The NSW Government has reaffirmed its commitment to fostering social cohesion and empowering young people with a $12.2 million investment to expand the successful Multicultural NSW Community Partnership Action (COMPACT) Program.
The latest funding round sees 20 innovative projects involving 65 partner organisations across New South Wales welcomed into the state-wide COMPACT Alliance, a network of community collaborators dedicated to fostering understanding and resilience.
“By equipping young people with tools to lead with empathy and resilience, we are nurturing a generation prepared not just to confront hate and division but to build lasting bridges of understanding,” said Multicultural NSW CEO Joseph La Posta.
“The COMPACT Summit is more than a gathering—it’s a celebration of unity and a testament to our shared commitment to a harmonious future. Under the COMPACT Alliance, we are creating a powerful force for social cohesion, leveraging the strength of our diversity.”
Funding for Innovative Projects
This funding supports 20 groundbreaking projects involving 65 partner organisations across New South Wales, all working under the statewide COMPACT Alliance. These projects aim to foster understanding, resilience, and connection across diverse communities.
Highlights include:
- Institute for Economics and Peace: A peacebuilding initiative offering conflict-affected youth tools to mitigate the impact of global events on their communities.
- Catholic Missions: A faith-based school alliance that connects Year 10 and 11 students from eight schools, fostering cross-cultural bonds and providing educators with resources to enhance learning and wellbeing.
- All Together Now: A youth-led project co-designing innovative digital solutions to counter hate and divisive online influences.
- Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre: A program empowering diverse youth in south-west Sydney to promote social cohesion through safe spaces for cross-cultural and multi-faith dialogue.
COMPACT X DIGI Engage Summit
This week, these successful partners joined young leaders, digital industry experts, and fellow COMPACT Alliance collaborators at the two-day COMPACT X DIGI Engage Summit. Attendees worked together to address challenges to social cohesion, strategised to counter online hate, and amplified the voices of young leaders across NSW.
Proven Impact
Since its inception, the COMPACT Program has reached over 80,000 young people, inspiring a new generation of leaders while strengthening the social fabric of NSW’s multicultural communities. Its success is rooted in creating meaningful connections across cultural, ethnic, and religious divides.
For more information on the COMPACT Program, visit multicultural.nsw.gov.au/community-resilience/compact.
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