I spent some time working at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) before heading over to Perth to work as Director for Multicultural Arts in Western Australia. I’ve always looked out for opportunities for art to educate, empower and bring people together.

Are you able to name any particularly special artists you’ve come across during your time at MAV?

There are many, many great artists and lots of extraordinary talents. One of the fantastic artists we’ve seen is Appiah Annan from Ghana, who won a fellowship and now directs the Asanti Dance Theatre.  There’s also Dereb Desalegn from Ethiopia who teamed up with Nicky Bomba, performing at WOMADELAIDE and WOMAD in the UK, as well as heading over to Ethiopia to take part in a festival celebrating Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year).

What do you hope to achieve through the upcoming Emerge Festival?

The Emerge Festival is an opportunity for people to tell their stories through a variety of mediums and showcase extraordinary diversity.  Events such as this are really important as they create a pathway for emerging artists and communities.  It fosters positive attitudes in the wider community by giving them an opportunity to participate and learn, as well as find commonalities amongst each other.  It’s all about access, participation and education through the universal language of art.

The Emerge Festival is being held as part of Refugee Week.  Are there any other ways you suggest people celebrate Refugee Week?

There are lots of activities people can participate in.  It’s about meeting people,talking  with them, and experiencing the very fine work on display. Refugee Week showcases what refugees have to give, and with the negative press sometimes surrounding refugees in the media, it’s great to see the significant contributions they make to the community.

How do the MAV exhibitions such as ‘Heartlands’ affect those in the community not from refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds?

In the Heartlands refugees tell their stories through visual mediums.  Conceptually this is very powerful for those from the wider community, as they gain a different perspective.  The winner last year, Ma Lat, told her entire migration story through art - from Burma to Thailand and eventually Australia.

To see more of Multicultural Arts Victoria's exceptional work, visit www.multiculturalarts.com.au.

The Victoria Government’s new $50m international engagement strategy is an opportunity to use Australian migrants’ language skills and networks.

Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria Chairperson Joe Caputo said today that economic growth from international trade opportunities relied upon supporting Victorians with international skills and knowledge.

“Victoria’s attractiveness to international investors and trade partners is because of our highly skilled workforce,” Mr Caputo said.

“Victoria’s migrant population have economically valuable insights into overseas markets, language and business culture which facilitate international business engagement.”

Mr Caputo said the additional $1bn over four years allocated in the state budget to create a better educated and skilled workforce must target migrant communities.

“Currently many diverse community members are working in industries not aligned with their training or not receiving adequate training,” Mr Caputo said.

“We need to take a business smart approach by investing in their training, job readiness and recognise their overseas qualifications.

 “We must integrate the international demand for our state’s business with the under-utilized diverse community labour force.”

Mr Caputo added that growth in net overseas business migration last year meant the Government needed to continue investing in skills training to keep up with demand.

“The treasurer has emphasized fiscal responsibility in this budget and it makes financial sense to invest in areas that promote economic growth and prosperity for Victoria’s large diverse workforce.”

Mr Joe Caputo OAM is available for comment. Contact Sarah Hunt on (03) 9349 4122 or 0410 534 457.

The Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria today welcomed the 9.2 per cent state budget increase to $21.4m funding as a steady result for Victoria’s multicultural communities.

ECCV Chairperson Mr Joe Caputo said the major budget wins for diverse Victorians were in refugee support programs and language services funding in the areas of education, health and justice. 

“In a budget that forecasts $8.3bn less revenue over the next four years, we are pleased that multiculturalism retains its present funding levels with a modest increase,” Mr Caputo said.

“We have been advocating for program funding to support refugees and asylum seekers for a number of years, so $1.3m is a real win for this neglected area of government investment.” 

Mr Caputo said $7m investment in language education training, $4.1m for language services in the justice system and $3.8m over 4 years for language services in health reflected the growing need for culturally competent service provision. 

“We know that diverse Victorians need to communicate in their preferred language when interacting with service providers,” Mr Caputo said.

“Catering to Victorians with culturally competent services makes good economic sense too because it reduces costly mistakes and longer health consultation times.”

Mr Caputo expressed disappointment at the lack of specific funding provisions for multicultural services within the mainstream service delivery areas of mental health and ageing.

“The delivery of mainstream services must occur within a multicultural framework in order to properly address the needs of diverse Victorians,” Mr Caputo said.

“We urge the government to take this approach when delivering funding to mental health and aged care services.”

Mr Caputo also said the government’s focus on child protection must incorporate diverse community strategies.

“The ECCV wants to see improvements to child protection practice for diverse communities as the additional expenditure for child protection by the government is rolled out,” Mr Caputo said.

Mr Joe Caputo OAM JP is available for comment. Contact Sarah Hunt on (03) 9349 4122 or 0410 534 457.

WHEN: Tuesday 22 May 2012

TIME: 10:00am – 2:00pm

WHERE: City of Greater Bendigo, Council Reception Room, Level 1, 195-199 Littleton Terrace, Bendigo

COST: Free

RSVP: Tuesday 15 May by clicking HERE. A light lunch will be provided.

The forum will showcase good-practice case studies involving local governments and community organisations that enhance services for diverse HACC clients. The session will feature presentations by:

• City of Wodonga and a representative of the Bhutanese community
• Baw Baw Shire Council and the Gippsland Multicultural Services
• City of Greater Bendigo and the Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services
• Mildura Rural City Council and the Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities

 Themes of the forum include:  

• strategies for working with emerging CALD communities
• the benefits of a positive relationship with neighbouring councils
• ways to reach isolated CALD groups to improve their social connections
• the importance of working with histories and styles of partnership between councils and ethnic organisations

 For further information contact Lee Choon Siauw, 0439 351 761 or lcsiauw@mav.asn.au.  

This forum is supported by funding from the Australian and Victorian Governments under the HACC program.

ECCV Chairperson Joe Caputo called for State Government leadership in education funding.

“Refugees and migrants can have different levels of education because of interrupted schooling or because they are learning English,” Mr Caputo said.

“They need full support – and that means funding – to ensure they can access VCAL training options in their final years of school.”

Mr Caputo said Schooling Resource Standards (SRS) were also a priority roll out for schools where refugee and non-English speaking background students attended.

“The federal Gonski review made it clear School Resourcing Standards should target disadvantaged schools with high migrant populations,” Mr Caputo said.

“We want to make sure the State Government supports these recommendations with funding.”

“Education flexibility creates better career outcomes for diverse Australians,” Mr Caputo said.

The Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria’s submission is available here with a full list of recommendations.

Mr Joe Caputo OAM is available for comment. Contact Sarah Hunt on (03) 9349 4122.

ECCV Director Ross Barnett said the $24.4 million allocated to diverse Australians needed to focus on prevention and education strategies.

“Our consultations show multicultural seniors access services often at crisis point,” Mr Barnett said.

“We need to use this funding to educate seniors about the services available before they need to enter residential care.”

Mr Barnett said the Government’s focus on keeping seniors active and living independently was a strategy which empowered diverse seniors.

“Most diverse seniors want to stay in the home because of their strong ties to family,” Mr Barnett said.

“To achieve this goal we need more home care workers who are trained to respond to their culturally specific needs.”

Mr Barnett said the funding would be most effective if it was rolled out in partnership with ethnic seniors groups.

“ Partnerships with ethnic seniors groups are the key to getting information to multicultural seniors,” Mr Barnett said.

“ Diverse seniors need to feel they are getting information from trusted sources in cultural and language appropriate settings.”

He said the funding was a positive recognition of the needs of diverse seniors and that it would need to grow to keep up with demand.

“The percentage of multicultural seniors will grow rapidly across the next decade relative to the rest of the population,” Mr Barnett said.

“ The Government must take preventative action now by resourcing service providers, ethnic seniors groups and home carers to deal with the large numbers of older diverse Australians.”

 
Mr Ross Barnett is available for comment. Contact Sarah Hunt (03) 9349 4122.

The Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria in partnership with Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) and Melbourne Playback Theatre Company presents a unique creative performance inspired by national Refugee Week theme Restoring Hope.

When refugees settle in Australia there is an emphasis on taking care of the essentials - food, housing, education and employment. Yet refugees also need resilience, courage and hope to face the challenges of settlement.

Playback Theatre actors draw on these themes to create a unique performance from the stories of audience members. These actors and musicians bring the audience's stories of hope and resilience in a way that is entertaining, surprising, and transformative.

 Date: Wednesday 13 June 2012

Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Venue: Downstairs Gallery, Forty Five Downstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

The performance includes nibbles and drinks. Click here to register and download a flyer.

The Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria believe now is the time for the government to provide significantly greater funding for SBS in the May budget. Multicultural broadcasting needs support to help it operate and function without commercial influence. In this regard we also urge the Government  to support the SBS Natural Program Breaks and Disruptive Advertising Bill 2012 to remove commercials from in programming by 2016 proposed by The Greens. The SBS was founded on the understanding that funding would come from the government and without reliance on advertisers. The hybrid model over the last few years has not helped SBS meet its charter obligations. It has done SBS no good and failed the community. In the May budget we urge the Government to correct this situation by increasing SBS funding and by supporting the Greens Bill. Go to this link if you want to support our advocacy

Keep a look out for further information about this key event on the 2012 public policy discussion agenda in Melbourne.