Mr Sam Afra, Chairperson of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV) hailed the theme of this September’s biennial state conference as a timely call for Victorians of all cultural backgrounds “to take a hard look at what kind of society they want for their children and grand children.”

“In general, Victorians remain extremely positive about the kind of state we live in today – the blend of old and new, the wealth of options and opportunities, and the thriving intermingle of cultures and ideas. However, recent events here and abroad provide a sharp reminder that we cannot afford to be complacent,” Mr Afra said.

“Environmental and economic fluctuations are becoming more erratic and extreme. People move about the globe seeking career opportunities and a better lifestyle with increasing frequency. Victorians have to be better prepared for the inevitable changes this will bring to our lives in the decades to come,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra highlighted some of the areas of social policy that will feature during the conference discussions.

“There will be moderated sessions dedicated to questions of cultural competency and social cohesion, youth engagement and identity, racism and discrimination, and the growing mobility of international students,” Mr Afra explained.

“There will also be a particular focus on how community networks and service providers need to start thinking about their readiness for the challenges ahead.”

Mr Afra said there was still time to register for the one-day conference which is followed by a special reception at Government House, then a dinner at the Immigration Museum.

“It will be a rare opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the state’s leading advocates, academics, politicians and community representatives,” Mr Afra said.

ECCV 2010 State Conference

Victoria’s NEXT Cultural Diversity Model

9.00am – 4.00pm

Tuesday, 28 September 2010

Melbourne Town Hall

Government House reception 5.00pm – 6.00pm

ECCV Conference Dinner 6.30pm –10.00pm

Further information about the September conference and post conference dinner is available on the ECCV website : www.eccv.org.au

or by contacting 03) 9349 4122 or email : eccv@eccv.org.au

For further information, please call 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226.

Australia’s ageing immigrant population is relying on partnerships between government, local providers and ethnic networks to provide them with high quality and culturally appropriate community-based aged care services.

A new report, however, suggests that care may be compromised unless all partners have equal input into planning and decision-making processes.

The Practising Positive Partnerships in the Ethnic and Multicultural Community report was prepared by the Healthy Ageing Research Unit at Monash University, the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV) and the Southern Metropolitan Region HACC Cultural Diversity Network (SCDN).

The aim of the report was to explore the role and experiences of partnerships within the ethnic and multicultural aged care sector in Victoria following anecdotal evidence that suggested organisations were missing out on partnership opportunities, which in turn may be detrimentally impacting on the health and access to services for older people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Projections suggest that by 2026, one in every four people aged over 80 years in Victoria will be from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, and findings of this report will be important in determining better systems for community-based aged care providers in order to meet future demand.

One author of the report, Dr Harriet Radermacher from Monash University’s Healthy Ageing Research Unit found that participants overwhelmingly spoke of the need for organisations within the sector to work together.

“The general consensus was that partnerships between the government and community sectors facilitated greater resources and increased the capacity of organisations to care for their clients and enabled organisations to grow,” Dr Radermacher said.

According to the report findings, government allocation and structure of resources within the sector was identified as a key influence in the success of partnerships.

“As indicated by some participants, government policies restrict the flexibility and natural formation of partnerships, which limits the organisation from achieving the best possible outcome for the service users,” Dr Radermacher said.

Smaller organisations within the partnerships were also concerned that inequality existed where larger partners such as mainstream government services had greater financial and human resources to participate in discussions.

Dr Radermacher said participants believed that a range of strategies could be implemented to address these inequalities and in so doing create more effective partnerships and better outcomes for service users.

“Strategies ranged from using protocols and procedures to better define roles and responsibilities within a partnership to having a liaison person to represent smaller community based organisations in their networking and partnership work,” Dr Radermacher said.

The authors highlighted the need for flexible funding conditions that are less geographically determined and focus more on client outcomes, along with an important role for multicultural peak bodies to lobby government for more resources and advocate for the skills and expertise of their constituent organisations.

Mr Sam Afra, Chairperson of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria, said that “working together had been a hallmark of Australia’s migrant history” and “hoped the release of this new report will help see the value of future partnerships across different sectors only continue to strengthen and grow in years to come.”

The full report is available at www.eccv.org.au

For more information contact Megan Gidley, Media & Communications + 61 3 9903 4843 or 0448 574 148.

Media Communications: Phone +61 3 9903 4841

Email: media@adm.monash.edu.au, Website: www.monash.edu.au

Practising Positive Partnershps in the Ethnic and Multicultural Aged Care Sector — Networking, Coordinating, Cooperating, Collaborating? Produced by Healthy Ageing Research Unit (HARU) at Monash University (2010) for eccv

Click here for more information

Join hands to help the flood effected Pakistanis. The death toll from Pakistan's worst floods in living memory has topped 1100 as outbreaks of water-borne disease emerge and survivors seek refuge.

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY TO THE FLOOD RELIEF FUND.

For advice about how to donate click here

If you know of women in your community who are on low income and who need emotional and social support in a culturally and gender sensitive environment, please send them to the VIRWC office at level 1, 210 Lonsdale St, Melbourne or phone them on (03) 9654 1243

For more information about how you can participate click here.

Young people from refugee or migrant backgrounds are more likely to have caring responsibilities. However, services often struggle to identify these young people as carers and provide appropriate support. To address this gap, ECCV in partnership with the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) and Carers Victoria are hosting a forum that will focus on young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds who provide ongoing care for a family member with an illness or disability.

Download the background paper Who Cares? Refugee and Migrant Young People with Caring Responsibilities (143kb). This paper will inform the debate.

For more information about the forum contact Nick Butera, on 9340 3700 or nbutera@cmy.net.au

Those who are disadvantaged and/or vulnerable because of low levels of literacy and schooling for instance can now sit a different Citizenship test.

The course is designed for those who are likely to have significant difficulty preparing for and sitting the normal computer based citizenship test. You will only be able to do this new course after you have applied for citizenship. For more information click here or contact the citizenship information line on 131 880 between 8.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

• intensive case management
• access to supplementary training
• targeted job search
• a work placement
• and much more

So if you're a skilled job seeker and a holder of a  a skilled migrant visa this service may be able to help you access Australian work experience and employment. Contact the SKILLFILL office at Spectrum on (03) 9384 7927 or for more information click here.

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is working with eccv and the multicultural sector to ensure all eligible Victorians have the opportunity to enrol and exercise their democratic right to vote — regardless of their background, gender, age or ability.

As the independent body responsible for running the state election they have a range of engaging programs to inform communities about how democracy works. They provide a range of in-language and plain English language materials and offer the following FREE services.

1. Worker information sessions

2. Community information sessions

3. Enrolment outreach

They can come to your organisation, fit in with any programs you're running and contribute a small hosting fee to cover refreshment costs etc.

To Book email Kate Higgins (or 9299 0553) or Carolyn Favier (or 9299 0507).

Mr Sam Afra, Chairperson of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV), said that migrant and multicultural Victorians would be keeping a close lookout for any major policy shift affecting diverse communities following the ascension of Julia Gillard to Australian Prime Minister.

“From a policy standpoint, it is obviously too soon to speculate on what new directions the Gillard government will take on many issues,” Mr Afra said. “However, Ms Gillard has been a passionate advocate for disadvantaged and underprivileged members of society for much of her career and we would hope that this strong commitment to social justice will underpin her new role as leader of the country.”

“Obviously, first and foremost, we congratulate Ms Gillard on becoming Australia’s first female Prime Minister which represents a landmark in our nation’s social history,” Mr Afra stressed. “I know women and young girls from all backgrounds and beliefs will be greatly inspired by the sight of a woman occupying the highest seat in the land.”

“I look forward to the Gillard government making time in the coming months to engage directly with representatives from the multicultural community on the issues of immediate concern and long-term consequence.”

Mr Afra urged the Gillard government to clarify its position on immigration, population, and treatment of asylum seekers as soon as possible to dispel any anxieties and uncertainties being stirred up in the run up to the Federal election.

Mr Afra also took the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, especially with regard to the abolition of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs).

“As a fluent speaker of Mandarin, Mr Rudd also helped to re-energise the nation’s engagement with Asia and give a welcome boost to the next generation of multi-lingual Australians looking to make an impact on the world stage.”

Mr Afra also expressed his warmest appreciation to Finance Minister and member for Melbourne, Lindsey Tanner, who announced his retirement after 17 years in federal politics.

“Mr Tanner has been amongst the most active supporters of new and emerging communities and I hope that he will find new ways to continue in these endeavours in whatever role he chooses next,” Mr Afra said

“The release of an alarming new report during Refugee Week detailing experiences of exclusion and discrimination among African Australians shows that there is still a great deal to be done to improve the lives of Australia’s most vulnerable groups.”

“Having exhibited such concern for the interests of our country’s most affluent citizens, it would be outrageous for the Gillard government not to devote a similar level of effort on behalf of some of our least wealthy,” Mr Afra said.

For further information, please call 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226.

You are invited to register for an International, interdisciplinary, intercultural conference organised by the African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific and Victoria Universities. for more details click here

Message from the editor

It’s been quite a year! On a national level we have seen the Rudd Government’s Health Reforms and moves towards federalising aged care. At the April 2010 COAG (Council of Australian Governments) meeting in Canberra the reforms in aged care included the transfer to the Commonwealth, of current resources for aged care services from the Home and Community Care (HACC) program except in Victoria. The third 2010 Intergeneraional Report affirmed the increasing ageing population in the coming decades and, in addition, Melbourne was the host city for the 10th Global Conference of the International Federation of Ageing (IFA).

On the Victorian scene, many aged care providers have been part of the move to person-centred care through the Active Service Model and the increased focus on diversity planning and practice in the Victorian HACC Program.

Closer to home the challenges are more immediate at the coalface, as aged care providers try to meet the needs of CALD seniors who often have a preference for ethnic aged care services. Many of those workers continually come across unmet aged care needs as different ethnic groups are ageing and require culturally responsive services.

In this issue we present summaries of the State Budget submissions of various peak bodies and examine the potential impact of their policy advocacy.

In our general articles we provide a snapshot of the ECCV presentation at the IFA conference as well as some developments in the CALD Seniors Surfers Program, respite for carers, and evidence-based research at Monash University. We then challenge organisations to consider: What is a responsible gambling culture in Victorian ethnic communities?

Finally we provide a section with loads of resources for culturally diverse seniors and aged care workers in multicultural communities.

I look forward to your continuing support for subsequent copies of Golden Years.

Dr Irene A Bouzo, Editor

Message from the Editor

We made it! 100 issues of Golden Years is a great achievement for ECCV. Our theme is “Looking Forward Looking Back”. Thanks for all the good wishes and congratulatory messages. We even tracked down the first editor (see her message on page 7). Congratulations to the dedicated team who produce Golden Years and to the regular, as well as the once-off , contributors. In “Readers Have Their Say” we can see that the articles were useful and enjoyable. Many readers said Golden Years is a great resource.

This bumper issue is about “Looking Forward” at visions and trends in aged care from the point of view of the Office of Senior Victorians, including their culturally responsive projects; from the aged care industry peak body Aged and Community Care Victoria; as well as current research on respect for older people.

The snapshots from past issues in “Looking Back” show that Golden Years has grown from a small photocopied newsletter to a full-blown colour magazine. “Looking at Achievements in Ethnic Communities” is a glance in the window of several ethnic agencies, multi cultural organisations, networks and peak bodies that show “The Road We Travelled” (see page 18, Royal District Nursing Service) on improving access to services and providing culturally responsive aged care programs in Victoria. Golden Years could not showcase all ethnic aged care projects or even begin to highlight the diversity of ethnic and multicultural groups and networks. Hopefully those achievements listed in the poster pages give you a special insight into the extensive range of services and the enormous demand for culturally appropriate aged care amongst Victoria’s ageing population.

Dr Irene A Bouzo, Editor

Proposed Amendments to the Associations Incorporations Act.