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MULTICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, 5th June 2012


The Meeting commenced at 4.30 pm.

PRESENT

Committee Members

Councillor C Wong (Chair)
MRC, Antoinette Chow
TAFE, Vera Hayes
Community Member, Mohinder Singh
Manager Community Services, Mr D Linden
Community Worker, Multicultural & Indigenous, Ms J Bassam


APOLOGIES

Apologies for the inability to be present were tendered on behalf of Councillor N Liu, St George Joint Lebanese Committee, Khalil Haragli, Community Member, Sudha Natarjan, TAFE, Dragica Sinikoski and Community Language Librarian, O Coady.

RECOMMENDED THAT the apologies be accepted and leave of absence granted.

DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest made.



MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 7th February 2012 were confirmed as a correct record.
(Moved V Hayes/ Seconded D Linden)

ITEMS


MAC009-12 CULTURAL AWARENESS TRAINING (SF12/173)
Council has contracted Charlotta Oberg from PRISMA, a consultancy agency on cultural diversity to conduct Cultural Intelligence training sessions for Council employees. A session was delivered to Council’s Line Managers last month and a training session was conducted this morning to 23 employees who mostly have direct contact with customers. A second session will be organised in few days for another 30 staff members. Council will organise other sessions during November for outdoor staff. The training aims to equip staff with a better understanding of cultural cues and provide a practical model to communicated effectively across cultures.

Committee's Recommendation

THAT the information be received and noted.



MAC010-12 REFUGEE WEEK 2012 (12/103)
Council is taking part in Refugee Week celebrations between 17 – 23 June with Kogarah and Rockalde Councils and key organisations in St George. The official Launch of Refugee Week will be on Thursday 21 June followed by a series of Refugee Community Group Workshops in Hurstville, Kogarah and Rockdale on Saturday 23 June. These activities will showcase the unique skills and talents of Refugee communities and give people of St George the opportunity to know refugee people more closely.

Committee's Recommendation

THAT the information be received and noted.



MAC011-12 COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP (12/100)
D Linden informed the Committee that the current membership of the Committee will expire prior to the Council elections to be held in September, therefore August meeting will be the last Committee meeting in this round .The Terms of Reference of the Multicultural Advisory Committee provides that membership will be publicly advertised every four years (ie at the end of the term of Council). The term of the current Council will end prior to the next General Election of Council which will be held on 8 September 2012 and following the meeting of the Advisory Committee scheduled for 7 August the membership of the current members on the Committee will cease. Following the Council elections a Council meeting is scheduled for 26 September where Council will determine the Councillor representatives on various committees including the Advisory Committees and notification will be placed in the Leader newspaper inviting nominations for the various committees. The first meeting of the committees will be scheduled (probably in November) at which time the membership will be determined. This meeting will be the last for 2012 with the regular meeting cycle resuming in February 2013.

Committee's Recommendation

THAT the information be received and noted


MAC012-12 COMMUNITY ASSETS MAPPING PROJECT (SF12/172)
J Bassam updated the Committee on the progress of Assets Mapping Project and presented key findings. The final report will be brought to the Committee at the next meeting. A copy of the presentation was attached.

Committee's Recommendation

THAT the information be received and noted.


MAC013-12 GENERAL BUSINESS (12/100)
Council’s Harmony Day Celebration: Council celebrated Harmony Day this year on 21 March at the Civic Theatre with a variety of performances from diverse cultural background groups represented multicultural Hurstville. The program started with Acknowledgment of Country by local Aboriginal Elder Annette Webb followed by a presentation from guest speaker Fatima Kourouch who shared her personal journey with sport and shed light on her involvement with CALD women in the areas of sport and recreation. Performances were from Diramu Aboriginal Dance and Didgeridoo Group, Tai Chi Chinese Group, Lebanese folk Dance form Arkana College, South Pacific Islander Dance Group, Macedonian Cultural Dance from Carlton Public School, Georges River College - Oatley Campus, and Indian Dance performance by Abhinay School of Performing Arts. The event attracted over 200 people off all ages and of diverse cultural backgrounds.

Council's Open Day: Council invited the Macedonian community on Thursday 31 May to visit Council and to learn more about Council’s services. 40 participants attended the Open Day and it gave the community the opportunity to ask questions, meet Council’s employees and learn more about the different sections of Council. It was suggested to wait until the Census data 2011 is published in order to organise the next Open Day.

Creation of a Ministry for Multicultural Affairs: J Bassam informed the Committee about the creation of a new Ministry for Multicultural Affairs in March this year and the appointment of Kate Lundy as Minister. Discussion took place and it was agreed that not only does this Federal initiative recognises the significance of multiculturalism but it affirms the many benefits that it brings to the country.

Feedback on Migration Heritage Project: M Singh has been interviewed last week by Andrea Fernandes from Heritage Migration Centre telling his migration story that is part of 'Heritage Migration Project' in Hurstville.

Committee's Recommendation

THAT the information be received and noted.


The meeting finished at 5.30pm.