The City of Prospect became a Refugee Welcome Zone in 2003.
With an estimated population of around 22,000, the City covers an area of nearly eight square kilometres, and is located a few kilometres north of the Adelaide GPO. The original inhabitants of the Prospect area were the Kaurna Aboriginal people. It was named Prospect in the 1830s by the original settlers for the beautiful ‘prospect’ the locality presented, ‘well timbered, with waving gums and shady trees’.
There are many different nationalities living and working together in the council area, and many languages are spoken.
As a community, we embrace the vibrancy and energy that results from cultures and peoples woven together into a diverse mix of beliefs, perspectives, and lifestyle choices.
We celebrate the diversity that refugees and asylum seekers bring to our community and their contributions to our society.
Everyone is welcome, and we proudly celebrate inclusion. Embracing diversity makes the City an interesting place to live, and a place people don’t want to leave.
Our desire is that everyone finds a place to call home in the City of Prospect – reinforcing our culture of acceptance and openness.
We provide accessible and equitable services to people from migrant and refugee backgrounds and work with the community to build constructive relationships, and to ensure people from migrant and refugee backgrounds are aware of the programs and services available to them.
We create opportunities for new culturally diverse citizens to be actively involved in Council programs and activities, and review community programs to ensure they continue to align with cultural changes across the community
We empower the community to deliver diverse events through grants for festivals and other events.
Arts and culture are an important part of our ethnically rich and diverse community. Council is committed to maintaining the distinctive, connected, inclusive and culturally engaged community we have, and Arts and culture form a large part of how that is accomplished.
For example, our Gallery has hosted an exhibition by artist Daniel Connells, who interviewed new migrants in the Gallery assisting them with CV’s and Cover Letters and then drew their portraits, displaying them as part of an evolving exhibition.
We have also offered live portrait painting and talks with a young refugee engaged via the Australian Refugee Association during Refugee Week and have coordinated soccer matches at Blackfriars School in association with One Culture Football and the schools English Second Language Class.
