The Port Adelaide Football Club is celebrating diversity and inclusiveness as it helps to celebrate two significant days on the on the Australian calendar.
The Power’s newly-appointed AFL Multicultural Ambassador David Rodan warmed up for Harmony Day (Wednesday 21 March) by attending a Come and Try event on Tuesday giving newly arrived and Aboriginal students an opportunity to experience various sports.
On Thursday, the club will mark Close The Gap Day with the launch of a partnership at Alberton Oval in support of efforts to achieve health equality between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians by 2030.
Rodan joined South Adelaide footballer and SANFL Indigenous Program trainee Emmanuel Irra at Fawk Reserve, Athol Park, for Tuesday’s Come and Try event organised by Charles Sturt Council and supported by Opal, a community-based healthy lifestyle program for children and families.
More than 150 students from five schools got to experience seven sports, including football, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, netball and rugby.
Council diversity officer Judith Robertson says that one-in-four four Charles Sturt residents speak a language other than English at home, making it the most culturally diverse local government area in South Australia.
“Sport is very effective in the way it can break down some of the barriers,” Ms Robertson said.
“One of the biggest issues for any new arrival is feeling like they belong in an Australian culture and sport is such an icon in Australian culture that once we can get some new arrival children playing sport then I think some of those barriers are being reduced for them.”
The schools that participated included Woodville Gardens Primary School, Challa Gardens Primary School, Islamic College, Pennington Primary School and Seaton Park Primary School.
The Closing The Gap Day function is supported by Healthfirst Network which forms partnerships with medical practices to provide better health access to Aboriginal people.
By staging the function Healthfirst, Port Adelaide, the Department of Health and Ageing and Oxfam are aiming to unite the Aboriginal community, health providers and the wider population in Adelaide’s western suburbs.
Healthfirst Network CEO Brenton Chappell said: “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people die 10-17 years earlier than non-Indigenous Australians.
“We’re delighted to enter this partnership with the Port Adelaide Football Club for this event and believe the benefits for all parties will be long-lasting.
“Part of the Closing the Gap initiative is improving Indigenous access to mainstream primary health car and this will be a good opportunity for the Healthfirst team to promote their services, such as care coordination and outreach support to the wider Aboriginal community.”
The Closing The Gap event is on at Alberton from 11am to 2pm on Thursday. Entry is free with entertainment for all ages including stand-up comic Kevin Kropinyeri.
