Subject Guide - Involving Volunteers from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds

Aimed primarily at managers of volunteers and not-for-profit organisations, this guide contains online resources to help you build your knowledge about involving people from CALD backgrounds in your volunteering program, and improve your volunteering policies and practices.  All resources within this guide can be accessed online and the majority are available free of charge.

Help keep this guide current We know there are many other relevant resources available, so please let us know if you have any resources to recommend for inclusion in future editions of this guide. Email us your suggestion or call us on 1800 008 252. Please report any broken links.

Contents

1: Fast facts – Gain an understanding of issues related to involving volunteers from diverse cultural and language backgrounds.
2: Training materials – Build your skills and knowledge, and train others in your organisation.
3: Research findings, reports and journal articles – Extend your understanding of this subject.
4: Involving Volunteers from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds – Take a Closer Look – Key issues managers of volunteers and not-for-profit organisations need to be aware of when involving volunteers from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Recognising what volunteers from diverse cultural backgrounds contribute

People from CALD backgrounds make an important contribution to volunteering in Australia.  Research in this area is growing, providing new insight into volunteering and CALD communities, and evidence that many thousands of Australians from diverse cultural backgrounds volunteer both within and outside their ethnic communities. According to the ABS 2006 Census of Population and Housing, 22.2% of people in Australia were born overseas, with 15% reporting that they spoke a language other than English at home. Findings from the ABS 2006 Voluntary Work Survey show that 29% of Australians born overseas  participate in volunteering. Of those born in English-speaking countries 34% had volunteered and those born in other countries volunteered at a rate of 26%.

Many organisations say that they would like to involve volunteers from diverse cultures, but are unsure of how to engage effectively with CALD communities.  However, many organisations do involve volunteers from CALD backgrounds successfully, and enjoy the benefits that this diversity brings to their volunteer program, their organisation and their client groups. These benefits include:

• a wider pool of volunteers;
• new perspectives that volunteers from diverse backgrounds and experiences can offer;
• increased awareness of different cultures, which helps break down negative stereotypes – a valuable end in itself;
• expanded awareness and knowledge of global issues;
• the creation of a multilingual organisation and enhanced communication with client groups from CALD backgrounds;
• strengthened relationships with groups within your local community;
• increased awareness of the way of life, beliefs and values of different cultures, leading to improvements in communication and program design, and more culturally sensitive service delivery;
• the creation of an accessible and inclusive volunteer program that reflects the diversity of the community.

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1: Fast facts
These resources will help you to quickly gain an understanding of how to involve volunteers from CALD backgrounds and give you a good starting point for building your knowledge.

Knowing who to contact, what resources are available, and having a general understanding of the issues and barriers to volunteering that people from CALD backgrounds face is important information for organisations which involve or intend to involve volunteers from CALD backgrounds.

The tips provided in both the Diversity & Volunteering Go Hand in Hand resource, and the Involving Volunteers from Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds information sheet act as good prompters for organisations to ensure their internal policies and procedures are inclusive of diversity. 

The organisations listed under Additional Resources and Services can help organisations get to know the different cultural groups within their local community better, and how to contact them.

Diversity & Volunteering Go Hand in Hand
Tips reproduced from the 2005 Diversity and Volunteering go Hand in Hand Calendar and illustrating the diversity of the volunteering community. They offer managers of volunteers with guidance and advice on how to involve volunteers from diverse backgrounds in their programs. 
Copyright owner/publisher: Volunteering Australia. The calendar was developed by Volunteering Australia, and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services.

Cultural and religious days of significance and the Calendar of Cultural and Religious Days
Being conscious of days of significance to different cultures and religions is one way that organisations can raise their awareness of the diversity of the Australian community, and celebrate multiculturalism. This can help create an organisational environment that is inclusive and respectful of individuals from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Copyright owner/publisher: Interfaith Calendar and the Department of IMmigration and Citizenship

Useful contacts and services
Building relationships with key multicultural organisations is an  effective way for volunteer-involving organisations to develop their awareness and understanding of cultural issues, and to explore mutual benefits that might arise from these relationships, such as the sharing of resources and contacts, and entrée into relevant networks. The listed organisations may be able to help you identify local ethnic-specific organisations, possible options for partnerships, and strategies for making your programs more accessible to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Copyright owner/publisher: list compiled by Volunteering Australia

Demographics and Statistics
The following links provide statistical snapshots on diversity, at both national and state levels.

National
Migration: Permanent Additions to Australia's Population (4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 2007)
Copyright owner/publisher: Commonwealth of Australia

Cultural Diversity Statistics
Copyright owner/publisher: Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

Community Information Summaries
Copyright owner/publisher: Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

The Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia
Copyright owner/publisher: Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

New South Wales
The People of New South Wales – Census Statistics
Copyright owner/publisher: Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW

Queensland
Diversity Statistics
Copyright owner/publisher: Multicultural Affairs Queensland, in partnership with the Office of Economic and Statistical Research (OESR)

South Australia
South Australia’s Diversity – Multicultural SA
Copyright owner/publisher: Multicultural SA, South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission

Tasmania
Multicultural Tasmania (1384.6 - Statistics - Tasmania, 2006)
Copyright owner/publisher: Commonwealth of Australia 

Victoria
Population and Migration
Copyright owner/publisher: Victorian Multicultural Commission

Western Australia
Western Australia Diversity Statistics
Copyright owner/publisher: Office of Multicultural Interests, Government of Western Australia

Australian Capital Territory
A Social and Demographic Profile of multicultural Canberra
Copyright owner/publisher: Australian Capital Territory

Northern Territory
The People of the Northern Territory
Copyright owner/publisher: Commonwealth of Australia 

Tips for Reaching Out to CALD Communities
Face the Facts – Questions and Answers about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, Migrants and Refugees
Recognising the value of education in addressing racism and the importance of ensuring that attitudes within the community are constructed on a sound, factual base, Face the Facts provides clear information about immigrants, refugees and indigenous peoples.  Having solid background information about these demographics is a valuable way to start building knowledge on the diversity of Australians, and gaining an understanding of some of the issues that individuals from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds face.
Copyright owner/publisher: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

A Guide to Working with Interpreters
When recruiting, organisations need to make sure that information about volunteering and about the organisation and its volunteering opportunities is presented in language people can understand.  This might include having information translated into different languages, and/or using interpreters to assist with information sessions to larger groups of people.

This information sheet is a simple and easy-to-understand guide to what organisations need to consider when engaging an interpreter.
Copyright owner/publisher: Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues

From Barriers to Bridges – Involving a broader range of volunteers
Developed by Volunteering England as part of its Good Practice Bank, this information sheet contains a range of ideas on how to attract a more diverse volunteer pool.  It looks at some of the barriers to volunteering that individuals can face, and identifies strategies for overcoming these barriers and creating more inclusive volunteer programs.
Copyright owner/publisher: Volunteering England

Multilingual Posters
One way of making your service more accessible and welcoming to individuals and communities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds is to include signs in languages other than English.

Multilingual Welcome Poster
A3 Poster with space for the local Aboriginal greeting
A3 Poster without Aboriginal greeting

A4 Poster with space for local Aboriginal greeting
A4 Poster without Aboriginal greeting

The Bathurst Information and Neighbourhood Centre has produced a multilingual welcome poster which organisations can download and print free of charge.  The poster is available in A3 and A4 sizes.  Users can also find out the local Aboriginal greeting and insert this into the poster. Double-mouse click over the relevant area in each poster to update the text.
Copyright owner/publisher: Bathurst Information and Neighbourhood Centre

Multicultural & Multilingual Posters and Picture Packs
The Ethnic Child Care Resource Unit (ECCRU) has produced a number of posters and picture packs including welcome signs in 30 different languages and a ‘hello’ poster set in 8 different languages.  These resources are reasonably priced and may be of particular interest to child and family-related organisations.
Copyright owner/publisher: Ethnic Child Care Resource Unit

Ethnic Media Organisations
Running advertisements in ethnic media outlets is an effective way of letting your local ethnic community groups know about your organisation, the services you provide, and how they can be involved.  If you have contact details of local ethnic media organisations which are not included in the links below, please email us the details so that we can make this list as comprehensive as possible.
Copyright owner/publisher: list compiled by Volunteering Australia

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2: Training
An important aspect in successfully engaging with CALD communities is for individuals and organisations to have an awareness of cultural diversity, an understanding of what culture is, and how cultural differences can impact and shape behaviour.  The resources in this section are aimed at helping individuals to develop these skills and broaden their understanding of different cultural frameworks and views. 

While there are a number of training materials on cross-cultural awareness, the listed resources have been chosen because they are available free of charge, are learning guides that can be used individually in a self-paced way, and can also be used by a trainer delivering to a group of people.

'Training Manual on Recruiting and Supporting Volunteers from Diverse Cultural and Language Background'
The 'Training Manual for Recruiting and Supporting Volunteers from Diverse Cultural and Language Backgrounds' has been designed to enable trainers to deliver customised training to managers and others within volunteer-involving organisations which will help them to:

• lay the groundwork for recruiting new volunteers from diverse cultural and language backgrounds
• develop an inclusive organisational culture and culturally sensitive practices
• successfully recruit and retain volunteers from culturally diverse backgrounds.

The Manual consists of an introductory section for trainers (Trainer’s Preparation) and four training modules:

1. Planning
2. Recruitment 
3. Welcoming & Orienting Volunteers
4. Supporting Volunteers Trainers are encouraged to customise and add to the material to meet the needs of each client organisation.

The Trainer’s Preparation section has been developed to help them work with organisations to do this, and also to market the training and its benefits.
Copyright Owner: Commonwealth of Australia
Publisher: Volunteering Australia

Culture at Work: How to train and assess in a culturally inclusive way
This resource aims to assist trainers and assessors working with learners from diverse language and cultural backgrounds to:

• develop skills to understand and address learners’ different cultural concepts and views;
• feel confident in their ability to address learners’ different expectations and levels of English;
• support those learners to demonstrate their skills and knowledge as required for assessment and recognition of competence.

This resource has been based on practical experience and research into community services workplaces, and includes a number of self-reflection exercises for learners.  Organisations may find these exercises an effective way for both paid staff and volunteers to gain a better appreciation of different cultural concepts and views.
Copyright owner/publisher: Department of Education, Science and Training, Australian Government

Work effectively with culturally diverse clients and co-workers
While primarily aimed at volunteers, this learning guide is a good resource for both paid staff and volunteers who work in organisations with culturally diverse clients and co-workers.  The resource includes a number of activities and self-reflection tasks, and provides good information on effectively communicating with people from diverse cultural and language backgrounds, while highlighting factors to be aware of to ensure success.

The guide is divided into four sections, and is based on the national industry unit of competency (CHCCS405A) Work effectively with culturally diverse clients and co-workers from (CHC02) Community Services Training Package. It is also one of the modules of the qualification (40410SA) Certificate III in Active Volunteering.
Copyright owner: Commonwealth of Australia
Published by: Volunteering Australia

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3: Research findings, reports and articles
Research into volunteers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds is a growing area.  There is a range of research papers available from international sources, but within Australia volunteering by people from diverse cultural backgrounds is still largely under-researched, especially with regard to individuals from emerging communities.  These communities can be relatively new to Australia, or have had a significant increase in the number of people arriving in Australia from specific countries, and often face significant barriers to overcome including English language, gaining employment and a lack of support due to no established ethnic community. As new research resources are identified they will be added to this section.

Research by Volunteering Australia and the Australian Multicultural Foundation
In 2007, Volunteering Australia has released major research on engaging CALD communities in volunteering and has developed various practical and subject guides on the research findings. The following research reports are available HERE (or see Section 1 above):

• 'National Survey of Australian Volunteers from Diverse Cultural and Linguistic Backgrounds': Full report on the extensive nationwide survey
• 'Supporting Volunteering Activities in Australian Muslim Communities, Particularly Youth': Literature Review building on the findings of the National Survey
• 'Muslim Youth's Experiences of and Attitudes Towards Volunteering': Findings of focus groups with Muslim youth and not-for-profit organisations

Copyright owner: Commonwealth of Australia
Published by: Volunteering Australia

Cultural Dictionary
The Cultural Dictionary contains basic information on topics such as population, ethnic composition, language, religion, general attitudes, personal appearance, greetings, gestures, visiting and eating habits, lifestyle, family and marriage practices of people from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds.  The goal of the Cultural Dictionary is to bring the people and their dominant cultural mores into view, and encourage understanding and appreciation between people of different nationalities and backgrounds.

It is important that organisations recognise that the dictionary is a sampling of cultures only, and users need to remember that while generalisations can help us gain a basic understanding of a particular culture, often individuals will not fit the stereotype; they will be shaped by their own unique experiences and influences and may differ quite substantially from what is considered by their national and ethnic groups to be ‘normal’ or ‘typical’ of their culture.  Also, be aware that cultures are complex and dynamic, and will change over time due, amongst other things, to the introduction of new influences, shifting national boundaries and changing demographics.
Copyright owner/publisher: Migrant Resource Centre of Canberra and Queanbeyan

Culturally Diverse Youth and Volunteerism: How to recruit, train and retain culturally diverse youth volunteers
A report on the findings of a research project on culturally diverse youth volunteers, this resource offers mainstream organisations information on how to recruit, train and retain culturally diverse youth volunteers.  Managers of volunteers may find the sections Getting started – is your organisation ready to involve culturally diverse youth? and Putting it all together – applying job design theory, particularly beneficial. These sections include a number of key questions for organisations to consider which will help them to assess their volunteer programs and organisational policies and procedures.

Although written from a Canadian perspective, the resource contains information that can be applied in the Australian context.
Copyright owner/publisher: Calgary Immigrant Aid Society and Volunteer Canada

‘Patterns of volunteering in emerging communities’ – response to discussion paper
Volunteering Australia's submission in response to the Department of Victorian Communities discussion paper Patterns of volunteering in emerging communities.  This submission looks at some of the key barriers to volunteering and recommends strategies to support and encourage culturally and linguistically diverse individuals to volunteer.
Copyright owner/publisher: Volunteering Australia

Developing Your Organisation
This online resource assists community organisations to meet their governance, organisational and service delivery responsibilities. Of particular interest to organisations will be Chapter 9 – Culturally Inclusive Service Delivery.  This section provides information in a clear, easy-to-absorb format and will be of use to organisations which are looking to ensure that their services and programs are inclusive and accessible to the whole of their community.
Copyright owner/publisher: The Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, Queensland University of Technology

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4: Involving Volunteers from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds – Take a Closer Look
Download this guide to the key issues managers of volunteers and not-for-profit organisations need to be aware of when involving volunteers from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Further Information:
If you are interested in further reading on this subject or perhaps conducting or participating in research yourself, Volunteering Australia offers two services which may interest you.

AVALON:
The Australian Volunteering Library Network (AVALON) is a network of libraries across Australia specialising in resources on volunteering. Current members of the network are: Volunteering Australia, Volunteering Australia Darwin Resource Centre, Volunteering NSW, Volunteering QLD, Volunteering SA, Volunteering TAS and Volunteering VIC. To view the online library catalogue, click here.

Researchers' Database:
To find out about current research projects and emerging trends, and to make contact with researchers on volunteering, visit our researchers’ database. The database can be searched by state, sector, research theme and demographics.

Acknowledgments: Volunteering Australia would like to thank all organisations and authors who have given us permission to include their resources free of charge in this Subject Guide. We also acknowledge and thank members of the reference group who contributed to the reviewing and evaluating of materials for this guide: Glynis Szafraniec and Beth Lyon.