Good practice in building social cohesion in diverse communities

SallyAnn.Hunting — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 05:16:13 +0000

Background

Moving into the drafting phase of ACELG's online resource to support local government build social cohesion in diverse communities, we've been struck by the size and constancy of efforts being undertaken at the local level across Australia. Regardless of whether local governments feel they have a 'problem', many are proactively taking steps to build social cohesion and address racism in number of ways.

It is particularly pertinent, as we come to the end of the third year of the National Anti-Racism Strategy, to reflect on the key characteristics of the important work which local governments are doing to build social cohesion in communities.

The challenge

The growth of international migration and changing settlement policies, combined with broader trends toward globalisation are creating increasingly diverse countries and cities. This means that multiculturalism is now much more prominent, and that inter-community relations are multi-faceted, no longer simply revolving around majority/minority visible distinctions.¹ Importantly:

Societies are becoming 'super diverse', but the more that people are exposed to diversity, the more they seem to retreat into their own identity or identities and embrace identity politics or even support separatist ideologies. In many places the 'right to be different' has overshadowed 'the right to be equal'.
Migrants and refugees with shared historical perspectives, beliefs and values are able to form and sustain themselves often counter to, or irrespective of, the freedoms, cultures and norms of the countries in which they live.
Social media and new communication networks have enabled people to develop frames of reference which transcend national boundaries and re-affirm heritage and diaspora linkages.
A modern sense of 'identity' is shaped in complex and diverse ways, for example in terms of nationality, country of birth, country of residence, city/town/village of residence, religion, ethnicity or neighbourhood/community affiliations. Individuals draw upon these various sources to create hybrid or multiple identities.
High levels of immigration and ethnic diversity may challenge social solidarity and inhibit social cohesion in the short- to medium-term. The central challenge is to create a new, broader sense of 'we'.

These changes mean that, in order to be effective, local governments need to design targeted programs for social cohesion in diverse communities. This means the need to:

target at-risk groups
create interfaith and intercultural dialogue
help new groups to integrate and access services
focus on emerging communities
consider different responses to Indigenous and/or migrant and/or refugee racism
differentiate between rural/remote/regional/metropolitan areas to respond to spatial differences in current and future communities
do not forget the majority, as they may need help in understanding change too.

Emerging good practice in local government

Our research shows that local governments who commit to building social cohesion in their community tend to have several of the following elements:

they understand and acknowledge the important role local government has to play in building social cohesion and preventing and responding to racism
they take a long-term, strategic view and build internal capacity for action
they engage both majority and minority communities
they build long-term partnerships with a range of stakeholders, including other levels of government, community and advisory groups, schools, businesses, the police, and a variety of non-government organisations
they take place-based, targeted action
they evaluate and share their experiences.

ACELG's online resource

ACELG's evidence-based resource to support local government build social cohesion in diverse communities includes discussions and tips about good practice, a range of illustrative case studies, and other useful resources. It will be launched in June 2015.

For further information, please contact ACELG at [email protected]">[email protected].

¹ Cantle, T. 2011, Cohesion, 'Integration and Openness: From 'multi' to 'inter' culturalism', Symposium International sur l’interculturalisme, Montreal, May.

SallyAnn Hunting is an Associate of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government.

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Good practice in building social cohesion in diverse communities