Indigenous
Australians have some of the highest participation rates in volunteer work
in Australia.
And
according to one of the first research reports of its kind, Experiences
and perceptions of volunteering in Indigenous and non-English speaking
background (NESB) communities, contribution of Indigenous people and
those from NESB backgrounds had to date gone largely unrecognised and
unrecorded.
Adelaide
Lord Mayor Alfred Huang will launch the new report today July 19 at 3.00pm in the foyer of the Torrens Building,
Victoria Square.
The
research project and survey involving 44 cultural groups was undertaken by
the University of South Australia’s Social Policy Research Group in a
unique collaboration with the Department of State Aboriginal Affairs, the
SA Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, Volunteering SA, and
UniSA’s Unaipon School.
Research
leaders Harry
Savelsberg and Deirdre
Tedmanson say stereotypes about what is a typical volunteer have been
overturned by the research report.
“I
think for a long time the efforts of groups such as the Indigenous
community and people from different cultural backgrounds have been
overshadowed by a very ethnocentric and Anglo Celtic understanding of what
constitutes volunteering,” Savelsberg said.
"The
report shows that for members of the community aged 15 years and over
Indigenous Australians engaged in voluntary work more than non-Indigenous
Australians – the rates are almost 27 per cent to 19 per cent.
“What
our research has identified is that informal volunteering networks that
exist in these communities are overlooked because they often exist in
unstructured or technically unmanaged environments.
“What
has not been clearly defined before are notions of what volunteering might
mean within different cultural context. The absence of that definition has
meant that enormous and consistent investment in the social capital of the
community by Indigenous and NESB community members has not been
recognised.”
Tedmanson
said the focus groups and interview research conducted as part of the
project revealed that for both Indigenous Australians and NESB groups, the
idea of helping people in their immediate or extended family and the wider
community was considered second nature.
“Many
people interviewed said that volunteer work within their own community was
second nature,” she said. They talked about it as being part of
identity, upbringing, beliefs, and obligation. The volunteer work
undertaken is done freely, consistently and without any notion of an
organised body to implement assistance programs.
“Although
much of the volunteer work is done within their own cultural groups, there
was interest and participation in broader community volunteer programs.
However people said they felt there were sometimes barriers to getting
involved in more mainstream activities, including cultural differences,
language problems and feelings of exclusion or even prejudice.”
Key
themes in the report released today include analyses of the type and
nature of volunteering undertaken by the two groups, the definitions of,
motivations for and attitudes to volunteering, the supports and barriers
to volunteering within each cultural group and supports and barriers in
the wider community for participation from these groups.
Savelsberg
and Tedmanson said the report was an
important first step in acknowledging the contribution of Indigenous and
NESB people and in supporting future programs that would enhance their
strong and vibrant contribution to the community.
“For
the first time we have brought together government agencies and other
associations to look at issues of vital importance to the people they
represent and the project has been extremely fruitful,” they said.
“This
is an important step in paving the way for future research collaborations
that are significant in building more inclusive policy developments.”
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302 0966 or 041
8823673
email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
