Five first year Arts students from ethnic backgrounds are about to embark on a Media Mentoring Program, developed by the Ethnic Communitites Council of Victoria (ECCV), to pursue a career where culturally diverse faces are a minority.
The Media Mentoring Program launched in 2012 by ECCV in partnership with SBS and Deakin University aims to increase multicultural diversity within the Australian media.
ECCV Deputy Chairperson Eddie Micallef, who will be speaking at a welcome event for the 2013 students, on Monday the 23 September at Deakin University, hopes the program will lead to more culturally diverse faces in the media.
He said: “I am confident the program will continue to open the way to a more inclusive and diverse media, that reflects an increasingly multicultural Australia. ECCV has a keen interest in fostering partnerships at local and state level that will make it easier for young people from a migrant and refugee background to succeed and this program is a prime example of that. We are looking forward to welcoming the 2013 students, may they go on to become the faces of tomorrows’ media.”
The program is intended to support mentees during their studies, assist them to develop their career plans, equip them with hands-on skills, provide networking opportunities and facilitate pathways to media careers.
It was designed by ECCV in response to concerns about the negative media portrayal of multicultural communities in the mainstream media in 2010-2011 and to facilitate access for people from non-English speaking backgrounds and refugees to a career in media.
After a successful first year that saw students carrying out their Arts-based degree at Deakin, SBS mentors will take the students through the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council Youth Conference before completing an SBS internship in 2014. ECCV says it’s looking forward to seeing the 2012 students succeed and to welcome the 2013 students about to start the program.
The 2013 Media Mentoring Program welcome event will be held on Monday 23 September, from 3.30 to 4.30pm at Deakin University City Centre in Melbourne. The program is also running in NSW were it was established in 2012 as a partnership between Macquarie University, SBS and the Ethnic Communities Council of New South Wales.