From the 25 – 30 April eight Australian representatives from rural councils across the country will join colleagues from rural councils across America for the Rural Welcoming Communities Exchange Program (RWCE).
The exchange experience will be based in California and the group will attend conference sessions discussing different perspectives on how to build a culture of welcome for migrant communities and also visit different communities across California to see first-hand the approaches being taken in these rural communities.
The RWCE is a reciprocal learning exchange opportunity for practitioners and policymakers from both the U.S. and Australia working in the diversity and inclusion space, with a focus on the migrant experience. The program includes sessions which explore and share stories of local approaches to policy and practice in this space to support an exchange of ideas and perspectives, and deeper learning for all participants.
Australian participants were selected from the member councils in Welcoming Australia’s Welcoming Cities network, and U.S. participants from the Welcoming America network of non-profits and local governments. Welcoming Australia and Welcoming America are both part of the Welcoming International Alliance, a coalition of national welcoming networks focused on creating a culture of welcome for migrant people and communities.
Participants in the 2023 RWCE exchange are:
Australian participants:
- Cassandra White of the Paroo Shire Council
- Ko Yeh Talor of the Ararat Rural City Council
- Rhett McDonald of the Tatiara District Council
- Peta MacRae of the Mount Isa City Council
- Phillip Barwick of the Mount Isa City Council
- Rachael Johnson of the Paroo Shire Council
- Timothy McDougall of the Ararat Rural City Council
- Tracey Grosser of the Tatiara District Council
U.S. participants:
- Celeste Koppe of the West Central Initiative (Fergus Falls, MN)
- Fatima Said of Project FINE (Winona, MN)
- David Kramer of the City of St. Charles, Minnesota
- Elizabeth Rodriguez of Centro Hispano Comunitario de Nebraska
- Marilyn Schacht of Crete Public Schools
- Nancy Tellez of the City of Crete, Nebraska
- Siham Amedy of Human Rights Commission, City of Moorhead, Minnesota
- Tara Vasicek of the City of Columbus, Nebraska