2009 is particularly important and significant year for the West Australian Association of Polish Women in WA as it marks the 40 anniversary of the Associations founding.

The Association intends to celebrate and showcase the achievements of its members most who arrived in Western Australia from traumatic backgrounds following WW2 and who now have a number of health and ageing programs assisting the many ethnic seniors throughout the community.

Activities

• Special thanksgiving mass in June to mark Anniversary of founding of the Association. followed by refreshments at Associations headquarters in Maylands.
• Special Badge presentation in August to members who have made significant contributions to the Association over last 40 years.
• Formal 40th Anniversary Lunch celebration in November with community leaders and community leaders and members from other ethnic organisations: and
• Production of and launch of Historical Brochure about the Association with Certificate presentations to be made by the Australian Polish Consul at the Polish Independence Day Celebrations in November.

It is estimated that 600 people will attend the activities over the project period.

The culmination of a two year project to document the history and impact of migration and acculturation experiences of migrants from Goa and their descendants to Western Australia. With interviews conducted with approximately 70 individuals which the publication titled Goenkar's in Western Australia: Narratives and Images from a vibrant Goan Diaspora has been produced.

A Professional Researcher and assistant from Curtin University along with a Project Coordinator and Secretary overseen by the President of the Goan Overseas Association completed the necessary work to produce the manuscript ready for publication.

Historical documents and interviews uncovered during the course of the project will be archived permanently in the Battye Library for future access by members of the Western Australian Community.

An exhibition will be held at the Fremantle Museum and the publication will be made available to community groups, service agencies and individual members of the wider community through the Goan Overseas Association and various other ethic peak agencies.

Inaugural Awards Ceremony to highlight the achievements of Collie Indigenous people covering Sports, Art, Music Dance Education Training and Enterprise

Expected to involve 80-100 participants

A one day cultural celebration with a number of activities primarily focused on young Ethiopians. Designed to overcome a sense of social isolation, strengthen connections and build supportive networks.

Expected attendance of between 200-250.

The Jafary community was formed in 2005 and consists of over 300 members from the Hazara ethnic community who are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.

This project is a one day Community Cultural celebration for all the families in the community.

A twelve month project of two hours each week providing Iraqi mothers with the opportunity to interact and build upon existing friendships as well as expand their parenting skills, awareness of local health and education services and prepare themselves and their children for integration into primary school and associated community activities.

With the assistance of a family support officer many mothers who will attend this group are currently isolated in their homes due to language and cultural barriers will be able to link with other mothers to gain an understanding of education services available for themselves as well as general social opportunities.

A sewing group and children's play group for refugee women and their children aimed at enhancing their social connectedness and skills.

Expected to support 15-20 women and 18-22 children, for 21 weekly sessions.

This project is designed as a free-to-the-public, open-air, multicultural community concert, designed to showcase the diversity of the South West Region. The program planned includes dance, singing, and play performances accompanied by displays of artefacts and specific foods reflecting the culture and ethnicity of groups and their places of origin.

This is the third year this project is being held at the Graham Bricknell Music Shell, following on from last year when over two thousand people participated and attended.

Service providers and other agencies e.g. Community Aid Abroad and SW Women's Health Service will showcase displays reflecting on their work in the local community as well as abroad..

It is expected that there will be approximately 10-20 stalls/displays, around 150 individual performers and several thousand people attending this event.

A project over a one year period aimed at connecting newly arrived CaLD parents /guardians who have children younger than 5 years and for many reasons are isolated or marginalised from the wider community.

Research conducted by Community centres e.g. the Armadale Community Family Centre, Gosnells Women's Health Centre, South Coastal Women's Health Service and the South West Women's Health and information Centre confirms that there are many CaLD women who remain socially isolated through lack of transport options, language difficulties, cultural and religious customs and distance from existing programs offered by service agencies e.g. the Fremantle Multicultural Centre and Ishar Multicultural Women's Group.

This project over a one year period will have an emphasis on learning and, through associated activities, providing parenting support, improving physical health, social competence, and communication skills and also possible referrals to other service agencies for assistance specific to identified needs. A key component of the project is facilitating the attendance of the parents their children through the provision of transport assistance.

The multicultural parent and child group will allow parents and their children to gain knowledge about Australian education system, guidance and information on a range of issues and a culturally sensitive and client centred approach. The project will initially involve approximately 20-25 participants/ families.

A Sudanese community cultural Day celebration centred on the Nuer Sudanese ethnic group enabling members to participate in cultural activities and interact and share their heritage with other communities in Western Australia.

The Celebration will facilitate interaction and ease tensions that exist between the different Sudanese ethnic groups allowing them to appreciate the values of living in a harmonious multicultural community like Western Australia.

Expected to be attended by approximately 200 people

The Pojulu Community Association in Western Australia is an Incorporated Not for Profit Organisation. It was established in Western Australia (WA) in August 2005 and its services and activities are principally limited to its members.

The community comprises members of South Sudanese origin who came to Australia through the humanitarian program, and are now Australian citizens with a smaller number who still hold permanent resident visa. Over the past five years the community has grown to 28 families (i.e. married couples with children and single parent) and 22 unmarried individuals. The estimated average family size is 4 children. 80 % of the members are located in suburbs north of the river (City of Stirling).

A continuation of a successful program run in 2008-2009 partially funded by the Community Grants Program comprising six seminars on the law in Australia and safety procedures at home and in the community. Coordinated by Zonta and the WA Police with the participants accessed through migrant resource centres and service agencies in the northern suburbs. Participants involved number 15-25 culturally and linguistically diverse women at each seminar mainly from refugee backgrounds.

Designed to encourage positive interaction and understanding between women from emerging communities and WA Police and overseen by professional women of long standing in the West Australian community.

Karen Seniors are an isolated group with many arriving in Perth in recent years. They are limited by their lack of confidence, English language proficiency and financial resources.

This project will be facilitated by the KWA President Ms Lily Pinto and is designed to enable approximately 20 -30 Karen Seniors the opportunity to come together, reaffirm their sense of identity, reinforce community and cultural ties with each other, increase a sense of belonging and decrease feelings of isolation and loneliness.

A series of indoor and outdoor activities are planned over a twelve month period including craft making, guest speakers from Government and service agencies providing information on health, self-care, pensioner/seniors rights and entitlements, meetings with other CaLD Seniors, bus trips to Fremantle and the Swan Valley and possibly a regional centre e.g. Bunbury.

A six month community based education and citizenship awareness project designed to support new arrivals, facilitate integration, maintain the learning of Tigrigna language, run a sports program and encourage greater interaction and understanding stengthening cross-cultural relationships.

The project covers three areas: a weekly education program involving community members teaching the children theTigrigna, language , crafts and storytelling,combined with information sessions centered on participation in community life and addressing discrimination and marginalisation ,and a twenty four week sports program (soccer and volleyball).

An estimated 40 - 50 boys and girls are involved each week with an additional 35 parents and community members involved.

A range of other community organisations have been invited to participate in the information sessions/workshops and sports program. The project is held at the Maylands Peninsula School and operates every Sunday over a six month period. As part of the program the Association has developed connections with other agencies and service providers to enhance participation by Eritrean community members in mainstream community activities and sporting programs. The project includes two major events (one sports and one cultural open day), with the children and parents working together to present cultural displays and presentations at each event.

The Association works closely with the Maylands Peninsula School, Bayswater City Council and the the Australian Asian Association of WA Inc. to connect with other community groups.The Association contacts other service providers such as the Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre and ASSeTS, to promote this program.

The Association has identified sources for guest speakers, such as WA Police, Balga PCYC, Dept of Indigenous Affairs, TennisWest, WAFL, Royal Life Saving of WA, WA Equal Opportunities Commission and the Department of Environment and Conversation.

A free community one day cultural festival aimed at creating interaction with and sharing of South Pacific culture and arts amongst the residents of Cockburn and surrounding areas.

Exhibition of Pacific arts and crafts, including carvings, weaving mats and cloths, jewellery, shell-work, floral craft, paintings and engravings, literature and photographs. Includes touch rugby and netball games combined with 6 to 7 traditional songs, music and dance performances from the different island nations including Samoa, Cook, Tahitia, Tonga, New Zealand and Hawaii.

A free multicultural one day festival coordinated by the St Andrews School Parents and Friends Association in conjunction with the School Principal, its teaching staff and community organisations. Aimed to be a family event and designed to bring together local ethnic and religious communities to interact and celebrate the diverse backgrounds of the students who attend the school, their parents and members of the wider community.

The P & F Association students and teaching staff will all be involved on a voluntary basis in the lead up to the festival .

A host of activities are being planned reflecting the cultural diversity of the school. The event will be advertised through community newspapers, flyers, posters and radio 6EBA. and expected to be attended by around 3,500 people.

A resubmitted application for a Sudanese Cultural Show involving three specific events namely a community soccer event, cultural music and dance performances and a Ball as a culmination of the project.

Aimed at engaging the diverse Sudanese ethnic groups in Western Australia through the forming of sub committees to organise the separate dancing groups and to the subsequent participation in music, song and dance performances, arts painting and the soccer activity day.

This project was submitted in the June 2009 grants round and not recommended at that time as the Committee considered that the application was not clear or well developed in relation to the CGP selection criteria. The Committee recommended that the organisation work with the Grants Officer to clarify and resubmit the project in the next grants round which subsequently occurred.

This project designed to break down barriers and foster harmony between young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, to develop leadership skills, and provide opportunities to implement these skills and in doing so become positive role models in mainstream community.

This project is a further development of youth programs that focus on youth from humanitarian and indigenous backgrounds conducted by ERC over the last nine years and a continuation of the Youth Leadership Program funded by the Western Australian Government Department of the Attorney General from the proceeds of crime which commenced in February 2008 and concludes in January 2009.

A camp over 3.5 days for newly arrived CaLD as well as Indigenous young people who experience exclusion and racism and as a consequence disengage from their school environments and engage in criminal activities.

Participants will be accessed through the Ballajura Youth and Community Venture Inc, Dungeon Youth Centre and the Youth Outreach Service for Swan and City of Swan.

The Camp will be preceded by an information session for 50-60 parents prior to the actual camp. Expected to involve 15 participants and six staff plus 3 facilitators/speakers.