Victoria’s Labor government has announced a new $5 million grant scheme for grassroots multicultural organisations, with a focus on “new and emerging communities” mainly from Africa and the Middle East.
Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ingrid Stitt last week opened applications for the Multicultural Capacity Building Program, which has three funding streams providing grants of up to $10,000, $100,000 and $400,000.
Applicants must be non-profit multicultural organisations that are not political, and agree to uphold and promote the Victorian Government Values Statement and a Commitment to Social Cohesion.
The pledge requires organisations to agree to uphold social cohesion by “supporting shared understanding and celebration”, “being respectful of different views and perspectives”, “creating an inclusive environment where everyone can belong”, and “rejecting racism, vilification and discrimination in all forms”.
The new and emerging communities given priority are Afghanistan, Assyrian, Burundi, Chaldean, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Hazara, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Kurds, Liberia, Myanmar, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Pashtuns, Pasifika communities, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajiks, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Timor Leste, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbeks, and Yemen.
To be eligible, multicultural organisations must be “owned and managed by an ethnic, language, or cultural community that has common needs, customs, and traditions. The organisation will exist to support people from the ethnic, language or cultural group or several related ethnic groups”.
Ms Stitt said the grant program delivered on a key recommendation from the Victorian Multicultural Review and aimed to “bring positive changes to the lives of multicultural and multifaith Victorians”.
“Victoria has a proud history of multiculturalism and diversity, but we know that it needs to be nurtured and supported. This funding helps build the strong foundations to ensure that all Victorians can fully enjoy our state’s vibrant and inclusive society,” she said.
“Grassroots multicultural organisations are the lifeblood of our communities – we’re backing them in with extra funding so they can continue supporting our multicultural communities.”
The announcement comes after Victoria launched similar initiative, the Multicultural Infrastructure and Security Program, in October last year which provided $2.5 million in grants of up to $400,000 for multicultural organisations to upgrade their facilities.
Header image: Ms Allan and Ms Stitt at a Diwali event last year (Facebook).
