By Sandra O’Malley, Diversity, Inclusion and Pathways Branch, Australian Public Service Commission
Many of us spend such a large part of our week at work but how well do we know the people we work alongside every day?
Their experiences?
Their backgrounds?
Their challenges?
Their triumphs?
Do they feel included in your team? Can they share their beliefs? Do they speak another language?
Many Cultures, One APS is a video storytelling project, launching on APSLearn in February, showcasing the lived experience of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) employees from across the Australian Public Service (APS).
In three-to-five-minute videos, Many Cultures, One APS shares the real-life journeys of CALD staff from across Australia, examining the highs and lows of their APS experience. The videos share the stories of real APS staff. To protect staff privacy, actors tell their stories. Viewers may find the stories informative, inspiring, spark curiosity and engender empathy – and they will hopefully get them thinking about their own behaviours and responses.
The project draws on neuroscientific research suggesting storytelling is a powerful tool to build emotional connection, helping foster trust and empathy. Employees from CALD backgrounds make up more than one quarter of the APS yet many staff report feeling unseen or unheard by their peers.
During consultations for the CALD Employment Strategy, many indicated they believed colleagues were unaware or failed to understand the barriers they faced in the workplace, including racism, discrimination and intolerance. The APS has zero tolerance for these kinds of behaviours – harassment, vilification and discrimination have no place in our workplaces.
The APS wants all employees to be aware of how their actions, language and behaviours impact the people they work alongside.
The CALD Employment Strategy and Action Plan, released in April 2024, found the APS was not maximising the benefits of the rich cultural diversity of contemporary Australia, which could help deliver better and fit-for-purpose policy, programs and services for the Australian public.
Of particular concern was how CALD representation dropped dramatically at senior leadership levels, limiting the diverse experience helping inform public policy and service delivery.
The strategy was a call to action for APS leaders and staff to lift CALD leadership in the APS Senior Executive Service and embrace inclusion by:
- Creating culturally safe workplaces,
- Building cultural awareness and literacy among all APS staff,
- Strengthening APS leadership by embedding cultural capability training.
Across the APS, departments and agencies are being asked to put in place action plans to deliver better outcomes for CALD staff – and ultimately the whole APS and the Australian public we serve.
The Many Cultures, One APS series, which is available free to all Commonwealth public servants through APSLearn, can be incorporated into these action plans.
For example, branches or teams can use resources that accompany the videos, such as a reflection guide and managers’ guide, to help lead discussions about what their units can do differently.
There is guidance for senior APS leaders to better understand their responsibility to create culturally safe workplaces and there are tools for public servants who want to be allies to their CALD colleagues. The videos also help build cultural awareness and literacy, another key deliverable from the CALD Employment Strategy.
Storytellers identify as CALD based on a variety factors, such as their birthplace, religion or family heritage. They or their families comes from a variety of countries and regions including the Netherlands, the United States, Hong Kong, China, South Asia, South-East Asia and North Asia, Africa, and Pacific. Where relevant, they share their experiences based on their religion, which includes Islam and Judaism.
The 11 videos are being released in tranches on APSLearn over the course of 2026.
APSLearn is available free to all Australian Government public servants.
APS staff can watch the videos as part of their individual learning journey or as part of a team. Viewers can watch multiple videos or return regularly to watch one at a time.
You can register for APSLearn here: https://www.apsacademy.gov.au/learning-experiences/apslearn. Help build a more culturally safe APS.