Canning’s Cultural Ambassadors have been recognised for their work as representatives of their Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) communities, and to foster meaningful connections and dialogue between those communities and the city.
The city’s 22 ambassadors were recruited as volunteers and represent the top 20 diverse communities in Canning, speaking more than 30 languages.
The pilot program was developed in 2021, in partnership with Curtin University and Multicultural Futures, with a second phase receiving funding from Lotterywest in 2022.
The program came about as the city saw a need to engage individuals who have bilingual skills, live locally, and/or are embedded within a migrant community, to help break down the barriers that may prevent people from accessing city information or services.
Since then, the ambassadors have supported the city to understand and identify those barriers, open up communication channels, and work to better meet community needs.
In 2022-2023, the ambassadors brought in more than 6000 community members to Hillview Intercultural Community Centre through cultural events, connected more than 12,000 community members and groups to the city, and submitted 13 project proposals that provide a conduit to community-led programs run at Hillview in the next six months.
They were also given the opportunity to access city resources and services to help them run a project of their choice, with the aim of benefitting Canning’s CaLD communities.
Sixteen projects were run and covered a wide variety of topics from offering driving lessons for newly arrived migrants, to a program helping new mums find time for self-care.
Others included school holiday sessions for children, Holi Festival celebrations, programs providing information on rights at work, men’s mental health sessions and education seminars to help parents navigate their children’s NAPLAN and GATE exams.
Ambassador Syeda Maisara Muzaffar’s vision for her project was to create a safe place for young women (aged 15 to 21) of multicultural background, in the form of a podcast.
“My project allowed female youth of different communities to come together and break barriers while interacting and building a bond with each other,” she said.
“I gathered guests from different cultures to discuss their journeys, their life stories and how they got to where they are now.
“The podcast is targeted at multicultural youth, so they can see the pathways the guests have taken, to not only forge their own path, but create a more inclusive community in Canning.”
The ambassadors have also either directly run, or been the catalyst for, city-led projects such as the Welcome to Canning Bus Tour, Adult English Conversation Classes at Cannington Library, Intercultural Book Club, Digital Literacy Workshop for Rossmoyne seniors, Millennium Kids Project in Islamic Schools and more.
In return for their contribution, Ambassadors are provided with ongoing support and resources, and access to personal development opportunities such as networking, capacity building and leadership training.
Canning mayor Patrick Hall said the ambassadors had helped to build meaningful relationships between the city and its communities that may not have otherwise been possible.
“I’m incredibly pleased with the ambassador program and I want to congratulate every one of the ambassadors for taking the time to be that conduit between your communities and the City of Canning, it is an incredibly important role,” he said.
“The relationships that have developed and the honest communication and trust that has been built throughout the program is remarkable, and what the ambassadors have delivered in terms of programs and offerings for the Canning community is invaluable – I can’t wait to see what is next.”
Recruitment for the next round of the CCA Program is due to start in August.
For more information, visit canning.wa.gov.au/culturalambassador
