Australia’s Story of Welcome
This profile highlights the early years of the Welcoming Cities initiative, run by Welcoming Australia. The events and activities described took place between 2015-2020.
Overview
Australia was the first country to partner with Welcoming America, and together they forged a path to establish Welcoming International. Welcoming Cities is an initiative of Welcoming Australia, supported by the Scanlon Foundation. They work on shifting attitudes towards newcomers at the organizational level, this includes supporting regional communities to better identify and understand the process of welcoming people to their communities.
Kaleidescope Initiative
The Kaleidoscope Initiative is led by the City of Stirling in Western Australia, and is designed to create partnerships between the local council, the local business community, and newcomer (migrant and refugee) communities. It identifies strategic opportunities for economic and community development, and encourages local businesses to understand, and engage with, the benefits of a culturally diverse workforce by employing newcomers.
The Kaleidoscope Mentoring Program, the second phase of the Kaleidoscope Initiative, is developed and delivered in partnership with the City of Canning and the Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre. It matches newcomer job seekers to mentors who work in their industry. Over a three–month program (for a minimum of 24 hours), they work together through advisory meetings and job shadowing, and mentors also share their professional networks.
Interviews
Q&A with Sebastian Geers & Bel Schenk
An interview with the Manager and Coordinator (Victoria) of Welcoming Cities.
Q&A with Ashleigh Brand
An interview with the Project Leader of the Kaleidoscope Initiative for the City of Stirling.
Conversation with Mehrnoosh Alemi
An interview with Kaleidoscope Mentoring Program participant.
Additional resources
Stories of
Welcome
Guidelines for
Regional Growth
Steps to Settlement
Success
The Kaleidoscope
Initiative
Welcoming Cities
Resource Library