Diversity & Inclusion Small Grants Program

Overview

The Faculty of Arts is committed to fostering a culture that promotes diversity and inclusion. Our vision is to be home to a dynamic, diverse and inclusive community of staff and students who are committed to achieving our full potential by working together and with our partners in a spirit of courageous generosity by 2025.

In keeping with this vision, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee is pleased to announce a small grants program to support staff and students who are interested in hosting or coordinating events that further the vision of the Faculty.

The grant will be up to $3,000AUD and will be allocated on a competitive basis. Efforts will be made to support grant activities across Schools and Institutes in the Faculty.

Application information

The 2024 grant round is now open. The deadline to apply is 5pm, Tuesday 23 April 2024. Grant outcomes will be announced by mid-May 2024. Activities must be completed by 30 November 2024.

Who can apply?

Applicants must be a student or member of staff in the Faculty of Arts, who will be enrolled and/or in a continuing or fixed term position until at least 31 December 2024. Applications may come from an individual or a group.

Please note: applications from students must be supported by a full-time staff member who will act as supervisor—this involves managing funds, assisting with bookings, and liaising with their School or Institute.

Staff (including professional staff) and students from diverse religious, cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, people with disability, Indigenous Australians and LGBTIQA+ staff and students are especially encouraged to apply.

Types of events encouraged

Funding will be given to events such as film screenings, workshops, panel discussions, cultural performance and other activities that build awareness, create space for all students and staff members to mark occasions of cultural significance, and create an inclusive and welcoming environment across the Faculty. Accessible events that facilitate wide participation are especially encouraged. Events must be completed by 30 November 2024.

Costs covered by the grant

The grant can be used for the payment of any goods or services that support the event outlined in your application. This may include:

• Venue and equipment hire
• Printing / stationery / graphic design
• Advertising
• Payment of domestic guest speakers/performers
• Travel costs associated with the activity
• Catering
• Exhibition costs

The grant cannot be spent on:

• Goods and services provided by overseas suppliers
• Goods and services provided by grant applicants
• Salaries or teaching buyout
• Activities/projects that will charge participation fees
• Research
• Learning and teaching projects
• Retrospective funding for projects already underway or completed
• The purchase of equipment

How to apply

Please consult with the manager of your School / Institute regarding your Project ideas and timeline, and submit the application form by 5pm Tuesday 23 April.

2023: Awarded Projects

• A Wasteland of Malaysian Poetry in English (Brandon K. Liew, School of Culture and Communication)

A special evening of poetry readings, panel discussions, and debut recordings that celebrate A Wasteland of Malaysian Poetry in English, an audio-archive of over 300 poems by Malaysian poets stemming from the 1950s. This event marks the first and only international iteration of the Wasteland to date as it moves back to Penang to premiere at the Georgetown Literary Festival in November 2023. The Melbourne reading features the writings of Lee Kok Liang, and will be read alongside contemporary work from emerging and established Malaysian and Southeast Asian poets.

• Mid-Autumn Festival & Traditional Vietnamese Children's Games (Tess Do, Trang Nguyen, and Vu Lan Anh Pham, School of Languages and Linguistics)

A beloved children's festival that showcases Vietnam's most cherished folk games, through a colorful display of artifacts.

Organizers Tess Do, Trang Nguyen, and Vu Lan Anh Pham, with several Vietnamese students who participated at the event.

• Supporting Refugee Students in Tertiary Education, A Conversation (Ali Reza Yunespour, School of Social and Political Sciences)

This panel considers gaps of inclusion in universities and pathways to tertiary education for current and prospective students with a refugee background.

Panel discussants Dr Claire Loughnan (University of Melbourne), Dr Ali Reza Yunespour (University of Melbourne), Ms Lana Formoso (Deputy Mayor of Dandenong City Council), Dr Karen Dunwoodie (Deakin University), and Sana Gulistani (University of Melbourne).

• Sarod Performance to Celebrate Eid al-Adha (Nadeem Malik, School of Social and Political Sciences)

A musical evening featuring performances with the Sarod (a stringed musical instrument widely used in South Asian music traditions) and the Tabla (a South Asian percussion drum) to celebrate Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Adha is the Muslim festival marking the culmination of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham.

Leading Australian Sarod player, Abyasachi (Saby) Bhattacharya, performing on the Sarod, with Dr Nadeem Malik (University of Melbourne) accompanying on the Tabla.

Other awarded projects:

• Myanmar's Diverse Cultures (Mary Aung, School of Social and Political Sciences)
• Culture from Seven Sea (Zolbayar Ochirbat, Australia Awards)