Page 1928 - Week 07 - Thursday, 23 August 2007
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events; increase resources for programs that help to integrate international students and migrants; and for police to take a more hands-on and engaged approach with young people. We need more avenues for these two groups to communicate so that cultural exchange can take place. This is an opportunity for my department to work with the ACT Policing multicultural liaison officer to assist with intercultural awareness for new recruits in the AFP and ACT Policing.
The young people wanted to develop strategies that encourage interactions across cultural groups by young people; to encourage young people to speak their minds; to provide opportunities to break the cycle for young people unable to gain employment, because they do not have the appropriate work experience; and to develop strategies that address racism by encouraging people to change from within themselves. That is an insightful comment for a young person.
In relation to cultural education, they wanted to provide overseas students with additional support so they could enter into community activities; to celebrate cultural differences all year round, not just during the national multicultural festival; to promote radio, music and creative activities as a way to unify multicultural groups; and to better promote events and groups to the broader community. With regard to the theme of making culture cool, they wanted to provide organisations, such as the Hellenic Youth Club or Multicultural Youth Services, with more financial support so they could provide more activities for more young people. That was a surprise, was it not? They want to help young individuals to fully understand their cultural heritage, rather than encourage them to leave it behind and become mainstream.
With respect to sport, recreation and health, they wanted to provide further resources for a program to integrate refugees and migrants into Australian sporting life. The ACT government is already engaging many of the concepts and ideas provided by the young people at the forum. For example, the integrated sports program facilitated by the Muslim community and involving the broader community has an open registration approach with its aim to bring together members of both sectors through sport, such as soccer, badminton and cricket. Also, I witnessed a very popular world youth soccer event involving very talented refugee young people held during Refugee Week in June. That was a fantastic day.
Intercultural awareness not only provides an understanding of other cultures but also extends to providing an understanding of how your own culture and beliefs will influence your interactions with others. My department and I will work with other relevant ACT government ministers and agencies to develop policies and strategies that build on current activities to meet the needs of youth in the ACT. It is the responsibility of government, community and schools to ensure that everything is done to keep our city’s cultures alive. The best way to do this is to create a culture in Canberra where young members of our multicultural communities feel free to express their culture and customs without discrimination. If we fail, what will we tell future generations when they ask what we did to keep cultures alive? Young people are our future. We need them to be involved in the process of governing and to be engaged in our community. The ACT multicultural youth forum was, in my opinion, a big success.
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