The One Parramatta project is an original pilot dedicated to addressing interpersonal racism in Parramatta.

An initial grant of $50,000 from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship made this idea of erasing racism in Parramatta a reality. From this seed funding, All Together Now managed to quadruple this amount by garnering over $250,000 of project value along the way by leveraging business, volunteer and community support.

Parramatta is one of the most multicultural places in Australia, with 51% of the population born overseas. But it is also a place where 31% have been called names or insulted due to their cultural background or race. Based on the study led by Challenging Racism from the UWS, it appears that young adults are both primary perpetrators and victims of racism in the Parramatta area.

The goals of One Parramatta project was:

• to encourage people to reflect on their own behavior towards people of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds;

• to develop the feeling of belonging to the same community;

• to provide people with information about how to speak up when they witness racism in their community.

• to ultimately help in erasing racism in Parramatta.

Over the course of this one-year project, All Together Now spoke to +250 people, created seven films of one-minute length, and shared their stories at Parramatta local cinema and on social media. More than 50,000 people saw one of the episodes. The project evaluation found that:

•  79% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they better understand racism after watching one of the One Parramatta films.

• 88% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they are more likely to be welcoming of other cultures as a result of watching one the One Parramatta films

• Several people acknowledged that they realized that they have the right to fight racism and to stand up.

“People do change when they are pushed to reflect on their past behavior.”

But the One Parramatta project is just a start: a small drop in an ocean of ideas and projects that All Together Now would like to develop. You can contribute to help see other projects become real by making a donation.