Australian Intercultural Standards and Index

Abstract

The Australian Intercultural Standards and Index are an integrated set of documents and resources for promoting, implementing and evaluating intercultural practice in local government settings in Australia. They allow local governments to use a common set of criteria to evaluate their services, activities, community facilities, resources and leadership capabilities.They also enable benchmarking against regional, national and international local governments of similar size and cultural diversity. The Australian Intercultural Standards outline the core principles of interculturalism, along with key indicators of best practice, based on international evidence and local social and political conditions.The Australian Intercultural Index is a benchmarking tool derived from the Australian Intercultural Standards for local governments to evaluate and plot their progress towards intercultural practice.The Australian Intercultural Standards share the principles of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and the Council of Europe?s Intercultural Cities Programme. In incorporating these principles in the Australian context, the Australian Intercultural Standards build on key tenets of Australian multicultural policy to date, including the public recognition of diversity and difference, protection from discrimination, and the need for consultation across cultural divides.The Standards have been shaped by discussions with elected members and officers from federal, state and local governments around Australia. They reflect discussions that occurred at InterculturAdelaide - Cultural Adaptability for the Asian Century, supported by the Department of Premier and Cabinet in the Government of South Australia.