Swastika Education and Awareness Campaign
The Swastika Education and Awareness Campaign was co-designed with peak Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Jewish community organisations to deliver an awareness campaign when the Victorian Government banned publicly displaying the Nazi Hakenkreuz symbol in December 2022. The campaign focused on educating communities about the distinction between the Nazi Hakenkreuz and the sacred Swastika symbols. It also raised awareness on specific exemptions including for genuine religious, cultural and education purposes. DFFH, DJCS, DE, the Victorian Multicultural Commission and Victoria Police worked in partnership to embed community-designed messaging in government policies, procedures, and online resources accessible to the broader community. Victoria Police also worked with community leaders to train frontline officers across metropolitan, regional, and rural Victoria. The campaign included factsheets, posters, in-language information sessions, translated resources and newsletters for the wider community, and specific policy advice to schools.
Delivering the Victorian African Communities Action Plan
Launched in 2018, the Delivering the Victorian African Communities Action Plan is a 10-year plan developed in partnership with African communities to improve social and economic outcomes. In 2022–23 the following initiatives were delivered under the plan (DFFH: $4.43m in 2022–23):
- The Victorian African Communities Committee was established with 13 community members to advise the Victorian Government on the design and delivery of action plan initiatives ($0.13m in 2022–23).
- The Employment Brokers program assisted more than 400 jobseekers to access support and training and more than 110 people into employment ($1.04m in 2022–23).
- The Alcohol and Other Drugs initiative ‘Project Sunrise’ employed bicultural workers to provide specialist services to 95 African young people. It also engaged more than 3,000 people through training, education, and events to improve awareness of substance abuse ($0.63m in 2022–23).
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