Welcoming Australia supports exploited, marginalised and minority peoples in Australia. They do this by promoting diversity, multiculturalism, interculturalism, and social cohesion in the community. They have four focus areas of work:
- Support and develop pathways for refugee families, people seeking asylum, and recently arrived migrants to access essential services and to build community connections
- Migration and social cohesion (including regional population and economic growth)
- Sports inclusion for recently arrived migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum (inc. young people living with a disability)
- Advancing a welcoming and inclusive narrative in public discourse
Welcoming Sport is Welcoming Australia’s overarching initiative for programs that embrace the power of sport and recreation as a vehicle for inclusion, opportunity and belonging for all members of the community – including, recently arrived migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum.
There are two elements to Welcoming Sport – Welcome to the Game and Welcoming Clubs.
Welcome to the Game
Support for young people and families from diverse backgrounds and abilities to access sport & recreation opportunities and connect with their local community.
Sport can be an open and inclusive activity, in which migrants can develop a network of friends with similar interests. In times of significant change, sport can be a comforting familiarity to young people. Sport can also provide an opportunity for cultural exchange and learning about community norms and values in a safe environment.
Changing demographics, limited assets, increasing competition and global crises are challenging the traditional role and viability of sport & recreation clubs and activities.
Opportunity exists in embracing diversity and harnessing its strengths for the betterment and growth of both the sport & recreation sector and the broader community.
The future of sport requires a coordinated framework and approach that:
- Provides sport and recreation clubs with the know-how, framework and resources to cultivate a culture of welcome and embrace cultural diversity and inclusion practices.
- Enables often excluded and under-represented groups — including recently arrived migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum — to access the additional support that is often required to participate in sport and recreational opportunities and broader community life.
You can see an example case study of a holistic program run by Football Queensland in conjunction with the Welcome to the Game initiative here.
There’s a range of ways Welcoming Australia can help under Welcome to the Game – to find out more go here.
Welcoming Clubs
The program supports a growing network of sport and recreation clubs who are committed to building communities where people of all backgrounds have equal opportunity to participate and belong.
Welcoming Clubs is a coordinated approach that provides the framework, know-how and confidence for sport and recreation clubs to cultivate a culture of welcome and embrace cultural diversity and inclusion practices.
Numerous campaigns and initiatives exist to encourage welcoming and inclusion efforts in sporting organisations, however, this goodwill and intent needs to be underpinned by a systemic approach.
The Welcoming Clubs Standard establishes the framework for sports and recreation clubs to:
- Grow a positive and welcoming reputation;
- Benchmark and enhance the impact of cultural diversity and inclusion initiatives across the organisation and into the community
- Plan, learn and improve; and,
- Assess progress over time.
Visit the Welcoming Clubs website to learn more.
