THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Attorney-General
Minister for Emergency Management
Special Minister of State
Minister for the Public Service and Integrity
SENATOR THE HON KATE LUNDY
Minister for Multicultural Affairs
Minister Assisting for Innovation and Industry
Minister Assisting for the Digital Economy
MEDIA RELEASE
AFL STAR HELPS BUILD A RESILIENT COMMUNITY
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Senator Kate Lundy today announced a grant of $156,000 to the Australian Football League to extend the Bachar Houli Cup and Leadership Program for another year.
"The Bachar Houli Program embraces Australia's diversity and builds greater social cohesion through sport," Mr Dreyfus said.
"The Federal Government is proud to support successful projects such as this, which enable communities to challenge ideologies that can lead to mistrust and marginalisation."
Senator Lundy said, "Australia is a vibrant and successful multicultural nation because national sporting organisations, like the AFL, have embraced the benefits of our diversity.
"Bachar has been an impressive role model through his educative role at the AFL, inspiring young Muslims to become more involved in sport and the wider community."
The Bachar Houli Program provides an opportunity for students from Islamic schools to play in an AFL 9s competition, culminating in the Bachar Houli Cup.
In addition, the program provides mentoring, education and leadership sessions.
Based on its success, the program has recently been shortlisted for the prestigious international Beyond Sport Award.
This year, the Federal Government is providing more than $850,000 in funding for nine projects under the Building Community Resilience grants program to empower communities through education and capacity-building to reject extremism.
AFL Head of Diversity Jason Mifsud thanked the Australian Government for its support of the Bachar Houli Program.
"We are really proud of the pivotal role Bachar is playing as a Multicultural Ambassador in breaking down social barriers and uniting multicultural communities through AFL," Mifsud said.
"Currently, the Bachar Houli Program engages 30 Islamic colleges nationally and more than 5000 participants annually. It plays an integral role in fostering greater cultural understanding and promoting social inclusion."
More information on the Bachar Houli program can be found at http://bacharhouli.com.au/.
More information on the Building Community Resilience grants program and the projects being funded can be found on the Attorney-General's Department website www.ag.gov.au/cve or www.resilientcommunities.gov.au.
THURSDAY, 1 AUGUST 2013
