News Alert |

International intercultural experts Irena Guidikova and Lynda Ford will visit Ballarat tomorrow to highlight Ballarat’s global role as the first Intercultural City of Australia. 

The visit is part of the 2019 Australasian Intercultural Cities Summit. The experts will hold a public Intercultural Conversations event at Ballarat Town Hall on Tuesday 30 July, from 1-2.30pm, to discuss intercultural practice. This is a free ticketed event. Registrations are available at https://bit.ly/2XW7IGO.  

The intercultural experts will then embark on a short tour of Sovereign Hill to explore interculturalism on the goldfields, a visit to the Ballarat Wildlife Park, will participate in an Intercultural City Tour ahead of tomorrow night’s invitation-only Intercultural City Dinner. 

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh will then join Irena and Lynda to speak at the Intercultural Cities Australia Symposium in Melbourne on Wednesday 31 July. 

The intercultural event, spanning three days across Ballarat and Melbourne, is a collaboration of Victoria’s three Intercultural Cities – Ballarat, Melton and Maribyrnong. 

Irena Guidikova is Head of Division, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes at the Council of Europe based in Strasbourg Cedex, France. This is her first visit to the Australian Intercultural Cities. 

Lynda Ford is an intercultural cities expert with the Council of Europe, the Director of Igen Foundation Ltd and the Convenor of DiverCities Network of Australasia. 

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh says the special visit highlights Ballarat’s global role in being recognised as the first Intercultural City of Australia. 

“The City of Ballarat is proud to be Australia’s first Intercultural City and leading the way in embracing a city where diversity is deemed to be norm,” she says. 

“Migrant attraction and retention in Ballarat have been enhanced through intercultural dialogue, exchange and learning. This has spurred understanding, creativity, innovation and growth for the benefit of the whole community.” 

Promoting social inclusion and wellbeing among Ballarat’s growing migrant community is a key feature of the City of Ballarat’s Intercultural City Strategic Plan 2018-2021. 

Some of the key City of Ballarat actions to come out of the plan include: 

the recent launch of our third Reconciliation Action Plan 2019-2021  delivering our City Intercultural Ambassador Program 2018-2021 and our Intercultural Employment Pathways Program 2018-2021  the annual Harmony Festival  Sister City relationship with Inagawa, Japan, Friendship City relationships with Ainaro Timor-Leste, Yangzhou and Nanjing China  membership to the Intercultural Cities Network – Council of Europe since 2017  Ballarat has also been a Refugee Welcome Zone since October 2013. 

The City of Ballarat’s programs have been acknowledged by the Australian Human Rights Commission in December 2018, as a finalist to its Government Award.