Category: Community (Page 2 of 3)

Canberra has some of the best seasonal vistas and panoramic landscapes of any city in Australia, as well as a highly educated community, a progressive culture and an enjoyable, accessible lifestyle.

We are fortunate to have some of the best cultural institutions in the country with places like the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, with incredible exhibitions.

However, I think that many Australians are often reluctant to dabble in artistic pursuits.

When I went on a holiday to London many years ago, I was struck by the number of people who had set up an easel to paint what they saw. The act of painting was simply and purely done for joy on a beautiful summer’s day. I can’t understand why it doesn’t happen more here in Canberra.

My best guess is that we are afraid of showing our lack of skill. But “art” isn’t something only professional artists and talented amateurs should produce. Creative expression, no matter what your skill level, is a great way to unwind and relax. Recently we have seen an explosion in the popularity of adult colouring books, another great example of art done for pure enjoyment.

The new ACT government arts policy emphasises the importance of both participation in art as a fun and enriching activity, and providing pathways and support for those who want to do art activities professionally.

A cornerstone of the policy is the ACT artist residencies program which sponsors interstate and international artists to come and live in Canberra. While here resident artists collaborate with local artists and engage with the local community through exhibitions, courses and workshops.

While this has been a worthwhile program with some great results, I am more interested in how we can introduce artistic pursuits to people who have been reluctant to try them.

There’s certainly no shortage of traditional opportunities. The ACT boasts 16 artsACT facilitiescontaining a variety of general-purpose and specialist facilities where people can join in arts workshops and view exhibitions. Whether you are learning how to operate a wood-fired kiln at Strathnairn, taking your kids to the youth drama programs at Gorman Arts Centre, or learning photography at PhotoAccess in Manuka, there is lots to choose from.

Town centre facilities such as the Belconnen Arts Centre and Tuggeranong Arts Centre are a crucial part of building a community arts focus as well. They also try hard to get the broader community involved in the arts. For example, the upcoming Hidden Treasures exhibition at the Belconnen Arts Centre is being billed as a “community exhibition” with artworks being sought from people “at any stage of their creative practice”.

However, nearly all of these workshops and activities are happening within the space of the arts centres. This is a missed opportunity for engaging the broader community. These dedicated arts spaces can be a headquarters for art, but they should also be making it easy for people to take art projects home, and to do art anywhere.

Resources like directories of local artists who teach others, bands seeking members, instructions to learn artforms, and “how to” YouTube videos, could all be made available by the Arts Centres. Staff at the centres should see their role as both educational and inspirational.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr has made no secret of his ambition to see Canberra recognised as the “coolest little capital”. Part of that is that Canberra could become kind of an “artists’ colony”, where you walk around and everyone is engaged in some sort of creative pursuit.

Do you feel that Canberra is a diverse place to live? At work, is your organisation’s board or executive team as diverse as the people it represents?

Most public service organisations make a point of “celebrating Australia’s diversity,” however, the statistics on who reaches the top tell a different story.

While women now make up 40 per cent of all senior executive positions, you are still less than half as likely to be promoted to a senior executive (SES) position in the Australian Public Service if you come from a non-English speaking background. With so many public service jobs in Canberra, this is a serious local issue.

A lack of diversity within decision-making groups creates significant risks. As the Australian Institute of Company Directors noted in April last year, “Diversity [limits] the danger of ‘group think’ that is inherent when a group of individuals from too similar backgrounds dominates…”

From our federal, state and territory parliaments right down to local parents and citizens councils, a lack of diversity will almost always see the “in-group” make decisions, with all good intentions, to the exclusion of others. It can also undercut the legitimacy of the group and in severe cases, lead to public ridicule.

Exposure to diversity also increases our tolerance for others. A 2004 study found that if you mainly associate with people similar to you, you will be less tolerant and accepting of those who are different.

A lack of diversity can prevent organisations and people reaching their full potential. For example, despite being two of the brightest hopes for Australian mens’ tennis, Canberra’s Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic have both come into conflict with Tennis Australia. Tomic has been suspended from the Davis Cup team for publically claiming that Pat Rafter and Craig Tiley have shown him “no respect”.

Even not knowing the full details of the conflict between Tennis Australia and Tomic, it is not hard to draw a line between the different handling of Hewitt’s string of controversies over the years and Tomic with the monoculture that exists on the Tennis Australia board and Executive. As the Roar wrote recently:

“Rafter and Tennis Australia [need to become] more understanding of players of different backgrounds and cultures, and have a broader definition of what both expect from players … There needs to be a mature and professional attitude, something neither Rafter nor Tennis Australia have shown in a long time”.

The AFL has been much more proactive in embracing diversity. After a number of incidents in the 1990s, the AFL implemented strict anti-racial vilification laws and under the stewardship of  Andrew Demetriou implemented a wide-ranging program to increase the diversity of its player base. Its success has been nothing short of extraordinary. As well as having 25 per cent of current players from diverse backgrounds (well above the national ratio of 16 per cent) the AFL sees these efforts as key to increasing the game’s support base into the future.

Greater diversity in groups creates richer debate, encourages more creative approaches, broadens our perspectives on any situation, and increases our tolerance and acceptance for others.

If you are part of a decision making body, consider improving its diversity by:

1. Be self-aware. Who are the members in your group? Are they representative of the community that you are making decisions on behalf of?
2. State your intentions. Outsiders are often reluctant to get involved because of bad past experiences. It’s important to both explain that you are looking for a diverse membership and seek broad input on how best to make it happen.
3. Actively recruit outside the usual suspects. This is not about filling a quota, but about encouraging participation. Build a network outside of your normal contacts. Offer extra training and support. Find low-risk opportunities for people to get involved. Be patient and take chances. And most of all – be open to the idea of taking a different approach.

Imagine living through the Canberra winter chill without a roof over your head.

This July, three organisations doing very important work to address homelessness celebrated important milestones. The Early Morning Centre in Civic celebrated 10 years of providing free meals to homeless people and helping them access the support and services they need to get their lives back on track. The crisis accommodation provider Samaritan House run by St Vincent de Paul also recently celebrated 20 years of operations and Common Ground Canberra in Gungahlin opened its doors on July 3 this year, providing 20 one-bedroom units for people experiencing homeless as well as an additional 20 units as affordable rental housing.

In the 2011 census the ACT had the highest rate of homelessness anywhere in the nation except for the Northern Territory, with approximately 50 people per 10,000 being classified as homeless. Compared to other states and territories, which have either stayed roughly the same or decreased, the ACT rate of homelessness has jumped more than 60 per cent over the previous 10 years.

Causes of homelessness are varied but commonly include domestic violence, a lack of affordable housing, unemployment, mental illness, and family breakdown, as well as drug and alcohol abuse. Contrary to popular opinion, studies show that mental illness and drug/alcohol habits are just as likely to be consequences of homelessness rather than a cause.

The ABS defines homelessness as falling under three categories:

• Tertiary homelessness: people living in single rooms in private boarding houses without their own bathroom, kitchen or security of tenure
• Secondary homelessness: people moving between various forms of temporary shelter including friends, emergency accommodation, youth refuges, hostels and boarding houses
• Primary homelessness: people without conventional accommodation (living in the streets, in deserted buildings, improvised dwellings, under bridges, in parks, etc)

In the ACT, our high rate of homelessness is mostly hidden because the majority of our homeless people are secondary homeless. Every night, 1400+ people in Canberra only have a roof over their head at night because of the support and sympathy of individuals and organisations prepared to put them up. They have no place to call their own. (Homelessness numbers are likely under-reported as well, particularly for young people, Indigenous people, and those escaping violent situations.)

Homelessness is debilitating because shelter is such a fundamental physiological need. It makes just keeping a normal life going a huge challenge; jobs and relationships become much harder to maintain. The stigma of homelessness can also be a huge problem. Once people “look” homeless, they not only feel isolated from society, but often get rejected for job and housing applications.

It is great that the ACT has such a strong temporary accommodation program, which means that few people are out at night sleeping rough in July. However, Canberra’s property market remains the biggest barrier to ending homelessness permanently. Only 1 in 5 rental properties are affordable to a person on the minimum wage. We have the highest median rent in the country. These high costs appear to be a significant contributor to the fact that 13.2% people in the ACThave repeat periods of homelessness, nearly double the national average.

The chief goal of the 2006 Affordable Housing Action Plan championed by Jon Stanhope was to ensure access to home ownership for people on lower incomes in Canberra. Unfortunately, key measures remain unimplemented which have pushed house prices up again in recent years.

Put simply, to end homelessness in the ACT we need to address two key factors:

• Having more services like the Early Morning Centre in each town centre to support our homeless people and to prevent their stigmatisation
• Putting in place better housing responses, including a review of the Affordable Housing Action Plan, to make access to secure homes for all Canberra residents an affordable, achievable goal

If you are homeless in the ACT, or are worried that you might become homeless, contact First Point on 1800 176 468.