City of Palmerston - Celebrating Diversity

by City of Palmetston
The City of Palmerston is a local government area of the Northern Territory of Australia and is situated between the outer industrial areas of Darwin and the rural areas of Howard Springs. The City of Palmerston employs approximately 100 people.

While inclusion, diversity and accessibility are often referred to in the context of people with lived experience of disability, we recognise that these principles are equally as important for groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds. We are committed to ensuring that through all our programs, events, interactions and facilities we value and respect the diversity that makes our city unique.

We ensure that we embrace diverse cultures and work in ways that acknowledge the impacts of racism. We strongly oppose racism and choose to actively promote the strength of our culturally and linguistically diverse community. We recently facilitated a photography exhibition highlighting women from minority groups and marginalised populations within our community, to increase visibility and highlight the beauty and strength of diversity.

We are excited to have welcomed new citizens from more than 17 countries so far in 2022 and have hosted a cultural showcase where individuals and organisations were invited to show their traditional dress, language, music and/or performance in celebration of harmony day (also known as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination). We support local community groups to facilitate multicultural morning teas & lunches and provide free Larrakia Cross Cultural Workshops for members of the public, to promote better understanding of the history of the Larrakia Land on which we live and work and the importance of country, culture and traditions for the Larrakia People. We continue to work closely with other local individuals and community groups to ensure we are highlighting and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dates of significance in a way which is culturally appropriate and has meaning and relevance to the people living in our community.

We work alongside other organisations to offer free swimming lessons to new migrants and refugees living in Palmerston and have recently celebrated International Mother Languages Day by highlighting some of our bilingual team members on our social platforms. This initiative is one of many we have undertaken to increase visibility and promote the strength, value and creativity that cultural diversity and multilingualism bring to our city.

 

More information is available at https://palmerston.nt.gov.au/