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EXPLORING THE BARRIERS AND ENABLERS OF INTERCULTURAL ENGAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA: THE CASE OF INDIAN DIASPORA IN CANBERRA

Australian multiculturalism, while a successful project and policy framework since the 1970s, does not emphasise intercultural engagement in its practice and thus fails to promote interaction at a micro, community level. Advancing intercultural engagement is a key for the future of multiculturalism in Australia. Only by making multiculturalism more interactive, Australia can respond to the emerging ‘super-diversity’ in this country. This research will seek to understand the enablers and barriers of intercultural engagement through an in-depth study of the Indian diaspora in Canberra as a case study. While Indian diaspora is only one ethnic community among many others, it is a suitable case for exploring the questions this research seeks to respond to. The project will offer new insights on how different actors perceive and practice intercultural engagement focusing on three different yet interconnected levels of analysis within the public domain- the public, civic actors, and government agencies. It will involve interviews with key actors, focus groups with the members of Indian diaspora and document analysis of policy documents with respect to multiculturalism and intercultural engagement.


The project is funded by the industry partnership between University of Canberra/Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance and Canberra Multicultural Services (CMS).


Seminar series convenors Hans Asenbaum and Sahana Sehgal.

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