Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Multicultural Conversations
Engagement Report 2017
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
1 Introduction
The Sunshine Coast has a diverse and growing multicultural population with one in every five people born
overseas representing 156 countries, 45 faiths and 96 languages.
The purpose of the Multicultural Conversations engagement project is for the Sunshine Coast Council and
partners to understand and address barriers to participation and social inclusion within the multicultural
community. The engagement methodology has retained a strong focus on enhancing opportunities and
appreciating strengths through community participation. The project has provided meaningful opportunities for
sharing dialogue, knowledge and skills to enhance understanding across the multicultural community, council
and sector.
Engaging with the multicultural community has also provided an important opportunity for people to share their
personal experiences, build the multicultural narrative of the Sunshine Coast and inform strategies and
programs that impact their future.
The project was implemented over four phases. Initially connecting with multicultural sector to plan
engagement. Secondly, delivering a three month community engagement plan. Thirdly, a forum for the
multicultural sector and a community showcase and finally the development of a regional multicultural action
plan. This report will outline the engagement methodology and outcomes throughout each phase of the project.
Objectives of the Multicultural Conversations project are:
Enable a region wide conversation on multiculturalism
Understand barriers to participation and social inclusion for the multicultural community
Enhance capacity and leadership of the multicultural community
Develop and maintain partnerships with local community, private enterprise, non-government and
government organisations to develop local responses to social issues experienced by the multicultural
community
Increase social capital through positive messaging, connections, awareness and appreciation of
multiculturalism
1.1 The Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland
Running concurrently with the Multicultural Conversations Project, the Anti-Discrimination Commission
Queensland also engaged in a Community Conversation - ‘Creating an Inclusive Community in our Region’.
Two community meetings were held at the University of the Sunshine Coast on Saturday 2 April and
Saturday 28 May 2016.
The synergies between the projects brought the project teams together and forged a strong collaborative
relationship. While the themes explored were not the same, nevertheless there is a familiar thread between
the findings of the projects.
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
2 Methodology
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 data indicate that there are 156 countries represented on the Sunshine
Coast, either through place of birth or ancestry. The number of people born overseas was 50,033 which
represented 19.3% of the population of the Sunshine Coast in 2011. The challenge for the project team was
to formulate a multifaceted engagement plan that would be inclusive of as many members of the multicultural
community as possible and provide both qualitative and quantitative data.
The first step in formulating the engagement plan was to identify and collaborate with the community partners
who provide services, projects, programs and activities for multicultural clients. Partner interviews served two
main purposes, to determine the issues encountered by multicultural clients and methods of engaging with the
multicultural community.
Partner interviews were transcribed and analysed to determine the key themes affecting the multicultural
community. Five key themes were identified and utilised to form the basis for further engagement activities.
A survey was designed to capture quantitative data from a broad spectrum of the community. This covered
basic demographics, questions about personal experiences, needs and opinions. Surveys are a common form
of intelligence gathering on social issues and trends which can influence further investigations and actions.
With the assistance of the community partners, group conversations were arranged with members of the
multicultural community. Group conversations were led by a Community Engagement Facilitator and focused
on the five themes. It was important that the multicultural community were comfortable participating in the
group conversations and for this reason they were conducted in familiar surroundings with a very flexible
delivery. Information through the group conversations elicited a rich level of qualitative information.
Throughout the engagement process, individuals were identified and approached for one-on-one interviews.
Although the five themes formed the basis for these interviews, the main objectives were to record personal
experiences of migration, to tell the story of multiculturalism, celebrate successes and create awareness of the
different cultures living on the Sunshine Coast. Six of the people interviewed were selected to record their
stories on video.
2.1 Partner Interviews
The multicultural community engages with services and programs across a wide sector of providers. These
include community and neighbourhood centres, support groups, educational institutions and other agencies.
The following service providers participated in the partner interviews from 4th April to 30th April 2016.
2.2 Key Issues
The material from the interviews was transcribed, collated and analysed to discover the key issues being
experienced across the community agencies. The five themes identified are as follows:
Economic Opportunities
Health and Wellbeing
Social Inclusion and Exclusion
Education
Racism and Discrimination
Nambour Community Centre Caloundra Community Centre
Maroochy Neighbourhood Centre Maleny Neighbourhood Centre
Diversicare Carers Queensland
TAFE East Coast University of the Sunshine Coast
Buddies Refuge Support Group Volunteering Sunshine Coast
Public Health Network
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
2.3 Engagement Plan
The project team participated in four workshops to formulate an engagement plan based on the five key
themes.
Key engagement activities included:
Online Survey
Group conversations
One-on-one in depth conversations with multicultural citizens
Six video stories
Sector mapping
Sector Forum
Community Showcase
Pop-up information stalls
2.4 Branding and Communication Plan
A look and feel was developed to promote the Multicultural Conversations program and encourage
participation in the various engagement activities and events.
Facebook, e-newsletters, pop-up information stalls at various events (Harmony Day, Citizenship
Ceremonies), flyers and posters were all used to spread the word and encourage participation.
3 Engagement Outcomes
3.1 Online Survey
The online survey was open from May 3 until July 27 and available through survey monkey. In addition to
encouraging respondents to complete the survey on line, a paper form was also available for those that were
unable to access the online version. These paper copies were then entered online by members of the project
team. In total there were 275 responses to the survey. The survey did not have mandatory questions.
Respondents were able to skip questions they did not wish to answer. Therefore, throughout the analysis the
number of respondents to each questions varies and is noted on each graph. Although survey monkey
provides basic analysis, the raw data was exported and analysed in greater depth by the project team.
Question 1: How happy do you feel living on the Sunshine Coast? and
Question 2: Why do you feel like that?
Respondents identified very strongly that they were happy or very happy living on the Sunshine Coast (88.3%).
The reasons where primarily around the quality of lifestyle, including the environment, climate and friendly and
safe community. However some participants felt there was limited access to activities and limited tolerance to
diversity.
“I love the climate and space, but feel we are missing out on the integration of the broader community by not being willing to welcome people from all nationalities and religions”.
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Questions 3: Are you getting enough help to support your health and well-being needs? and
Question 4: What support or services do you need to better support your health and wellbeing?
Ninety percent of respondents felt they are getting enough help and support for their health and wellbeing. The
remaining ten percent felt language support and improved access to affordable mental and physical heath
options, cultural activities and exercise would assist.
Question 5: What is your highest level of education?
A Bachelor Degree was the highest reported educational qualification at 41% with a further 14% of respondents
holding a Masters Degree. Seventeen percent of respondents have obtained a Vocational Certificate/Diploma.
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0%
Facilities/Amenities/Services
Close to Family/Friends
Friendly people/Community
Climate/Weather
Quality of Life/Lifestyle
Environment
Q2: Top Six Themes for Feeling Happy and Very Happy Living on the Sunshine Coast
n=243
“There are not enough services focused on people with English as a second language. Sometimes health issues are difficult to translate”
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%
Other
PhD
College Diploma
High School
Masters Degree
Vocational Certificate/Diploma
Bachelor Degree
Q5-What is your highest level of education? n=257
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 6: Are you currently studying? and Question 7: Where are you studying?
Nineteen percent of the participants are currently studying either full-time or part-time. Fifty Two percent are
studying at university with twenty one percent attending TAFE. Other educational institutions for study include
University of the Third Age, Sunshine Coast Council’s Adult Literacy Program and online study.
Question 8: Have you been able to gain employment on the Sunshine Coast, using your
qualifications or skills?
Of the 119 respondents that answered this question, 58% reported that they had been able to gain
employment using their qualifications or skills. A cross tabulation with Q5 (Highest qualification), indicates
that of the respondents that answered both questions, 26.7% with a qualification were successful in gaining
employment. However almost 20% have not been successful in gaining employment.
42.0%
58.0%
Q8-Have you been able to gain employment on the Sunshine Coast, using your qualifications or skills? n-
119
No Yes
8.2%
10.5%
81.3%
Q6-Are you currently studying? n=257
Full time Part time No
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Due to the large number of Australian born respondents, a further cross tabulation was performed to
examine the proportion of overseas born respondents, with a tertiary qualification, and their job seeking
experience. The table below indicates that, of the 128 respondents born overseas and holding a tertiary
qualification, 25% were not successful in gaining employment with their qualification.
Where were you born
Tertiary
Qualification
Have you been able to gain employment on the
Sunshine Coast, using your qualifications or
skills?
Count % Yes
No
Not Stated
Australia 59 31.6% 18 30.5% 8 13.6% 33 55.9%
Born outside Australia 128 68.4% 35 27.3% 32 25.0% 61 47.7%
Total responses 187 53 28.3% 40 21.4% 94 50.3%
Question 9: What is your current occupation?
Thirty eight percent of respondents were employed full time and 20% part time. A significant proportion were
self-employment 8% and home duties 6% with almost 7% reporting that they were unemployed.
Q5 What is your
highest level of
education?
Q8 Have you been able to gain employment on the Sunshine Coast,
using your qualifications or skills?
Yes No Not Stated Totals
count % count % count % count %
Bachelor Degree 32 30.5% 19 18.1% 54 51.4% 105 40.7%
College Diploma 9 32.1% 4 14.3% 15 53.6% 28 10.9%
High School 5 15.2% 5 15.2% 23 69.7% 33 12.8%
Masters Degree 5 13.5% 12 32.4% 20 54.1% 37 14.3%
PhD 3 50.0% 2 33.3% 1 16.7% 6 2.3%
Vocational
Certificate/Diploma 14 40.0% 4 11.4% 17 48.6% 35 13.6%
Other 1 7.7% 3 23.1% 9 69.2% 13 5.0%
Not Stated 0.0% 1 100.0% 0.0% 1 0.4%
Totals 69 26.7% 50 19.4% 139 53.9% 258 100.0%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0%
Other
Volunteer
Contract Work
Casual Work
Student
Home Duties
Unemployed
Self Employed
Retired
Employed Part time
Employed Full time
Q9 - Current Occupation n=253
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 10: Do you believe your ethnicity and/or nationality has limited your employment
opportunities?
Although almost 80% of respondents replied in the negative to this question, a significant proportion do believe
that their ethnicity and/or nationality has limited their employment opportunities. A cross tabulation with gender
of respondents indicates that there is very little difference between men and women for this type of
discrimination (20.5% for men and 18.6% for women).
Question 11: Do you feel safe while out and about on the Sunshine Coast?
A total of 85.4% of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that they feel safe when out and about on the
Sunshine Coast. A significant proportion of respondents however do not feel as safe (14.7%).
35.6%
49.8%
10.3%
4.0%0.4%
Q11 - Feeling safe while out and about on the Sunshine Coast n=253
Strongly Agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree
79.4%
20.6%
Q10-Do you believe your ethnicity and/or natinality has limited your employment opportunities? n=252
No Yes
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 12: Have you seen or experienced discrimination on ethnicity, culture or faith while living
on the Sunshine?;
Question 13: What was the discrimination in connection with?; and
Question 14: What has happened?
Forty percent of participants have experienced discrimination on the Sunshine Coast. For the respondents that
answered question 13 (102), discrimination has been primarily experienced within the workplace (38%),
through being socially excluded (35%) and when expressing cultural or religious practices (28% and 26%).
Discriminatory practices when accessing services like schooling, housing, public transport, health care and
legal rights are also of concern.
“On multiple occasions I have been verbally abused by strangers for my accent, sworn at and called derogatory names. I was also told to go home where I came from. These incidences occurred in public
places”
0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0%10.0%12.0%14.0%16.0%18.0%20.0%
Bullied/Racial discrimination at School
Mosque Protest
Discrimination based on skincolour/appearance
Discrimination in shops/Ignored
Denied work based on ethnicity/accent
Derogatory/racist remarks
Q14: Top Six Themes for Experiences of Discrimination n=58
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 15: How do you make friends and socialise with the broader Sunshine Coast community?
Respondents identified private gatherings (47.6%) as the primary source of socialisation. Community events
(24%), volunteering (23%), social media (23%) and sport (19%) and community (14%) clubs also provide an
opportunity to make friends.
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0%
Mothers Group
Neighbours
Buddies
Other activities with children
Events/Entertainment
Library
Adult Literacy Program
Life Beyond 30
Other (please specify)
Faith/Religious Meetings
School/College
Work
I don't
Community centre
Community club
Sports Club
Social media
Volunteering
Community events
Private gatherings
Q15- How do you make friends and socialise with the broader Sunshine Coast community? n=275
“We volunteered at Cancer Council, Aged Care, Meals on Wheels…its not friendly or welcoming, we feel like outsiders and not welcome if we are not local or not from the UK or
Ireland”
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 16: How do you keep in touch with people from your ethnicity, culture or faith on the
Sunshine Coast?
Respondents kept in touch with each other predominantly through private gatherings and technology. Nearly
20% of participants also indicated they either don’t, can’t or haven’t kept in touch with people from their own
ethnicity, culture or faith. To a lesser degree some respondents have remained in contact through interest
groups, celebrations and community events.
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0%
Sports
Nightlife/Enterainment
Library
Family
Activities with Children
Univesity
Work
Seasonal Gatherings/celebrations
Community Events
Support/Interest Group
Other
Cultural Groups/Gatherings
Faith/Regious Meetings
Don't/Can't/Haven't
Facebook/Social Media/Phone
Friends/Social & private gatherings
Q16 - How do you keep in touch with people from your ethnicity, culture or faith on the Sunshine Coast? n=163
“I have found it difficult to ‘find’ my people here. But I know where they are in Brisbane and so I have found myself being drawn to Brisbane more than Sunshine Coast. Also the diversity is
not here so I go looking for it elsewhere”
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 17: On the Sunshine Coast I feel a sense of belonging and inclusion?;
Question 18: In what ways do you feel excluded?; and
Question 19: What could be done to help you feel more included in the Sunshine Coast community?
Fifty nine percent of respondents either agreed or to a lesser degree strongly agreed there is a sense of
belonging and inclusion on the Sunshine Coast. Significantly, the remaining 41% were unsure or disagreed.
The latter group (79 respondents) were asked how they are feeling excluded. Forty eight percent reported
limited social interaction and 37.5% for both access to employment and limited economic opportunity as
reason for feeling excluded.
Of the 59 responses to question 19, the top suggestions for feeling more included were more multicultural
events and activities (22%) and greater cultural awareness in the community (20%).
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0%
Faith/Religion
Access to services
Location of home
Access to community events
Other
Language
Access to transport
Limited economic opportunity
Access to employment
Limited social interaction
Q18 - In what ways do you feel excluded on the Sunshine Coast? n=79
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0%
Free/more language courses
Help meeting local people
Improved Transport/cheaper/increasedservices
Improved employment opportunities
Cultural Awarenss for the community
Multicultural events and activities
Q19: Top six themes for feeling more included in the Sunshine Coast community n=59
“Increase awareness and acceptance of other cultures through appropriate campaigns and messaging. “
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 20: Gender and Question 21: Age
The majority of respondents were female 65%. Twenty eight percent were in the age group 36-45 years with
23% 46-55 years.
33.2%
65.0%
1.8%
Q20: Gender n-223
Male Female Not Stated
0.4% 2.7%
17.0%
28.3%
23.3%
15.2%
12.6%
Q21: Age Groups n=222
0-18 years 19-25 years 26-35 years 36-45 years
46-55 years 56-65 years over 65 years
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 22: Where were you born?
Overall 57 different places of birth were recoded for this question. The top 9 are displayed in the graph
below. The majority of respondents were from predominantly English speaking countries 58.4% with the
balance of 41.6% from countries where English is not likely to be the first language.
Question 23: What is your cultural background?
Overall 38 different cultural backgrounds were recorded for this question. The top 10 responses are
displayed in the graph below. Fifty percent of the respondents come from anglo-celtic backgrounds with the
other 50% from a diverse range of European, Asian and African backgrounds. Of the respondents born in
Australia, 50.7% reported having multicultural ancestry.
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0%
Germany
Netherlands
Philippines
United States of America
Japan
South Africa
United Kingdom
New Zealand
Australia
Q22 - Where were you born? (top 9) n=209
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0%
Chinese
Irish
Japanese
Philippines
New Zealand
South African
German
European
English
Australian
Q23 - What is your cultural background? (top 10) n=222
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 24: What faith or religious belief do you identify with?
The majority of respondents identified with Christianity (52%). Twenty four percent do not identify with any
religion or faith and 3.4% identified with Islam or a blended belief/faith.
Question 25: Languages Spoken
Overall, 50 different languages were recorded with 47.1% of respondents speaking two or more languages.
The majority of respondents spoke English (90%), French was 12% followed by Spanish 11%, and German
8%.
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0%
Aboriginal Australian
Agnostic
Pagan
Prefer not to answer
Rastafarian
Sikh Religion
Humanism
Buddist
Judaism
Blended Faith
Islam
Athiest
Spiritual
Don’t Identify with a religion
Christian
Q24-What faith or religious belief do you identify with? n=175
52.9%
27.9%
12.3%
4.4%
2.5%
Q25- Languages Spoken n=204
One Language Two Languages Three Languages Four Languages Five and More
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 26: Which suburb and Question 27: Postcodes
Respondents participated in the online survey from 59 different suburbs across the
Sunshine Coast. Buderim recorded 12% of respondents with Caloundra 7.7%, Maroochydore 6.7% and
Sippy Downs and Coolum both 5.3%. The graph below displays the post codes which cover larger areas but
also clearly demonstrate the reach of the survey.
Question 28: How many years have you lived on the Sunshine Coast?
Twenty four percent of respondents have lived on the Sunshine Coast between one and five years, with just
5.8% having lived here for less than one year. A cross tabulation (below) with feelings of living on the
Sunshine Coast was performed to see if there was any relationship between the number of years lived on
the Sunshine Coast and feelings of not being happy. The proportions across feelings of being unsure and
unhappy to very unhappy are distributed fairly evenly across the time periods.
0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0% 14.0% 16.0% 18.0% 20.0%
4518
4567
4553
4554
4519
4572
4559
4566
4575
4558
4560
4556
Q27 - Postcodes n=208
5.8%
24.1%
18.6%16.8%
12.4%
22.3%
Q28 - How many years have you lived on the Sunshine Coast? n=274
Under 1 year 1 - 5 years 5+- 10 years
10+-20 years More than 20 years No years provided
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Question 29: Are you a permanent resident?
Overwhelmingly (90%), the majority of respondents were permanent residents
3.2 Group Conversations
It was important that participants in the group conversations felt at ease to contribute to the discussions to
raise issues, personal experiences and finally suggest solutions. For this reason the group conversations were
held in locations that were familiar to participants.
A series of eight group conversations were held at the following locations:
Sunshine Coast Council Adult Literacy
Program x 2
University of the Sunshine Coast
Maroochy Neighbourhood Centre Nambour Community Centre
Maleny Neighbourhood Centre Caloundra Community Centre
TAFE East Coast Adult Migrant English
Program
The conversations engaged over 50 multicultural participants originating from Asia, Europe, Africa, Pacific
Islands, Middle East, India, Central and South America.
During the Group Conversations, discrimination was prevalent in all aspects of the five engagement themes.
This was a significantly different result than the direct question asked in survey. Possible explanations for this
variance may lay with the fact that participants were allowed a deeper opportunity to form situational context
and the fact that the facilitator was able to explain to the participants what different forms of discrimination
could look like.
3.3 One-on-One Interviews
To truly discover the human stories behind the multicultural residents of the Sunshine Coast a series of one
on one interviews were held with 20 persons from widely diverse backgrounds. The aim of this was to highlight
the contribution of the interviewees to the local economy, community, arts, music and academic credentials of
the region, building a positive narrative around multiculturalism. The interviewees were identified though
partner networks, group conversations and word of mouth.
Years
lived on
the
Sunshine
Coast
How do you feel living on the Sunshine Coast?
Very happy Happy
Neither happy
nor unhappy Unhappy Very unhappy Total
Count % Count % Count % Count % Count 5
Under 1
year 9 56.3% 6 37.5% 1 6.3% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 16
1 - 5 years 35 53.0% 21 31.8% 7 10.6% 2 3.0% 1 1.5% 66
5+- 10
years 24 47.1% 22 43.1% 4 7.8% 1 2.0% 0 0.0% 51
10+-20
years 27 58.7% 16 34.8% 2 4.3% 1 2.2% 0 0.0% 46
more than
20 years 18 52.9% 12 35.3% 3 8.8% 1 2.9% 0 0.0% 34
No years
provided 29 47.5% 25 41.0% 6 9.8% 1 1.6% 0 0.0% 61
Total 142 51.8% 102 37.2% 23 8.4% 6 2.2% 1 0.4% 274
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
A series of questions was drafted to guide the conversations, but the format was flexible to encourage
storytelling.
Despite all interviewees expressing that they were extremely happy and felt at home on the Sunshine Coast,
the stories uncover a myriad of harsh experiences and ongoing efforts to turn trials into opportunities for
themselves and others. Persons reinventing themselves, retraining and making life changing leaps of faith
highlight the resilience of our multicultural community. The barriers and difficulties faced were often similar and
reaffirmed the five themes of the engagement plan.
Nearly all of the people interviewed had a reoccurring experience; their skills and experiences from their
country of origin were not recognized or relevant and so they had to innovatively create employment or
community positions to fit the Sunshine Coast job market.
The stories are an inmate window into the lives of multicultural people, some arrived here 60 years ago and
some that have only been here a few months.
Their journeys to Australia are all very different, some boarded a ship, boarded a plan and some tell of fleeing
from conflict.
The stories talk about love, sacrifice and homesickness, friendship and support and the local people of the
Sunshine Coast that made big differences in the lives of new arrivals.
All these stories represent Sunshine Coasts rich cultural and diversity.
All 20 stories have been recorded and transcribed and presented as short stories in the Multicultural
Conversations Booklet.
3.4 Video Stories
Of the 20 stories recorded in the one-on-one interviews, six were picked to create Video Stories which have
be utilized for promotion, positive messaging and streaming from affiliated websites.
The Video Stories were chosen on their potential to drive the message that multiculturalism brings social
cohesion and economic contributions. It was not an easy choice to select the Video Stories from all the
interviews. The criteria was to showcase diversity, community leadership and community building contributions
to help build a positive narrative around how a community benefits from diversity.
3.5 Multicultural Economy Focus Group
Local business, chambers, community centres, agencies, training providers and the university providers were invited to participate in a conversation to better understand our growing ‘human assets’ on the Sunshine Coast and help us come up with actions to better connect and utilise our multicultural assets in the global and local marketplace.
Considered the following objectives:
Is the business community aware of this skill and knowledge set, are they prepared or do they want to be actively engaged?
Have local Chambers and Industry Associations tapped into their members and communities to open up new markets and opportunities?
Can we take advantage of these skills as part of export programs, investment missions, marketing and promotion of the region to communities offshore in the digital world?
Can we leverage the skills, creativity, resilience and diversity of the domestic market?
Sunshine Coast Councils Economic Development Manager facilitated the conversation around the following questions.
1. Defining the Multicultural Economy, what is it and what can it achieve for our region?
2. How can a multicultural economy elevate the Sunshine Coasts economic performance?
3. Understanding our assets, who do we have, what is the skill-set, what are we already doing, what is our reach in Australia and overseas?
4. Competing on a global scale, how can we leverage our positioning on a global scale?
5. Local domestic market, what does this look like?
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Adjunct Professor David Hollinsworth also provided a presentation on the sociological and economic findings of boosting local diversity globally.
For the minutes and an action plan identifying practical steps to ‘recognise and leverage’ our multicultural economy, please refer to Appendix E.
3.6 Sunshine Coast Multicultural Forum
Multicultural Conversations Forum was held on Friday 26 August, bringing together agencies, service
providers, community centres, faith and cultural groups, Federal, State and Local Government to exchange
information on advocacy roles, policies, plans and activities. Over 100 people attended.
The aim of the forum was to present the key findings of the Multicultural Conversations project around the
following five themes:
1. Health and wellbeing
2. Discrimination and racism
3. Economic opportunities
4. Education
5. Social inclusion and exclusion
Furthermore, to exchange information on current advocacy, policies and plans and move towards the
development of the Sunshine Coast Multicultural Action Plan.
The forum program included a morning session of inspirational speakers, including:
Professor Andrew Marcus presented the 2016 Scanlon Foundation Social Cohesion Report
Multicultural Affairs Queensland presented the Queensland Multicultural Recognition Act 2016 and
the Multicultural Policy and Action Plan
CEO Garry Page presented the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland (ECCQ) and discussed
the role of ECCQ as the peak body, its services and plans to increase member engagement in
regional areas, including the Sunshine Coast.
Enda Cotter from Anti-discrimination Commission Queensland (ACDQ) talked about the ADCQ
strategy on the Sunshine Coast
Roberto Garcia, Community Development Officer from Toowoomba Regional Council shared their
journey towards building a successful cohesive community.
The afternoon workshop was a conscious shift in narrative - away from deliberating the issues - towards
seeking solutions. Participants were asked to respond to the key issues identified under the five key themes
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
with ideas for action, measurable outcomes, and suggestions for stakeholders and resourcing to assist in the
development of the Sunshine Coasts first Multicultural Action Plan.
Participants rotated through three themes of their choice spending 30mins at each table. The tables were
hosted by a chairperson and scribe who used an action plan template to capture responses.
3.7 Developing the Multicultural Action Plan
Project partners participated in four planning workshops on 11 August, 23 September, 7 October and 11
November.
During the first workshop project partners established expectations, benchmarked other multicultural action
plans, and developed a vision statement and some guiding principles to provide an implementation
framework for the plan.
The next two workshops involved clustering and condensing all engagement feedback and themes into
responding priority areas and actions. At this stage a Sunshine Coast Council Community Planning Officer
joined the process and became the author of the document.
A final workshop was conducted after the community showcase were community had provided feedback on
the draft plan and prioritise actions.
3.8 Community Showcase
Community Showcase was held on Saturday 22 October. The purpose of the showcase was to reconnect
with community members who had participated in the engagement process. Either through the survey, group
conversations or one-on-one interviews.
Key outcomes of the Multicultural Conversations project were presented and participants were invited to
provide feedback and prioritise actions in draft Multicultural Action Plan. Over 70 community representatives
attended.
3.9 Sector Mapping The aim of the sector mapping exercise was to identify:
Existing level of service delivery
Current and emerging community development projects, programs, activities and events
Strengths, gaps and opportunities within the multicultural sector
Provide a wider and deeper perspective of the multicultural sector and communities
The information will be used to:
Develop, strengthen and coordinate networks
Create an awareness of services and community development activities
Increase social inclusion
To update databases i.e. service providers, clubs, groups and organisations
Support advocacy agendas i.e. funding, policies, strategies etc.
Build capacity of the multicultural sector
Enable informed planning i.e. policy, community development, service provision etc.
Increase partnerships
Sharing information and resources
Multicultural Conversations Engagement Report
Two planning meetings with partners produced the sector mapping plan (Appendix G).
Implementation of the plan is still in progress 18 organisations have responded with 6 and possible more we
don’t know about yet to respond. We see this sector mapping work as ongoing.
4 Engagement Results Summary
The Multicultural Conversations engagement activities connected with a total of 672 people across the
Sunshine Coast, gathering comprehensive quantitative and qualitative data as well as community proposed
actions to inform the Sunshine Coast Multicultural Action Plan.
The survey worked well to get raw empirical data on the multicultural population residing on the Sunshine
Coast. In addition it captured opinions and responses from Australian born residents on multiculturalism in the
region and shone a light on their multicultural backgrounds.
The Group Conversations uncovered the underlining issues faced by the multicultural community and when
added to the challenges faced by living in a regional locality, the conversations highlighted strategic pathways
for policy review and development. The Group Conversations were an invaluable tool to hear what solutions
the multicultural population proposed to address the most prevalent issues. It was an exercise in community
dialogue, trust building and community development, as well as fact-finding.
The One on One Interviews succeeded in building the positive narrative and human stories around the
statistics. They gave the project a quality deliverable, The Multicultural Conversations Booklet and Video
Stories, adding a human dimension often neglected in policy centric projects.
5 Limitations
When conducting a survey, the ideal sample size for a population close to 300,000 is 384 (given a confidence
level of 95% and a confidence interval of 0.05). The number of respondents to the online survey was 275.
Unlike an interviewer administered survey that can direct the survey to the target population, the online survey
was open to the whole population of the Sunshine Coast. Efforts were made to encourage the multicultural
community to participate in the online survey or to complete a hard copy. The man objective of the survey was
to collect qualitative data as well as quantitative to add to the more in depth engagement activities. The
combined total of participants in the engagement activities was 672.
The questions in the online survey were not mandatory and respondents were able to skip question they did
not wish to answer. This resulted in some questions having a small proportion of responses.
Budgetary constraints limited the amount of social media online promotion for the survey.
Engagement with the Asian cohort was the most difficult and this was attributed to cultural barriers towards
policy discussion, probably discouraged in home countries. It was also noticed that some respondents and
participants did not want to be identified as critical of Council, State or Federal policies in case of retribution.
The multicultural community are mostly guarded and it may take a couple of meetings before enough trust is
built for a person to feel comfortable enough to share their real concerns. More time was required to build trust
with participants and this may have resulted in more participants in the group conversations. However, the
project partners all agree this is the start of the journey and we envision our action plan may include ongoing
conversation projects.
The large geographical spread of the Sunshine Coast also limited engagement opportunities for project staff
and participants. Many times people could not physically make it to activities utilizing public transport and even
if the Engagement Facilitator drove many kilometres to reach people, this had to be limited by her allocated
hours.