CALD Network looks for members to ensure Frankston City’s diversity

Published on 26 September 2022

Frankston City Council wants to ensure all voices are heard within our Community.

Our newly-formed Cultural and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Network will be a conduit towards facilitating more diversity within our City.

We are looking for Expressions of Interests for our new CALD Network, which will be made of people from diverse backgrounds. To join the Network, you need to:

• speak another language
• have been born in a country outside of Australia
• identify as culturally diverse
• be a representative of a local organization, group, service or agency with an interest in supporting CALD communities

Once created, the 12-membered Network will meet two times a year to share information on advocacy projects, programs and services available to the CALD Community within Frankston.

The group will be invited to participate in Community Engagement activities to share their voice on issues which affect the Community. 

The Council Plan 2021-2025 outlined the community’s interest for Frankston City 2040 to be a place which is “vibrant, safe and culturally inclusive”.

Mayor Nathan Conroy said, “I look forward to the benefits which the CALD Network will bring by ensuring people who have chosen to make Frankston City their home are given the opportunity to be heard and contribute.” 

For further details about joining the CALD Network and to express your interest in joining it, visit engage.frankston.vic.gov.au/CALD by 30 October.

Other initiatives to encourage diversity

• Cuppa in English is an English conversation class open to anyone over 18 years who is looking to improve their English-speaking skills in an informal setting over a cup of coffee or tea. The class takes place at Frankston South Community and Recreation Centre (55 Towerhill Road, Frankston), and is open to the CALD community every Friday from 9.30am to 11am and caters to the individual needs of its members.
• The CALD Community of Frankston has plenty to feel proud of, and this is represented by a number of events which are part of the Frankston Seniors Festival. These include a cultural event for Chinese Seniors at the Frankston Uniting Church (3 October, from 9.30am-12.30pm); Filipino line dances (13 October, from 1.30-3.30pm); the Sri Lankan intergenerational food festival takes place at A. H. Talbot in Seaford (16 October, 2-6pm); the Kalinka Russian Singing Group perform at Seaford Community Centre (18 October, 12-3pm). Download the program for more info.
• Council is developing a Safe Community Policy and Strategy and have been consulting with our community over the past few months to identify key priorities and areas of focus for community safety and crime prevention over the next 10 years. Since early 2022, Council has spoken to 300 community members. To capture a diverse range of experiences, Council is reaching out to members of the CALD and LGBTQIA+ communities. Interpreters are provided. Those who complete, the short survey by 5pm Friday 23 September can go into the draw to win one digital Prezzee gift card valued at $50.
• The Emergency Planning Advice Service (EPAS) is a conversation-based program which supports people who live with a disability, are older, have a chronic or acute medical condition to create a tailored emergency plan. The Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Red Cross deliver this free service, which involves CFA facilitators giving you basic emergency safety advice, answering your questions and helping you. For more info, call 1300 322 322 or email veronica.foster@frankston.vic.gov.au
• Harmony Day falls on 21 March each year, and Frankston City Council is celebrating the cultural diversity of our area.
• Frankston City Council has an interpreter service. If you need the assistance of an interpreter, call 131 450.