City of Canning, WA
Hillview Intercultural Community Centre
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The Project
The Hillview Intercultural Community Centre (the Centre) opened its doors to the community in February 2022 and is the first 'intercultural' Centre in WA. With 50% of Canning of residents born overseas the Centre delivers on the City's vision of a Welcoming and Thriving community.
The City of Canning and funding partners invested around $6 million dollars in the development of the Centre, upgrades to adjacent parks and streetscapes creating a revitalised Hillview Hub precinct.
The unique 'intercultural' focus of the Centre reflects the vision for an inclusive community hub that brings people together to facilitate connections, learning and celebration across cultures. The Centre is a modern accessible space hosting an intercultural library collection, multipurpose hall, commercial kitchen, IT Lab and activity rooms with the latest technologies.
In the lead up to the Centre's opening, an in-depth engagement process ensured that community had an active role in the development of the space. This included establishment of a reference group with active participation from cultural leaders, school reps and residents. The City also partnered with Sister Kate's Home Kids Aboriginal Cooperation to deliver a series of community art workshops which provided an opportunity for sharing stories and ideas for the Centre. This culminated in the development of a large triptych painting that was launched at the Centre opening and has been used in the design of wraps for internal doors.
Alongside the Hillview project the City also developed a Cultural Ambassador program in partnership with Multicultural Futures and Curtin University. Cultural Ambassadors worked with the City to create 'Welcome to Hillview' short films introducing the Centre in their 14 languages.
The centre is still in its infancy and is already establishing a reputation as a Hub with a diverse array of activities from language classes, cultural events, social groups, topical workshops, symposiums to business forums and job readiness support. "We can vividly see our contribution not only in the process and program, but also in the fit out of the centre—Community oozes out of the bricks of Hillview"—SRG member.
The Award Category
This category recognises local government projects that:
- drive a more inclusive approach to the design of policies, programs and partnerships
- foster a sense of belonging, identity and shared values and promote civic rights and responsibilities
- foster participation in and develop innovative approaches to connecting the local community or
- celebrate the cultural, linguistic and religious diversity of the community and foster an inclusive and respectful community.
Successful projects in this award category benefit communities by:
- creating communities that everyone can belong to, identify with and contribute to equally
- increasing participation in local communities and building community harmony and
- promoting trust and offering community members opportunities for upward mobility.