A City for Everyone: Inclusive Brisbane Plan 2019-2029 - 05 Connect - Future actions

Everyone can find out about things happening in their community, share ideas and feel that they belong in Brisbane.

Council will focus on three strategies and deliver actions by leveraging the roles of partner, provider, facilitator, regulator, funder and advocate.

Support people to feel safe, welcome and connected to their community

• Facilitate capacity building of local communities to lead intergenerational and intercultural activities that build relationships and wellbeing while reducing social isolation.
• Partner with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to provide welcoming programs for new residents that build relationships between communities.
• Provide grants that enable more meaningful inclusion outcomes to be delivered by local community groups and organisations.
• Facilitate initiatives to support emerging leaders to be inclusive of diverse community needs.
• Facilitate initiatives that empower individuals to prevent and respond effectively to discrimination and promote inclusion.
• Provide opportunities for civic leaders to be involved in campaigns that build awareness of, and highlight, social inclusion issues.
• Facilitate a review of existing welcome packs for new residents and support enhancements that build stronger connections to services, activities and community groups.
• Facilitate activities working towards reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities through Council’s Reconciliation Action Plan.
• Facilitate opportunities that bring together residents, community leaders, innovators and advocates to research, design and implement solutions that improve inclusion across Brisbane.
• Partner with international students and networks such as the Lord Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council to bring together young people with diverse backgrounds and abilities to build new relationships.
• Facilitate smart, interactive touch and tactile screens at key locations so that residents and visitors know what’s on in Brisbane and how to access it.
• Provide support to Council employees to engage with all residents through greater understanding of disability, cultural and gender diversity, mental health, neuro-diversity and dementia awareness.
• Facilitate corporate networks for businesses and organisations to share best practice in creating inclusive media campaigns that best reach diverse residents (such as campaigns that promote disaster preparedness).
• Provide images of diversity in Council material and continue to share positive stories of achievements from diverse groups.
• Provide Council information in multiple formats (e.g. Easywords) and languages (including Auslan), particularly for key information related to transport, rates, dispute resolution and complaint processes, public health, disaster preparedness, safety and local by-laws.
• Partner with support organisations to design alert and evacuation procedures to ensure safety of all residents in disasters.

Harness technology to make it easier to enjoy Brisbane and interact with Council

• Provide improvements to Council’s service centres, corporate website and online services through assistive and self-service technologies so that everyone has a range of ways to communicate with Council.
• Partner with local communities to deliver programs that increase access to computer devices.
• Advocate for an increased access to the internet for all residents.
• Provide enhancements to Council’s ‘What’sOn’ calendar to enable more residents to find activities and events that meet their needs.

Enable everyone to have their say

• Provide civic engagement activities in ways that enable greater and broader participation among community members, including through activities in the public domain, online, in community centres and outside business hours.
• Partner with industry bodies to explore new technologies that enable greater participation by all people in engagement events.
• Provide accessible information on roles and responsibilities of local government to encourage residents to have their say on the city’s future, participate in public meetings, forums and attend civic events.
• Facilitate a reference group including people with lived experience to work with Council on co-designing project requirements.