21 January 2015 – Multicultural festivals and events marking national day such as Australia Day and Anzac Day, will receive a funding boost, with 50 organisations being awarded Celebration Grants, Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello announced today.
Celebration Grants, which are administered by Multicultural NSW, provide funding of up to $5,000 for initiatives which bring communities together and promote social cohesion.
Mr Dominello said the NSW Government had awarded $105,900 in the current round, and the applications for next round of Celebration Grants would open at the end of the month.
“Under our Harmony in Action plan we’ve committed to supporting activities which seek to combat racism, empower multicultural women and girls and encourage intercultural engagement between young people through sport,” Mr Dominello said.
“The NSW Government is pleased to support community initiatives which promote cultural diversity as well as the shared values which unite us as Australians. We’ve been able to fund some excellent initiatives in this grants round.”
Projects include the:
Roosters Against Racism Community Carnival (Sydney Roosters): will see 1,200 year 5 and 6 students learn about the importance of cultural respect and understanding during an Interschool International Tag Gala Day in March.
Multicultural Twilight Soccer (Bankstown City Council): will enable 60 young people from diverse backgrounds to participate in a six-week indoor soccer competition focused on promoting social cohesion and inter-cultural understanding.
Australia Day Celebration and Anzac Centenary Multicultural Event (Consortium of Tamil Associations NSW): events will enable Sydney Tamil community to host an event to celebrate Australia Day and a series of lectures in mid-April to learn more about history of the ANZACs.
Women’s Empowerment Expo (Orange City Council): will take place ahead of International Women’s Day bringing together 660 women from diverse backgrounds to strengthen inter-cultural dialogue and networks to local service providers.
Multicultural NSW Chief Executive Officer Hakan Harman said the grants were part of a revamped $1.6 million grants program for 2014/15.
“In February we will also open applications for Supports Grants with funding up to $10,000 for initiatives which build the capacity of multicultural communities,” Mr Harman said.
Details will be available on the Multicultural NSW website: www.multicultural.nsw.gov.au