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 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

As part of the Victorian Government’s Participation for CALD Seniors Grants Program, eligible organisations can apply for up to $10,000 to help generate opportunities for socially isolated CALD seniors to engage in their communities.  The grants program will have four grant rounds over four years.

The first round opens for applications on 5 March 2012 and closes on 27 April 2012.  More information about the grants is available on Seniors Online (www.seniorsonline.vic.gov.au) or by contacting Georgia Nicholls on (03) 9096 1052 or at Georgia.nicholls@health.vic.gov.au.

 The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and its partner agencies will be holding public consultations around the country over the next few months as part of developing the National Anti-Racism Strategy. The aim of the Strategy is to promote a clear understanding in the Australian community of what racism is and how it can be prevented and reduced. The Australian Government committed to developing a National Anti-Racism Strategy as part of Australia’s multicultural policy, The People of Australia. It is anticipated that the Strategy will be launched in July 2012 and implemented between 2012 and 2015.

The ECCV is very keen to support the AHRC in its consultations to hear how racism affects communities around Australia, and what we should be doing about it.

We invite you to check out the dates of public consultations which will commence in late March and finish in early May. For details of the consultations please visit: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/racial_discrimination/NARPS.html

Australian Human Rights Commission

Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000

GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
E helen.szoke@humanrights.gov.au W www.humanrights.gov.au

Australia is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world and the country’s economic and demographic growth is driven largely by migration. There are many opportunities and challenges Australia has tackled to build this highly diverse society.

ECCV is a peak advocacy body that lobbies all levels of government on behalf of multicultural communities within the Australian State of Victoria, ECCV welcomes the opportunity to contribute to Commonwealth values and aspirations for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth of Nations.

ECCV is one of several state-level organisations associated with its national body the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA). For over 30 years ECCV has remained the principal liaison point between ethnic communities, government and the wider community and has been a key player in building Victoria as a successful, harmonious and multicultural society.

Under the banner of Australia as an active and committed member of the CHOGM, it is with great pride that we commend this submission as input to the new Charter of the Commonwealth.

To access ECCV's submission click here.

The IBIS Forum brought together representatives from government, business, education, the not for profit sector, and the community, to discuss social inclusion, diversity and citizenship. Specifically, the forum sought to explore current issues relating to multiculturalism, cultural diversity and intercultural relations, with a view to inform policy development.

Mr Sam Afra delivered an address on global diversity. The key challenge facing intercultural understanding, according to Mr Afra, is for individuals to learn to agree to disagree. He said, "We, as global citizens, must learn to respect and understand diverse opinions if [we] are to live successfully in the modern world". Mr Afra then highlighted challenges faced by "new and emerging communities" in the areas of "employment and housing, and the media misrepresentations of these new immigrant communities which contributes to "already strained relations". He argued for a need to improve media strategies and reporting guidelines so as to promote a commitment "to social cohesion, even in uncertain times". He noted that, "Multiculturalism should not be a scapegoat when addressing the civic problems we face".

Mr Afra concluded that the good governance of cultural diversity requires foresight and leadership as we "can’t afford to react to community needs once it has already reached crisis." Policy must be formulated

Mr Afra linked local diversity in Australia to a growing global trend in which cultural diversity has become increasingly visible and thus the global nature of diversity has become a local reality. For Afra, a strong multicultural Australia draws its strength from diversity and that within Australia"Victoria is the capital of multiculturalism".

To see the conference report summary click HERE.

Interpreting and translation are a critical part of providing services for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Northern Health’s Transcultural and Language Services Department (TALS) recently won an Australian Institute of Interpreters award for their excellent service provision in health.

ECCV spoke with TALS coordinator Emiliano Zucchi about the innovations and initiatives that have made transformed health service provision in northern Melbourne.

What major changes have you initiated in your four years at TALS to bring about the Australian Institute of Interpreters award?

The four major strategies we have used are:

1. We moved from four to seventeen in-house interpreters.
2. We initiate trans-cultural training sessions in a very strategic way. We now run one hour presentations for health clinicians on topics such as; ‘how to work with a professional interpreter’, ‘what does diversity mean in the health context’, ‘how to work with patients of different religious backgrounds’, and ‘why children should not be used to interpret’. We do approximately 100 one hour sessions per annum.
3. We have introduced a translations database. This means we have hundreds of documents translated in the top eight languages. All the staff we employ are professional interpreters and translators, so we do all of our translating in-house.
4. We changed the parameters to include 25 per cent of all NESB** patients in all Northern Health research projects. We are now more prominent in culturally appropriate research for clinicians both within and outside Northern Health.

You have emphasized the business case for reducing length of stay in hospitals for CALD* patients. How important is it to quantify the benefits of translation services?

We noticed the literature was telling us was better patient outcomes increase with cultural competence. The length of stay of NESB** patients has dropped by about 30 per cent since TALS was restructured.

Increasing transcultural training and interpreting services has had a big impact. We know because we our interpretation 17, 000 in 2008 and over 40,000 in 2011. Using translators helps with cost containment because it aids communication with the patient and reduces consultation times.

How are you integrating technology into your work?

We introduced video interpreting a couple of years ago as a complement to face-to-face interpreting. We are using it, but not as much as we should because there are infrastructure problems. There needs to be a commitment to cameras in every consultation room. The technology is available, but has to be a better commitment.

I will be trialling the use of Ipads in wards this year to better deliver languages services.

Are there particular communities where you are seeing growth the need for interpreters?

It’s one of the issues that we face. New and emerging communities, particularly Horn of Africa and Iraqi, are not big enough yet to produce students who learn languages in a professional way. At the moment we are using effectively bilingual people instead of interpreters. Their language skills in English can be very poor. It is a high risk, but it’s better than using family members or no interpreter at all.  The challenge is to liaise with government and university institutions and schools so they continue to offer and improve current courses for emerging communities. 

What’s also happening is that established communities, such as Italian and Greek, are still using language services as the communities age so those service needs are growing.

What are the advantages or disadvantages of privatising the government translation services?

We support public private partnerships to improve public health outcomes. Agencies will always be needed, especially for the smaller languages and it’s important that is done in the patient interest. It’s important there is more cooperation and greater sharing of resources. 

How well do medical staff understand cultural competency?

At Northern Health is the understanding is good. Doctors are improving but they aren’t as good as they should be. The too often assume they don’t need an interpreter and they can use a family member. I argue that any medical degree should include a cultural competence unit.

Many of your staff interpret difficult news for patients in hospitals. How do you support your staff?

Interpreters can deal with very sensitive situations which can affect them psychology and physically. We have a monthly supervision session for our staff members to share experiences and get things off their chest. I find that the benefit comes from having someone there who listens to what they say.

If you know a CALD community member who should be recognised for their work or achievements in our next e-bulletin, please contact Sarah Hunt shunt@eccv.org.au. 

*CALD – Culturally and Linguistically Diverse

** NESB – Non-English Speaking Background

This week ECCV was quoted in Herald Sun article New Clamp on Muslim Haters, detailing Victoria Police's Prejudice Motivated Crime Strategy. Director Ross Barnett said of the strategy: "The elements of the strategy include training for officers, capacity to start collecting data so they've got a sense of what is happening, how it happens and what is the extent ot it." ECCV has been instrumental in initiating the strategy in 2010 and continues to work with Victorian communities to improve their safety.

Peter Mandelj served on the ECCV executive committee from 1988 to 2005 in various roles as both an executive committee member and treasurer.  He has been president of the Council of Slovenian Organisations for the past 20 years and has served the Slovenian community for more than 40 years.

Peter has also been elected as a representative for the Slovenian community in Australia to the Slovenian government.  Peter will travel to Slovenia to consult with Slovenian Prime Minister, Janez Janša and other ministers to put forward the concerns and issues of the Slovenian community in Australia.

ECCV wishes Peter well in his new role and looks forward to his continuing involvement with our organisation.

Senior Policy Officer Irene Bouzo presented Understanding Ethnic Aged Care: The Dilemma of Bonding and Bridging. The presentation

Media Advisor Sarah Hunt presented Emergent Media: Strategies for CALD Communities.

 For part two of these presentations please visit ECCV's youtube channel.

ECCV, Carer's Victoria and CMY believe that this paper is just the beginning, in terms of addressing the complex circumstances that surround these young people, their families and those whom they care for. It is for this reason that, alongside suggested strategies for service providers and support agencies, we have also included suggestions for further research. We hope that this paper may act as an important catalyst for further work in this area and ultimately to better understanding and support for the remarkable young people we seek to represent here.

Please click here to read Refugee and Migrant Young People with Caring Responsibilities: What do we Know?