PORT ADELAIDE’s third annual Power Intercultural Program football carnival gets underway on Friday with a record number of students and schools involved.
The carnival is being held at Karen Rolton Oval in the city with the two boys’ and two girls’ sides that make the final playing off as a curtain raiser to the Power’s Round 15 AFL clash against the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval.
Participants will also take part in a cultural performance on ground ahead of the match, celebrating the many vibrant cultures involved in both the program and Australian society.
In its third year, participation has risen 25% to now incorporate 242 students from 11 schools.
The program has engaged more than 200 ethnic groups, and is integrated within the South Australian Certificate of Education, allowing students to receive credits for their work.
The Power Intercultural Program (PIP) is an education-focussed program which is designed to celebrate vibrancy of cultural diversity and expression, and promote inclusion and social cohesion by recognising the positive contribution of different cultures within Australia.
Delivered to students in years 10 and 11 from schools across the state with large multicultural populations, PIP uses current and past Port Adelaide football club players and female role models to help students explore their own culture, Indigenous cultures and other cultures within their school community to develop an understanding of the differences and similarities.
The program also teaches students about the rules and skills involved in Australian Rules Football, allowing new arrivals and those who may not be as familiar with the game to feel more comfortable in being involved with a very Australian pastime.
The schools will play off in a nine-a-side football tournament on Friday with each wearing a guernsey designed by pupils to represent their school communities and their unique cultural stories.
They also get to be involved on the day in fitness tests, a footy skills station run by the SANFL and a careers expo to help provide them with pathways beyond their schooling.
The program is headed by former Power player Alipate Carlile, now the club’s Multicultural Programs Manager.
“The program is based on cultural awareness, and supporting identity and social cohesion,” Carlile told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“With more than 200 diverse backgrounds and nationalities involved, including sometimes more than 80 at one school alone, it’s pretty important that participants know the positives and negatives they bring to each community and can work together.
“We’ve all got a story about where we come from and what the program has provided is a platform for the students to feel comfortable about sharing those stories.”
In its first two years, 85% of students said they had gained a better understanding of Aboriginal history and culture, 91% gained confidence with sharing their own culture with others and every student reported that they had gained a clearer understanding of employment and further education opportunities available to them beyond their schooling in South Australia.
The carnival coincides with the club’s Multicultural Round, which it will celebrate on Saturday night at its AFL game with a Citizenship Ceremony on ground, Tamil Drummers performing on the night and an initiative encouraging those attending to wear the colours of their culture – that is to dress in the traditional clothing that represents their cultural heritage.
More than 700 people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds who are new to AFL will be attending the game, giving them their first taste of a Saturday night blockbuster match.
The Power Intercultural Program is a partnership between the Port Adelaide Football Club, the Department of Home Affairs, the Peregrine Group and On the Run, Oak Parmalat and the Jim Stynes Scholarship fund.
