Belonging Starts Here: Advancing Social Cohesion through Data-Informed, Evidence- and Place-Based Approaches

Aleem Ali, Welcoming Australia

Fostering inclusive communities where everyone can belong across Australia’s diverse demography and geography requires a strategic approach. This presentation will explore how Welcoming Australia leverages demographic insights to enhance social cohesion and promote belonging in various contexts. Aleem will outline the challenges of this work and discuss using community mapping and data analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks within different communities. Welcoming Australia's initiatives, such as Welcoming Cities and the Welcoming Cities Standard, focus on institutional and systems change. They empower communities to articulate their needs and aspirations while enhancing their capacity to advance social cohesion. Aleem will explain how demographic insights inform these strategies, enabling the tailoring of programs that address specific community needs and elevate diverse voices in policy and practice. This presentation will highlight the critical role of demographers in advancing social cohesion and emphasise the importance of their work in shaping a welcoming Australia

Keywords:

No extended abstract or paper available