Volunteering the focus of Greater Bendigo Cultural Diversity and Inclusion Plan forum

Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services volunteer coordinator Sylvia Phan shared her experiences with attendees at a forum at Bendigo Library on Monday.

Together, they sought to find ways to engage people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities in volunteering. 

Ms Phan said language was one of the challenges – including the word ‘volunteering’.

“Coming from Asia, I had never been familiar with the term ‘volunteering’,” she said. 

In Malaysia, where Ms Phan lived prior to 2014, the concept of helping out was more informal. 

She said people were more likely just to pitch in as the need arose. Whereas, in Australia, volunteering was more formal. 

People might be asked to complete police checks, working with children checks, or interviews.

“It’s just mind-blowing for a lot of [people],” Ms Phan said. 

Though she said the language might pose difficulties, Ms Phan said there was a strong desire to help and be involved in community life. 

That interest in civic participation was reflected in research cited by City of Greater Bendigo inclusive communities coordinator Natalie Jacobson.

However, she noted that there was a lack of awareness about how to get involved.

The research shaped the Greater Bendigo Cultural Diversity and Inclusion Plan, which came into effect last year. 

Ms Jacobson said securing employment was one of the key issues highlighted in the Australia@2015 Scanlon Foundation Survey.

She also mentioned a “guest and host dynamic,” in which Ms Jacobson said migrants felt welcome as long as they did not try to rock the boat. 

The City of Greater Bendigo’s “ambitious” three-year plan aims to stem “growing racial and religious discrimination towards some groups of visible migrants”.

Other goals include:

The forum coincided with the opening of the Community Harmony Grants Program, a state government initiative aimed at addressing the causes of racial, ethnic and religious intolerance.