Read Transcript

Designing a new program for men specifically from multicultural backgrounds is quite challenging but I think as organisations as and as people working in the sector, we need to approach that with a lot of curiosity and a lot of a sense of humility.

I think in recognising that we don't know the answers when we go in and we can't go in with the answers that we have that are working for maybe the others or the mainstream community.

We need to bring men and experts in from the communities.

We are trying to support with our programs making sure that there's a clear and open dialogue between people from the community that we are trying to serve as coming in with the technical and the other expertise and with the men so we find a formula that works for them and not just a formula that works everywhere else.

So when we are working with a community, which is just emerging which is a fledgling community here.

They're already feeling beholden to as and then when I come in saying you're now in Australia.

This is how you must behave with your wife.

It does come down a stop heavy and it doesn't come from a place of respect.

So when we are designing a program, it is very important to recognise how you're making the other person feel and coming in from that place of humility that while you might be from an organisation that has dominant cultural views.

We are not viewing your culture as naturally inferior to us what we need to encourage and train our staff to do is to inquire about culture respectfully.

So what we need to do in training is give them the tools on how can I as someone who's not from your culture ask you respectfully.

We need to enable our staff to demonstrate genuine curiosity about other cultures.

Genuine curiosity will never come across as disrespectful but going into meeting or an engagement with the client implying that exactly you know what makes them tick. That is highly disrespectful.