Strategic Objective 1 - An Inclusive and Connected Community

Embrace Diversity

• Multicultural Framework and Action Plan
• Flavours of Monash

Multicultural Framework and Action Plan

The Multicultural Framework and Action Plan sets out Council's plans to enhance service delivery and relationships with Monash's culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community.

• The facilitation of three interfaith meetings with religious leaders in Monash. Attendance at the gatherings, included representation by members of: Church of Christ Fellowship, Tamil Hindu Community, Inter Church Council, Islamic Society of Melbourne East Region, Craig Family Centre, Syndal Baptist Church, All Saints Anglican Church, Buddhist Society, Salvation Army, New Hope Migrant Resource Centre, Uniting Church, Coptic Orthodox Church and Catholic Church.
• Monash Youth & Family Services in conjunction with Southern Ethnic and Advocacy Advisory Council secured $20,000 one-off funding from VicHealth to develop the "Building Bridges Program" which targets young people from diverse communities to develop digital stories promoting social harmony and diversity. The project meets on a weekly basis. Fourteen meetings were held in 2006 with a total of 134 contacts with young people.
• Council, in partnership with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (Southern Zone Command and Equity & Diversity Unit) and the Senior Citizens Forum, developed a program entitled "Ethnic Seniors Fire Safety Awareness". The program's core focus was engaging with ethnic seniors and raising awareness in this target group on the varying roles of the fire brigade, home fire safety, Emergency Medical Response and the 000 service. A total of 12 sessions where conducted at various ethnic senior citizens clubs over a two month period, reaching more than 1,100 people.
  At the 2006 Fire Awareness Awards, the City of Monash was awarded the Government and Municipal Award for the Ethnic Seniors Fire Safety Awareness Program.

• The funding of Southern Ethnic and Advocacy Advisory Council ($54,802) to employ a youth worker to deliver a range of counselling and support services to young people and families from CALD backgrounds, including specific program for the South Sudanese community and local schools
• The funding of Connections Family Youth and Children Services ($61,168) to deliver counselling and support service to the Mulgrave community, in particular Chinese speaking residents
• The funding of the Nasir Community Development Agency ($16,000) to deliver a program that provides peer-based education and support to enhance the knowledge and awareness of family safety issues among the South Sudanese community
• The funding of the Monash Volunteer Resource Centre (an additional $15,980) to employ a part-time Chinese-speaking worker to assist with the recruitment and training of Chinese volunteers
• The funding of the South Central Migrant Resource Centre ($24,000) to deliver mentoring, support and advocacy for elderly CALD groups and individual in the Monash region.

Flavours of Monash

Flavours of Monash aims to bring residents and communities together through the story telling of settlement in Australia and sharing of traditional food recipes.

Council hosted a Flavours of Monash demonstration tent at the Oakleigh Festival, with the assistance of local multicultural groups, to showcase the variety of recipes on the Flavours of Monash website.

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Published: 22 November 2007

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