Australia Day Council runs first 'Australia a Country of Belonging' event

For newly arrived migrants, having a sense of belonging is critical for their psychological and economic well being. By engaging with communities, the Australia Day Council of South Australia’s vision is to share the core values of what it means to be Australian, showcase case studies of Active Citizenship in action, plus provide inspiration and motivation to become involved in Australian society.

In response to this The Australia Day Council of South Australia (ADCSA) in conjunction with The Rural City of Murray Bridge and the Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia were thrilled to deliver 'Australia a Country of Belonging' – your pathway to active citizenship to the local community in Murray Bridge on Wednesday 20 March 2019.

Many of those in attendance at this event had recently arrived in Australia and have chosen Murray Bridge as home. It was an honour for attendees to experience a Welcome to Country and cultural performance from local indigenous community leader Harley Hall, to meet Mayor Brenton Lewis and to hear from a Citizen of the Year award recipient Trevor Purdie. Most notable, to use this opportunity to facilitate conversations around attendees’ experiences within their new community, exploring civics and contribution to public life and how they can become part of helping to shape their local area.

This was a valuable opportunity during Harmony Week 2019 to engage with new people to the local area, to acknowledge the countries where they have travelled from, to welcome them to our community and provide them with practical and insightful knowledge and support to enable them to flourish as residents within Murray Bridge

This event is one of a series of pilot workshops that the Australia Day Council of South Australia is delivering in partnership with the Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia across a section of metropolitan and regional Councils in South Australia. The aim of this pilot is to operationalise the Minister for Immigration's, 'Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Integration Challenge' around Civics, Values and Inclusion and to develop an active citizenship model that can be conducted across our state with the potential to then be rolled out nationally.

If you would like to know more information, please contact Michelle Chaplin at michelle.chaplin@adcsa.com.au