One of the things I love about being active is that it provides a way to connect with people – it’s often the common ground between people of different classes, ages and cultural backgrounds. But it’s also good to remind ourselves that there are challenges and obstacles that can prevent people from realising the benefits of an active lifestyle. Socioeconomic, cultural, and geographic factors all impact on physical activity participation levels. We are committed to working with all communities and local community leaders to address some of the key language and cultural barriers that make it difficult for people from different cultural backgrounds to take part in regular physical activity.
In October, I was fortunate to attend an international congress of physical activity, sport and traditional games with Bluearth colleagues and learn firsthand the way sport shapes cultures and national identities. The 2016 TAFISA World Congress in Jakarta was a vibrant and dynamic experience that we shared with people from all over the world. Recognising, celebrating and sharing traditional ways games such as piersveniowka, a Polish version of volleyball; hadang, an Indonesian soccer game; and the Brazilian martial arts / dance / acrobatics fusion known as capoeira highlighted a new way to engage with communities in Australia. We will be building on the great work undertaken by TAFISA and working with communities in Australia to profile traditional games and make them available in other languages.
And of course it’s not only people born outside of Australia that have low activity levels. Indigenous Australians also experience high levels of physical inactivity and much higher rates of chronic disease than non-Indigenous Australians. As it’s often Aboriginal women who lead community change, we are partnering with Yok Djakoorliny, a health and wellbeing group for Noongar and other Aboriginal women and their friends, to empower women to make a difference to their community. We are offering Perth-based scholarships to two Aboriginal women to undertake a Certificate IV in Fitness and support their mob to get fit and healthy.
For more information about the scholarship program: