Foreword – November 2022 eNews

Welcome to the first edition of the CMSport eNews!

We hope this quarterly newsletter will provide some insights into the work we do at CMSport and some of the issues of cultural inclusion facing the wider sport sector.

CMSport is an initiative of CMY. Our purpose is to work with sport to make systemic change resulting in more people from culturally diverse backgrounds playing, watching and loving sport. We aim to bridge the gap between the sporting world and multicultural communities and strengthen cultural diversity and inclusion for the sport sector.

Now more than ever, people of all ages are feeling impacted by the pressure of a post-COVID world and often that is exhibited in the worst kind of behaviours in sport, at all levels – discrimination, exclusion, abuse and violence. But, just as there is the ugly side, the power of sport can be inspiring as we saw when two arch rivals recently met in a magical moment at the MCG. Despite generations of war and turmoil, the Indian and Pakistani diaspora united through their love of cricket with 90,000 joyous fans celebrating sport as their culture.

Sport can bring the best out of people and communities. Now is the time we need to work together to build on that further.

On this note, we are pleased with the leadership being shown at a national level by the new Australian Sports Commission CEO, Kieren Perkins OAM, who has recently launched their strategic vision for the next decade – “a vision that sport has a place for everyone”.

A champion in and out of the pool, it is wonderful direction to be mandating that Sport needs to be more open and inclusive. This will help more Australians feel welcome in sport, connected to community and boost the rates of physical activity, something that is needed in the communities that we work with. You can read his address to the National Press Club of Australia here.

At a State level, it is election time in Victoria and we have advocated both sides of parliament for increased funding for sport to strengthen cultural diversity. We have highlighted that sport, at a community and international event level, can be a vehicle to address social issues including discrimination and racism as well as strengthen economic activity.

On behalf of the sector we have asked for:

  • Investment in a cultural inclusion in sport strategy with a particular focus on multicultural young women and newly arrived communities.
  • A Commonwealth Games Legacy strategy that includes opportunities for multicultural young people and communities in regional/rural Victoria by investing in a youth jobs hub in regional Victoria.
  • Ongoing funding for CMSport to be a Centre for Excellence in supporting sport to be more inclusive to people from all cultural backgrounds.

To find out more, check out our full 2022 Victorian Election Policy Platform here.

We are excited to hit the ground running with a number of projects underway that focus on strengthening partnerships with Sport and Government partners. We have also delivered our first big event with the CMSport Victorian Forum in October. All of this will be covered in our first issue – thank you to all the contributors. Please reach out to the CMSport Team with any feedback or suggestions for future editions!

– Carmel Guerra OAM, CMY CEO