The Multicultural Community Engagement Network - Our work during the pandemic

Written By Enliven Victoria

Project Summary

The Multicultural Community Engagement Network (MCEN) was formed in November 2020, as a direct response to the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in the South East of Melbourne. In partnership with the City of Casey, the City of Greater Dandenong and Cardinia Shire, Enliven played a key role in supporting and coordinating the network, facilitating collaboration and ensuring effective outreach to CALD communities. The network quickly became an essential tool in delivering critical health information, supporting vulnerable individuals, and ensuring that community voices were heard during the crisis.

Our network

Our network consisted of:

  • 92 bicultural workers employed

  • 66 Community champions engaged

  • 3 councils and Enliven

  • 19 community agencies

Our network spoke 62 languages

We connected to 30 ethno-specific communities

Key achievements

  • Reached 18,168 people through 431 Covid-19 vaccine information sessions and pop-up vaccine activities.

  • Published over 14,000 communications in 62 different languages, ensuring that people had access to critical information in their preferred language.

  • Delivered over 17,000 food relief packages and distributed isolation and emergency kits to more than 5,900 individuals facing hardship.

  • Informed the approach of key agencies, including local government, state government, and Monash Health, to better meet the needs of CALD communities during the pandemic.

Community outreach

  • We engaged with 418,812 individuals

  • We connected 50,142 people to other support services

Project awards

• The Christine Mowat International Plain Language Award [2021] “for successful leadership in public plain language projects”.

• The Victorian Multicultural Awards for Excellence (Health Award) [2022] “for promoting and supporting effective health messaging for culturally and linguistically diverse Victorians”.

• The Community Development Award at the South Asian Summit 2022 “in recognition of the collaborative approach to messaging and the high calibre outcomes achieved through [the] project”.

Enliven Victoria
Previous

Joey and the Heatwave