A CONNECTED COMMUNITY
WORDS Nicole Alberton
SALISBURY
A CONNECTED & INTERCULTURAL CITY The City of Salisbury has a culturally diverse population of more than 140,000 people and a lot of what we do involves connecting our community. Whether it’s with roads, the environment, with businesses, important services, or free events – our connections are far reaching. We’re all about creating a more connected community – it’s a key action in our strategic plan and it’s headlined in our vision – for a progressive, sustainable and connected community. For generations, people have come to our City from far and wide in search of more opportunities and a better lifestyle. This identity has endured and now we have a rich mix of cultures, with 1 in every 3 people in Salisbury born outside of Australia. Interculturalism moves beyond the presence of multicultural communities and looks at promoting more interactions between cultures and a blended community.
Council also links with leading organisations to help remove some of the common problems that lead to social isolation and hinder a connected and inclusive city. The City of Salisbury is a White Ribbon accredited organisation and hosted a Women’s Safety Summit last year to shine a light on domestic violence and how to reach out if you or someone you know is experiencing family or domestic violence. Council also recognises Harmony Week with a highly-attended event in March each year, where together we celebrate Salisbury’s
cultural richness and the importance of inclusiveness, respect and belonging. Recently, these efforts were acknowledged when the City of Salisbury was accredited as an official Intercultural City by the Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Network. Each city is ranked on an index, with a score to indicate how intercultural and inclusive their practices are. The City of Salisbury achieved a score of 77%, which is the second highest scoring city in Australia. This, paired with our status as a Welcoming City and Refugee Welcome Zone, reflects our commitment to being an inclusive City for our diverse population. You can read our Intercultural Strategic Plan or watch the video on the City of Salisbury’s website.
In 2017, Salisbury was among the first councils to launch an Intercultural Strategic Plan. Some of the activities we’ve completed as part of the 10-year plan include: • Hosting South Australia’s largest interfaith blessing and establishing an Interfaith Network of 33 faith leaders • Established advisory bodies of the community and sector leaders to guide Council decisions • A rich calendar of cultural events (including Harmony Week) • Training for staff, volunteers and community to deepen their understanding of diversity • Widely recognised innovative and culturally safe services Representatives from our cultural groups at a Harmony Week celebration last year.
www.salisbury.sa.gov.au | SALISBURY AWARE | AUTUMN 2022 | 17
