Building Bridges Scheme
The Building Bridges Scheme brings people together on equal terms
Building Bridges is a VicHealth grants scheme that aims to improve mental health and wellbeing by promoting positive contact and cooperation between people from a range of ethnic backgrounds including those of Anglo-Australian heritage. Its aim is to address discrimination affecting people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination occurs when people are treated differently, usually unfairly, because they belong to a particular group. Discrimination can have a serious impact on mental health and wellbeing. It contributes to depression, anxiety and poor self-esteem.
Over 13% of people in Victoria are born in a non-English speaking country and one in five speaks a language other than English at home. Although Victoria has a proud record of welcoming people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, unfortunately discrimination still occurs.
How is discrimination reduced?
The VicHealth Building Bridges Scheme is based on studies showing that a very effective way of reducing discrimination is to bring affected groups together with members of the wider community to work cooperatively on a common goal. This approach is based on the understanding that discrimination and prejudice are partly due to misconceptions that build as a result of the social distance between groups. Through social contact meaningful relationships form, leading to a better understanding between groups. This in turn can help to break down the negative attitudes and beliefs that lead to discrimination and exclusion.
The Centre for Health Program Evaluation, University of Melbourne, is working with VicHealth and its funded projects to work out if the Building Bridges approach is effective in reducing discrimination in Victoria's culturally diverse environment. The evaluation will also identify good practices in promoting inter-cultural contact among children and young people to help others wanting to adopt or strengthen the approach.
Grants provided
Grants have been provided to support initiatives that bring migrant and refugee groups affected by discrimination and social exclusion together to work on cooperative activities with members of the wider community.
Building Bridges supports initiatives involving children and young people which:
- bring people from groups affected by discrimination, tension or social distance together
- involve a collaborative (non competitive) activity and a goal that all participants believe to be important
- provide sustained opportunities for people to get to know one another and build meaningful relationships
- bring participants together on equal terms
- have support in their organisation or community and are provided in a safe and welcoming environment in which cultural diversity is valued (Pettigrew 2006).
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Building Bridges funded projects
Anti Racism Action Band (A.R.A.B)
Victorian Arabic Social Services
The Anti Racism Action Band (A.R.A.B) is a high energy, socially challenging youth performance and visual arts program run by the Victorian Arabic Social Services. With a long-term, innovative vision for its members, their families, schools and local communities, A.R.A.B opens its doors to 13 to 26 year olds of any cultural background. The project aims to raise self-esteem, increase confidence, challenge racial tensions and promote social inclusion while imparting artistic and production skills, employment opportunities and support through mentoring.
A.R.A.B currently works with 200 young participants from around 50 cultural backgrounds across the cities of Hume, Moreland, Darebin, Whittlesea and Banyule. A wide range of both contemporary and traditional art forms are used, with members performing to over 50,000 people at 200 events since 2004.
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Kar Kulture
South Eastern Migrant Resource Centre
Kar Kulture brings refugee and Australian-born young people together to work collaboratively on repairing and restoring a second-hand car. The project then provides road safety workshops and driving practice using the restored vehicle. Kar Kulture is run by the South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre with the support of the Victoria Police, Mission Australia, Adult Multicultural Education Services and Chisholm TAFE.
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Kitchen Culture
Melbourne City Mission
Kitchen Culture enables 80 young people a year to obtain food handling cerficates and cook together while learning about each other's cultures. Run by Melbourne City Mission, in partnership with the Western Young People's Independent Network, the project also recieves support from WestNet and Victoria University and has proved very popular. In June 2008 Kitchen Culture gained public recoginition by making deserts for 180 guests at the Refugee Week dinner.
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Cultural Games
Maribyrnong City Council
Cultural Games brings together grade 5 and 6 students from primary schools in the City of Maribyrnong to work collaboratively in teams, making and playing games from different countries. As well as incorporating a rich mix of other activities such as circus skills, hip hop dance workshops and aboriginal storytelling, the program recruits parents and volunteer facilitators from diverse backgrounds to work with students in the group activities. The program also includes time for informal play, reflective writing and discussion around issues of diversity and discrimination.
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Beaut Buddies
Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture
New schools and new faces can be daunting so it’s good to have the support of a friend to help when change happens. Beaut Buddies helps students from migrant and refugee backgrounds make the transition from English language schools to mainstream schools. The project is designed to provide sustained opportunities for young people from different cultural backgrounds to build relationships with one another and develop mutual understanding. A resource and professional development package will also be developed to support transferability of the Beaut Buddies model to schools across Victoria.
Need more information?
Email bbs@vichealth.vic.gov.au