Annual Report 2005-2006 - Waverley Council

Waverley Council
Meeting Our Statutory Requirements
Substantial progress was made in reaching the targets set in Council’s Multicultural Policy. This work
included an access audit of new signs designed for Waverley’s beaches and coast walk, which
adopted most of the auditor’s recommendations. International symbols were used to promote
understanding by people of non-English speaking background. The new signs were installed at the
end of October, and have received a very positive response.
Language aides
Following a review under revised Language Aides Service Guidelines, eleven new language aides
were appointed in August 2005. Between them they cover nine languages: Arabic, Cantonese, Greek,
Japanese, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. A meeting with language aides held
in August 2005 provided an opportunity for team building and an introduction to the forms and
monitoring systems in place to report on their performance. The 2005/2006 language aides report
revealed that over 200 incidents of communication assistance were recorded in that year.
Cross Cultural Training
A number of sessions with multicultural content continued to be provided under Council’s Learning and
Development Schedule. This included cross cultural awareness training (including needs and use of
the Telephone Interpreter Service/Language Aides), as well as topics on non-discriminatory work
practices and Equal Employment Opportunity for managers and staff.
Festivals and events
Bondi Pavilion Community Cultural Centre
Throughout the year, the Bondi Pavilion Community and Cultural Centre continued to encourage and
assist a diverse range of communities to find cultural expression, and to provide opportunities for
cultural exchange. The Centre involved people of many cultures as performers, artists, tutors,
participants and audience.
Festival of the Winds
The 27 th Annual Festival of the Winds was held on the 11 September 2005. Kite flying is a traditional
element of celebration across many cultures and the Festival celebrates diversity through kites,
multicultural food, music and dance. This year’s performances showcased West Indian, Brazilian,
Argentinian, Chinese, Spanish, Pacific Islander, African, Indian and Indigenous cultures. To
encourage active participation, free dance workshops were offered, and hundreds of local school
children participated in kite making workshops in the lead up to the Festival.
Refugee Week
A series of events was organised for Refugee week in October 2005 celebrating the tremendous
contribution of the many people who have come to the Waverley community as refugees. As a
forerunner to Refugee Week, the Bondi Pavilion Community and Cultural Centre hosted: My family –
Showing Diversity, a travelling photographic exhibition by young people portraying their families, some
of them from refugee background, and a series of paintings by Jeeva Chapman expressing concern
for the plight of refugees. On Friday 28 October 2006 popular young comedian Hung Le, who came to
Australia as a refugee, performed for about 100 people at the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club,
supported by the Solidarity Choir.
Harmony Day
Council contributed to the celebration of Harmony Day in May 2006 with a poster exhibition of the
schools competition organised by the Anti Defamation Commission of B’nai B’rith at Waverley Library,
and a presentation of ‘The Local Government Perspective’ at TAFE’s Harmony Workshop on
strategies for building and maintaining a harmonious communities.
The Global Table
The third annual Global Table Street Festival in Bondi Junction was held on 8 April 2006 and was a
great success. Performances of music and dance presented by eleven cultural groups delighted a
large audience. Many enjoyed the taste of food representing nine cultural traditions. Young student
chefs from the Sydney Institute of TAFE demonstrated the preparation of small delights from around
the world.
Annual Report 2005//2006
101