Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2026
The purpose of Inner West Council's Anti-Racism Strategy is to ensure the lived experience of the people of the Inner West is reflected in its development.
This lived experience includes that of Indigenous peoples and other negatively racialised people, and also includes culturally and linguistically diverse communities who might not have lived experience of racism.
The Strategy proposes initiatives that build a foundation for long term action through three supporting principles:
1. Demonstrating local leadership
Council will support local community organisations, businesses, service providers, and schools to take leadership in addressing systemic racism and discrimination, and to build economic, social and community connections and participation.
2. Empowering communities
Council will provide funding and subsidised support for projects, programs and capacity building at the community level that recognises and enhances community-based expertise in addressing racism. This will allow people to draw on their lived experience of racism to tailor initiatives to their local circumstances.
3. Building awareness and changing attitudes
Council will build on our shared understanding and knowledge of the historical causes and roots of racism and grassroots knowledge to identify what works, to evaluate the measures we take to reduce racism, and to refocus our efforts to ensure the best possible outcomes for our community.
The Strategy was developed in consultation with Council's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee, its Multicultural Advisory Committee, the Inner West Multicultural Network, and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and multicultural organisations. It was adopted by Council at its meeting on 3 September 2024.
You can view the strategy here: