Projects
Each year participants undertake a personal Asia-related project, which may be connected to their work, organisation or a personal interest. Each participant is mentored through the process of defining the issue, the values addressed and framing of the project’s objectives, and supported throughout their project’s development to implement a practical strategy that will address these issues.
Project aims:
- Take the program’s messages to a broader audience
- Provide opportunities for participants to enhance their leadership skills
- Extend and strengthen participants’ Asia-related knowledge and networks
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An intranet solution to help mitigate risk in the integration of Australian and Singaporean airlines
A lack of cultural understanding, however, created difficulties that increased the risk of failing to achieve the operational and financial synergies anticipated. Fergus and Simon’s project aimed to mitigate this risk and to better facilitate the Australian office’s integration with their Singaporean colleagues through the development of an intranet site. This site, named JEN, provided information to assist staff to break down cultural barriers in order to create a more comfortable and less stressful foreign experience, to improve the quality of relationships with foreign colleagues and to help staff achieve better and faster outcomes when working with their foreign colleagues. JEN now provides a platform for Jetstar destinations beyond Singapore, and has been rolled out to cover information about other Asian cultures, reflecting the bases where Jetstar now works. |
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Building Cross-Cultural Competence in Victoria Police Probational ConstablesMaha Sukkar, Victoria Police As a Police Officer, Maha had witnessed the difficulties arising from the lack of cross-cultural training given to Police Officers. In particular, she had encountered difficulties in dealing with her colleagues in matters that directly related to her ethnic background. Maha’s project was to develop a tailored training program to facilitate the introduction of new members from culturally and linguistically different (CALD) backgrounds into Victoria Police. Her project was targeted towards Probational Constables, with the aim to change many of the negative perceptions towards CALD people and thus creating a more suitable environment for cross-cultural understanding. An indirect result of this project was increased trust and stronger cultural ties between Victoria Police and wider CALD communities. |
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Finding a pathway to financial independence for families who have a child diagnosed with a chronic medical condition in resource poor countriesDr Kate Armstrong, Peter Gill Medical Centre Research clearly demonstrates that financial burdens are one of the greatest difficulties families in resource-poor countries face when their child is diagnosed with a chronic medical condition. Morbidity and mortality are directly related to the family's income, and children from very poor families do not survive such a diagnosis. In response to these issues, Kate’s project linked families of children living with chronic medical conditions in Vietnam with locally successful NGOs that offered micro-finance, enterprise development and vocational training in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Kate’s long-term goal for the project is that at the time a child in Vietnam is diagnosed with a chronic medical condition, the family's financial status will be assessed, and specialist assistance instigated if they earn below a pre-ordained threshold. For more information visit www.clanchildhealth.org |
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The Right Space: Towards an effective dialogue on human rights between non-Governmental Organisations and the government in AustraliaAmalia Fawcett, Plan International Although the aid and development sector frequently engages with the government on human rights issues, at times it is unclear what strategies are working and why. It is therefore essential that there is enough information to ensure that engagement is strategic and is positioned to have the best chance of positive impact on policy. Amalia’s project consisted of desk research and a series of interviews of representatives from the aid and development sector, both in NGOs and in government, to gain a picture of what people are doing and what they see as successful with a view to building practical strategies and possible partners for the future. Read Amalia's paper "THE RIGHT SPACE: Towards an effective dialogue on human rights between non-governmental organisations and the government in Australia" [pdf, 258kb, 23 pages] |
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Creative LinksGlen Jennings, Trinity College, The University of Melbourne Glen’s Creative Links project produced a dedicated website to publish the literary and artistic work of international students studying in Trinity College. The website was developed to provide practical benefits for students undertaking education in a foreign language, with all participants receiving written feedback and editorial advice on their contributions. The website seeks to provide students with an outlet for personal expression beyond the classroom, with opportunities to explore ideas, experiences and emotions. The project hopes to develop confidence and skills while also encouraging interest in the ideas and initiatives of peers from different cultural, religious, or social backgrounds. |
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The Asia Audience and Australia NetworkAmy Frasca, Australia Network Australia Network is the international broadcaster within the ABC, broadcasting the best of Australian content and international programming to audiences across the Asia Pacific region. Amy’s project involved research into Australia Network audiences across Asia. She created lifestyle indexes of three typical audience members from five specific countries in the region, and conducted fresh qualitative research to collect specific insights from individual audience members, using tools such as Skye. From this research Amy and her team are now creating ‘Personas’, a design tool to enable the network to chart viewing habits and potential engagement habits across the Australia Network media offering. |
