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 April 2013
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Looking for a previous edition? Check out the Archived e-News section.
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Sport key tool in engaging with new demographics
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A new paradigm exists that requires the sports industry to undertake meaningful community engagement with our culturally diverse communities and move beyond the tokenistic approaches that are in place today. This was the key message from CMY CEO Carmel Guerra at the ‘Our Sporting Future 2013 Conference’, held on April 2012 in Melbourne.
Australia is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. This trend will not only continue but become stronger into the future. According to the 2011 census, nearly a quarter (24.6 per cent) of Australia’s population was born overseas and 43.1 per cent of people have at least one overseas-born parent. A growing proportion of migrants to Australia are from Asian countries and engaging with these new demographics will create challenges for sports in the coming years.
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) communities traditionally prefer playing sport in less formalised settings than structured sport competitions. The increase in Asian migrants with different sport preferences will mean a likely growth in smaller to medium size sports like table tennis, volleyball and badminton. The rise of these young people engaging in alternative sports will also mean more competition for this demographic from non-traditional sports based groups that were not previously visible. While participating in formalised sport is not a priority for migrants settling in Australia, it becomes a priority as they integrate. Sporting bodies therefore need to revisit their 20 century business model to ensure their relevance and competitiveness.
Many sporting bodies are adapting to this change, capitalising on the opportunities that these new
markets present. Netball Australia has formed a One Netball Advisory Group with the aim to identify and remove barriers to netball participation for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Life Saving Victoria have previously engaged with CMY to identify and engage with the CaLD community’s participation in water education, leading to young men like Imtiyaz ‘Minty’ Saberi becoming Australia’s first Afghan surf lifesaver.
We all know that sport is an important vehicle for social cohesion and participation. This new paradigm requires us both to start talking and adopting shared approaches to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. We need to ask ourselves how is the multicultural profile of our community translated into the profile of our sporting institutions and workplaces. We must see our culturally diverse communities as a solution to some of the above challenges facing the sporting industry and not the problem.
CMY has 15 years of experience in facilitation participation in sport and while the sports industry knows how to work in its traditional sports market, this new demographic of our population growth poses opportunities to which organisations like CMY can assist.
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Edited extracts from Carmel Guerra’s presentation at the Our Sporting Future 2013 conference
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Sporting success with young people
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CMY’s ongoing involvement in the sporting sector has resulted in recent success stories following a soccer championship win and an introduction to Aussie Rules.
Since October last year, CMY has been working with a group of young men from the Refugee Youth Support program who requested the opportunity to take part in a soccer team. Through the program the young men learnt about commitment and team work, while also interacting with young men from other backgrounds through open soccer games at the City of Dandenong’s Pop Up Park.
After a number of weeks we had a core group of about eight young men who were attending regular training sessions, encouraging us to enter them into an indoor league in the City of Casey.
Initially, our team struggled with the physicality imposed upon them by their opposition, despite their abilities on the ball. While keeping a cool demeanour, the young men eventually learnt that they would be even more impressive if they worked together as a team. After overcoming a number of personal issues the boys recently made it all the way to the grand final beating their opposition 5-2.
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12 newly arrived young men we work with recently took part in Victoria Police’s Unity Cup.
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While soccer has definitely proved to be a favourite among many of the young Afghan men we work with, a group of 12 newly arrived young men were introduced to footy last month as part of the annual Unity Cup – a Victoria Police initiative.
While there were a few difficulties catching the ball, the young men soon got the hang of the game. As a team, some players knew each other and others didn’t, but they soon bonded and got along well together as well as with the opposition. The team was supported by Melbourne Football Club who provided each of the players with a jersey they got to keep and a coach to assist them.
Despite a few losses, nothing stopped the young men from having a good time and with smiles on their faces, they even managed one win against a seasoned team. The highlight of their day was meeting Melbourne FC’s David Rodan who took time to speak with some of the boys, making them feel important and a part of the Australian community. The young men were also featured in Seven’s Weekend Sunrise.
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WHAT'S NEW AT CMY?
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Race Relations: Racism in Victoria Sector Forum
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Earlier this month, CMY hosted the first statewide forum for 2013 on Race Relations: Racism in Victoria. Ninety participants from government, community, sporting and multicultural agencies attended the half-day forum at the State Library of Victoria.
The forum addressed contemporary manifestations of racism; the legal architecture relating to racial discrimination in Victoria; CMY’s engagement with racism over the past 25 years; and migrant and refugee young people’s experiences of and views on racism.
The forum included facilitated breakout groups on the key themes of media, sport, education and employment, to generate discussion and recommendations to tackle racism against young people. The forum recommendations will feed into a CMY briefing paper on racism to the Victorian Minister for Youth Affairs, The Hon. Ryan Smith MP. A forum report is currently available on CMY’s website.
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Internet safety classes in Ballarat
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CMY will soon start delivering free education sessions on internet safety in Ballarat. Seven volunteer peer educators were recruited earlier this year as part of our webWise program – aimed to inform and resource young people from newly arrived and refugee backgrounds and their parents/guardians about safe internet and mobile phone use.
The program is funded by the Victorian Government via the Office for Youth. To register your interest for an internet safety education session, please email Shiree Pilkinton on spilkinton@cmy.net.au
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Humanitarian youth arrivals to Victoria
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As of 4 November last year, there were 6,172 humanitarian youth arrivals (12-24 years old) living in Victoria who had arrived in Australia over the last five years (1 July 2007 – 30 June 2012), with Afghanistan, Burma and Iran representing the largest component of the Humanitarian Program.
In case you missed this latest Humanitarian Information Sheet, it can be found here.
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YOUNG VOICES
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Young people leading by example
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Albert Mambo’s story is one of dedication to help young people like himself, a dedication he humbly describes as “I’d like to (give back) the same way CMY helped me when I was a newly arrived young person”. A former CMY Ucan2 participant who now volunteers with the program to help other young people, Albert and fellow young CMY supporter Imtiyaz ‘Minty’ Saberi were heralded as “fantastic advocates for young people” at the 2013 Migration Council of Australia Awards.
Both young men are strong advocates for migrant and refugee young people, encouraging their peers to be active participants of the Australian community. As Australia’s first Afghan surf lifesaver, Minty promotes aquatics programs among new migrants and volunteers through his surf lifesaver role at Edithvale Life Saving Club. With Life Saving Victoria, Minty also works with diverse communities to promote an understanding of safe aquatic practices and Australia's affinities with the beach.
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It was also a delight to witness Minty’s efforts being recognised nationally after he was recently nominated to the Australian Multicultural Council’s 2013 People of Australia Ambassadors. Sudanese Australia Youth Action Group (SAYAG) peer facilitator Victor Victor was also nominated as a young ambassador.
After working closely with all three young men in the past, it is truly an honour for us to see passionate young men like Albert, Minty and Victor thrive in Australia.
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE SECTOR
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Details of upcoming events, conferences and new resources in the multicultural youth sector. If you have an event or resource you want promoted through CMY Digest, please send details to info@cmy.net.au
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New multicultural affairs minister
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CMY welcomes Minister Brendan O’Connor to his new portfolio as Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. We also welcome Senator Matt Thistlethwaite to the Multicultural Affairs portfolio.
We commend the government on its commitment to multicultural affairs and its acknowledgement of the benefits of our cultural diversity.
Anticipated as a mechanism to teach students about the principles and responsibilities of safe and respectful behaviour as ‘digital citizens’, the program is planned for implementation in 3200 schools across Australia.
Responding to the announcement, FECCA Chair, Mr Pino Migiorino, said that the program “signalled a very positive step in the direction of addressing cyber-bullying as a significant issue affecting young Australians today”. He added young people of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are often exposed to more acute forms of bullying through racially-motivated harassment that can take place online.
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Victorian Refugee Recognition Record
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Nominations for the 2013 Victorian Refugee Recognition Record (VRRR) have now opened. The VRRR celebrates and documents the diverse contributions that people of refugee background have made to their own communities and to the State of Victoria.
Nomination forms are available online or for more information contact the Victorian Multicultural Commission on (03) 9651 0638. Nominations close on Friday 17 May 2013.
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Multicultural Conference – Strengthening Diversity
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The Australian Multicultural Community Services will host the Strengthening Diversity - Multicultural Conference on 2 May at the Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre, Melbourne.
The conference will examine how multiculturalism can be misunderstood, how service providers need to prepare to work in a more competitive environment and government commitments relating to ethnic communities in Australia. Click here to buy your ticket.
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Joint Standing Committee on Migration Inquiry report
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The Joint Standing Committee on Migration has tabled its report on the inquiry into multiculturalism in Australia. View the report here.
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New immigration card
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The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has replaced the Visa Evidence Card (also known as a PLO56) given to Bridging Visa E (BVE) holders, with secure cards called ImmiCards.
ImmiCards contain a passport sized photograph and basic client biographic data. There are two types of ImmiCards - The Evidence of Immigration Status (EIS) ImmiCard for Irregular Maritime Arrivals and The Permanent Resident Evidence (PRE) card for Protection Visa holders.
More information can be found through the department’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online facility.
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Funding boost for refugee and asylum seeker health care
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The Victorian Government will provide an extra $670,000 in one-off funding to support critical on-arrival health care for people from refugee backgrounds and asylum seekers arriving in Victoria over the next six months.
Changes to Commonwealth immigration policy in 2012 have resulted in Victoria experiencing its biggest increase in settlement by refugees and asylum seeker in 30 years.
The funding will assist with increasing health services in the highest settlement areas of the state – the Southern Metropolitan Region and the North and West Metropolitan Region. Click here for more information.
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Grant program for Horn of Africa Communities
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Football Federation Victoria (FFV) Inc with the support of VicHealth has launched a Grant Program as part of the United through Football initiative.
The United Through Football Grant Program aims to provide opportunities in football to people between the ages of 6 – 34 years and both genders from Horn of Africa communities including but not limited to Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Liberia and Tanzania.
Click here for more information.
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Multicultural Youth Sport Grant
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In case you missed our alert, the third round of the Federal Government’s Multicultural Youth Sports Partnership Program is now open. Grants to organisations are available to help youth from new and emerging communities and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds participate in sport within their local communities. More information can be found here. Applications close on 2 May 2013.
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Art prize now open to refugee artists
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Paintings, drawings, photography and mixed media works from refugees who have arrived in Australia since 1970, are now being sought for this year’s Heartlands Refugee Art Prize.
Refugee artists are encouraged to consider and share what they would like to see in the world and submit entries that reflect the new theme ‘I wish to see...’.
Entries close Friday 10 May 2013. For more information call 03 9188 3681, visit the website or send an email.
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Funding for girl scouts
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Victoria’s Scouts and Girl Guides are set to benefit from a $1.4 million boost to upgrade and improve the standard of many of their halls following a funding announcement from the Victorian Government. This $1.4 million is the final instalment to the $5 million committed by the government to support scouts and guides.
Victorian Minister for Youth Affairs the Hon. Ryan Smith MP said the funding will “improve venue safety and the scouting and guiding experience for young people and their leaders”.
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Community hub to support migrant parents
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100 community hubs to support migrant families will soon be established by The Scanlon Foundation, the Migration Council Australia (MCA) and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, in partnership with the Federal Government.
The initiative builds on a trial of nine hubs in the city of Hume that were jointly funded by the Scanlon Foundation in partnership with Government. These programs prepare new migrants for school, and helps families to build a life in Australia by utilising tools and activities to empower parents, help them gain confidence, and encourage their participation in the community.
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IN THE MEDIA
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Multicultural youth issues in the media – what are some of the issues that are making it into the news? If you come across media articles you think should be highlighted in this newsletter, please forward to info@cmy.net.au
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Please note that the views expressed in any articles featured do not necessarily reflect the views of CMY.
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CMY in the media
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• The domino effect – racism and young people: This radio podcast features CMY Policy Officer Youth Participation Munira Yusuf, who talks about the effects of racism, in light of a youth racism forum organised by CMY.
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• Building bridges: In this letter to the editor, CMY CEO Carmel Guerra responds to Victoria Police's Chief Commissioner Ken Lay's commitment to changing perceptions of racial profiling in Victoria Police.
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• Many young migrants ‘homeless’: Nadine Liddy from the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network calls for more investment in the cultural training of staff, after it was revealed many migrant and refugee young people are unaware of mainstream housing and homelessness organisations.
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Racist rants on trains and busses across the nation have sparked commentary on the ongoing issue of racism:
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• Curse of Australia's silent pervasive racism
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• AFL: The Ugly game of enlightened racism
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• International student speaks out on racism
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