As you filled out your census form this week, you may have wondered how that information is used — other than by journalists, perhaps, to create stories from statistics.
Key points:
- Census data is being used to help direct a migrant youth community program in Adelaide’s northern suburbs
- The One Culture Football charity offers free soccer programs for migrant youth, as well as for people living with a disability
- Inclusion through sport has been shown to help overcome language barriers and improve community cohesion
But One Culture Football — a charity focused on engaging with youth from migrant backgrounds — is an organisation that benefits immensely from census data.
Inclusion and diversity officer Abdulsalam Hamid Juma said census data helped create “community profiles for the specific areas” the organisation worked in, providing useful information, such as participation rates in sport and the age groups involved.
“The programs that we use — which are informed by the census data — really provide opportunities for those young people to pursue pathways that are meaningful in the long term,” he told ABC Australia.
Critically, Mr Hamid Juma said the data was also used to support grant applications that helped ensure ongoing funding for community programs.
Accessible soccer
Launched in 2017, One Culture Football provides accessible soccer programs for multicultural youth.
Sereyo Hussein Issak, 20, was born in Somalia, where she was not allowed to play soccer until she moved to Australia seven years ago.
“I was just, like, supporting everything but, when I came here, I had the opportunity to study, also to find friends and finding friends got me here to One Culture playing soccer.
“I used to be more shy than I am now … and it’s also improved my English.
She said she had met countless good friends through the program, and had enjoyed its “good vibes”.
Zahra Rahimi, 21, has been playing soccer for about four years and now works for One Culture as a support worker.
Born in Afghanistan, she grew up in Iran, but rates Australia as among the best countries due to its “freedom” and “opportunities”.
Overcoming barriers
Mr Hamid Juma said one of the biggest challenges for young migrants was adjusting to a new environment, particularly at school, and “especially when language is a big barrier”.
The aim of including people from all backgrounds through soccer, he said, was to provide more cohesion within those communities.
“Through research that we did with one of the local universities here … we found that participation in sport and its inclusion really fosters connections with the people, particularly young people,” Mr Hamid Juma said.
“It’s been very helpful in the way in which they interact with the rest of society, and how they transition from adolescence into adulthood.”
Free programs
One Culture Football provides weekly social programs, as well as community tournaments and an elite development program.
It offers free programs at Blair Athol, in the city’s north, where it also offers a women’s program on Tuesdays, as well as an after-school program with Adelaide City Football Club on West Terrace in the CBD.
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“Girls and women from different ages, different backgrounds, they can come down and play as a team,” Ms Rahimi said.
In suburbs across Adelaide, the organisation also runs an Inclusive Football program for people living with a disability or health condition.
They are running a similar a program in New South Wales’ Central Coast as well as a Powerchair Football Championship at Lightsview for people who rely on a powered wheelchair for daily mobility.
“As the company has grown, it’s transitioned into other services, such as physiotherapy support services, such as individual support work and other sports that we’ve ventured into,” Mr Hamid Juma said.
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