Multicultural policies and programs

The Australian multicultural policy is another policy instrument that influences the empowerment of African community groups. It is driven particularly by the acknowledgement that Australia is a multicultural country with diverse cultural groups and that there is a need to respect and promote cultural, religious and linguistic diversity in the society (DIAC 2011). The policy is designed to foster harmony among diverse cultural groups and to provide a platform for people from diverse cultural backgrounds to practise and share their cultural traditions and languages (DIAC 2011). The policy also commits the Australian government to ensure that people from CALD backgrounds can access public services equitably (DIAC 2011).

Key actions of this policy have been observed to create structures for African communities to attain their goals by providing guidelines and resources through several programs and strategies. These include the establishment of the Australian Multicultural Council, National Anti-Racism Partnership and Strategy, Strengthening Access and Equity, Multicultural Arts and Festivals Grants, and Multicultural Youth Sports Partnership Program. However, as examples, I will demonstrate how programs such as the Multicultural Arts Funding Grants (MAFG) and the Diversity and Social Cohesion Program (DSCP) contributed to the empowerment of African communities.

6.3.3.1 Multicultural Arts Funding Grants

One of the key initiatives of the Multicultural Policy launched in February 2011 was to provide funding for Multicultural Arts and Festivals Grants (MAFG). The main objective of the MAFG was to encourage social cohesion and mutual understanding by providing opportunities for Australians from different backgrounds to come together and share and

K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | Conditions, Resources and Structures that Facilitate Community Empowerment 189 experience different cultural heritages and traditions. As part of this funding, DIAC provided funding of up to $5000 to various organisations in the year 2011-2012, to hold several events.

In Tasmania, DIAC funded the Glenorchy City Council (local government) to organise the ‘Moonah Taste of the World Festival (MTWF).’The MTWF is a one-day event offering food stalls with a wide variety of cuisines supported by images depicting cultural practices relating to the preparation and presentation of food distinctly. The festival was intended to attract diverse community groups particularly those from new and emerging communities to participate. The Moonah Taste of the World Festival 2012 was held on Sunday 25 March. In the 2012 MTWF, several African community groups and their members participated in the event through music and dancing, cooking demonstrations, craft and other activities.

The Madi Community Association of Tasmania, one of the ethnically-based community groups that belong to the Sudanese community and is a member of the ACCT, was also funded by the MAFG to organise the Madi cultural festival. By accessing resources from MAFG, the community hosted the Madi Cultural Festival, which was used as a vehicle to engage the host community with the Madi community through cultural dance, food and music as well as performances from other new and emerging communities.

In Victoria, events that showcase cultural diversity were funded and carried out. The Greater Shepparton City Council in Victoria was provided with a grant of $3,000 to hold a Refugee Week Lunch and Celebration in Shepparton. It is reported that the one-day festival showcased talents of emerging local performers from diverse backgrounds (including Africans). The festival was also instrumental in providing an opportunity for African and other CALD community groups to provide multicultural cuisine, and share their refugee experiences. The South Sudanese Community of Australia was also provided with $5,000 in grants to celebrate South Sudan Independence in Melbourne. The celebration of the independence of South Sudan brought other African communities and the wider community together.

6.3.3.2 Diversity and Social Cohesion Program

The Diversity and Social Cohesion Program (DSCP) is an Australian Government initiative that evolved from the 'Living in Harmony' program established in 1998. The program is a major component of the Government's approach to cultural diversity, and its principal objectives include the cultivation of the culture of respect among Australians; promoting cultural diversity in society and the fair treatment of all Australians; creating opportunities

K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | Conditions, Resources and Structures that Facilitate Community Empowerment 190 for people to participate equitably and to create a sense of belonging through inclusion, and building the capacity of disadvantaged communities.

The DSCP provided funds to several organisations that met the criteria set by the department to carry out projects. The department funded several projects that had direct or indirect effects on the empowerment of African communities in the three states in the fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12. Some of these projects are listed below.

In Tasmania, the DSCP funded the Glenorchy City Council for the Young Women's Multicultural Leadership Program. The program provided an opportunity for several young African women to participate in training aimed at improving leadership skills. It also allowed them to engage with other young women from CALD background. The participants in the program were from the Afghani, Congolese, Burundi, Sudanese, Malawi, Cambodian, Burmese, Nepalese and mainstream Australian cultural backgrounds. The program conveners emphasised that the cultural diversity within the participants was essential to the success of the program to foster social inclusion. The ACCT was also granted a fund to enable it to work to improve the link between African community groups in the north and the south of the state. The project aim was to build the capacity of leaders from the African communities in Tasmania to participate in working groups and more adequately represent the African community with particular emphasis on engaging women and the elderly. The project was also expected to develop better relationships with the police and the media and promote the African communities by telling positive stories to increase understanding within the wider community.

In South AustraliaMRCSA and MYSA were funded by the DSCP. The MRCSA was funded for their ‘Hand in Hand – Visualising our place in Australia’ project in Adelaide. Through this project, they were able to bring young people of refugee background (particularly Africans) and indigenous youth together through the production of an album of visual dialogue between themselves. MYSA organised an event called ‘Cultures of Taste’ in Adelaide that was designed to address racism in schools through early intervention and cross-cultural awareness program. This project targeted young people in selected South Australian schools, in class groups; year 8, 9 and 10 between the ages of 12 and 16. Schools were assisted by MYSA to develop presentations that capture cultural diversity using food, arts and music. Workshops were made available for interested schools in such subjects as anti–bullying and change management and a selection of the young people’s work was showcased in Harmony Day celebrations.

K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | Conditions, Resources and Structures that Facilitate Community Empowerment 191 In Victoria, there were several organisations funded through the program. The Centre for Cultural Partnerships was funded for its African Voices of Carlton project in Southbank. The project’s aim was to foster inter-cultural dialogue and cultural awareness between the Horn of Africa (HOA) Carlton Estate residents and the wider Carlton community. The project was also expected to create a partnership between the University of Melbourne and the HOA Community Network and the Carlton Estate HOA community in order to address the needs of the community. The DSCP also funded the Centre for Dialogue, La Trobe University for its Inter Community ‘Dialogue for Social Cohesion’ project in Bundoora. The project conducted inter–cultural dialogue among 15 community leaders, including African community leaders. Mission Australia was funded for their ‘Richmond Respect Project’ in Melbourne. The project intended to address the increasing incidence of violence in the North Richmond Housing Estate between Vietnamese and African youths. The project was aimed at addressing the issue of social disharmony and promoting cohesion by engaging with young people to find positive life pathways and support connection with the broader community.

6.4

Summary and discussion

This chapter has responded to the third research question – what are the conditions, resources and structures that contribute to the attainment of empowerment? The findings from these case studies have highlighted that the empowerment of a community group is dependent on the prevailing social conditions, resources and structures. Social conditions such as community organisation and leadership, community partnership and collaboration, social incidents and conflicts contribute to the way African communities behave, and facilitate processes of empowerment. Resources such as refugee experience, community know-how and skills, culture, community leadership, finance and assets were also instrumental in attaining empowerment among African communities by producing some community benefit and accomplishing community goals.

One of the key findings of this chapter is that critical social incidents serve as catalytic conditions that facilitate the empowerment of African communities by drawing external and internal actors to participate in the affairs of the African communities. However, the literature across disciplines seems to assume that community empowerment is attained through rational, systematic and organised intervention (see for example Banducci, Donovan & Karp 2004; Clark & Morrison 1995; DuBois & Miley 2005; Freire 1973; Gutierrez, Parson & Cox 1998; Hanisch 1970; Hur 2006; Moser 1993; Parpart, Rai &

K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | Conditions, Resources and Structures that Facilitate Community Empowerment 192 Staudt 2002; Payne 2005; Rappaport 1984,1987; Rowlands 1997; Zimmerman 2000). The literature ignores the possibility that random, episodic and emotive social incidents can facilitate the empowerment of the community by creating amicable social environment for all actors to work together and interact with each other.

This study has shown that unpredictable, random and highly emotive social incidents can influence actors’ behaviour and facilitate empowerment of the community. Critical social incidents have created a condition whereby resources of external actors are focused on the issue of the African communities and thus provided an opportunity for African communities to attain their goals.

Another important finding in this chapter is that the culture can serve as a resource to empower communities beyond the sense of ‘power as charisma’ as suggested in the literature (Swanson 1973). Cultural resources enabled African communities to participate in the market economy. African communities deployed cultural resources to create restaurants, cultural music and dance groups, African artefact and souvenir shops, and specialist African retail stores. These firms employed and empowered members of the African communities. However, the impact of these culture-based businesses goes beyond employment. They were able to draw the attention of other actors to participate in the activities of African communities and created opportunities for social and political engagement. Members of the broader community who may not necessarily have had particular interest in African communities were able to engage with African communities through cultural interaction and exchange.

In summary, using the conceptual and analytical framework, this chapter has responded to the third research question and demonstrated that prevailing social conditions, resources and structures play important roles in the empowerment of disadvantaged communities. This chapter has also shown that critical social incidents acted as catalytic conditions that facilitate the empowerment of African communities by creating a favourable social environment for all actors to enable African communities achieve their own goals. It has also demonstrated that culture can serve as a resource that African communities could employ to empower themselves. Building on the conceptual and analytical framework and in response to the fourth and fifth research questions, the next chapter will identify the actors in the action arena and present an analysis of their action and interaction and the ensuing empowerment outcomes and change.

K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | Actors, their Interaction and Change ₁₉₃

Chapter VII