Published on Friday, 16 June 2023 at 11:01:09 AM
A unique Shire of Dardanup project to build community participation, connection, accessibility and inclusivity has been recognised this week at a national awards ceremony.
Our Southern Ports Festive Auslan Choir received an Honourable Mention in the National Awards for Local Government (NALG) - an annual celebration of local government achievements in Australia.
The awards highlight initiatives implemented by local governments that are innovative, make a difference to their local communities, display excellence, and have outcomes that are replicable across the country.
Awards and Honourable Mentions in each of the 11 award categories were announced by Local Government Minister Kristy McBain at a ceremony in Canberra.
“I was absolutely blown away by the innovation and determination shown by councils in their entries for this year’s awards, which showcased their hard work to achieve results for communities across a range of critical service areas – from regional growth to road safety,” Minister McBain said.
“Australian councils continue to come up with new and creative ways to improve the lives of their residents, persevering through floods, COVID-19 and other challenges.
“These awards are a chance to acknowledge those incredible efforts and feats of our councils, while sharing their work on the national stage so that we can learn from and perhaps even replicate their ideas on broader scales.”
The winners for each award category were selected via a public voting system back in March.
Dardanup Shire President Mick Bennett thanked project sponsors Southern Ports and community members who supported the award nomination by casting their vote.
“Congratulations to our Place and Community Team who were the architects of this project, along with our sign language expert Kelly Hope and all the members of the choir who actively supported this great concept,” Cr Bennett said.
The community Christmas choir was convened by the Shire of Dardanup and sang and presented carols in sign language as part of a December 2022 festively-themed outdoor movie night event held in Burekup.
With funding support from Southern Ports, the Festive Auslan Choir project was created and implemented by the Shire’s Place and Community Events Team.
In preparation for the performance, 24 community members aged between 8 and 70 years attended an 8-week AUSLAN course facilitated by Kelly Hope from CODA (Child of Deaf Adult) Services.
Participants learned the signing of basic words, fingerspelling and six Christmas songs.
The Auslan Choir joined with Vocal Fusion Youth Choir for their 6.30pm performance at the Movies by Moonlight event in Burekup - part of the Shire of Dardanup’s Fuel to Go & Play Summer in Your Park Series held between December, 2022 and February 2023 and attended by almost 420 patrons.
Southern Ports Regional Manager Lee Smith said the organisation was proud to partner with the Shire of Dardanup and Hope CODA Services to deliver the initiative which enriched the community through important and positive social outcomes.
Following on from the success of the Choir, Kelly Hope was further engaged by the Shire to provide a signing service at three more outdoor music events held in early 2023 – also part of the Summer in Your Park Series.
The full 8-week program plus performance included involvement of four people with disabilities and celebrated their active participation.
Wide ranging positive local media coverage, including digital, print and radio, provided excellent positive exposure for Auslan as a universal language to the wider community and attendees at all of the summer events.
Participant Lauren Jones said: “My mum, my daughter Harlow, and myself had a great time. It was a lovely bonding experience for us. As you know, we already use Auslan in our family with my grandparents who are deaf, but to incorporate this in such a family friendly, fun and festive way was very special for us and created treasured memories.”
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