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Community Engagement Guide

In 2021, Embrace commenced a partnership with local organisations and community members to deliver the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Community Engagement Project (CCEP).

Over the course of four years, the CCEP delivered 12 initiatives focused on mental health and suicide prevention. The objective of these initiatives was to work collaboratively with communities to identify needs and develop community-led solutions that promote wellbeing, reduce stigma, build connections, and encourage help-seeking.

Based on insights shared with us by partner organisations and community members who participated in the CCEP project, as well as our Lived Experience Group, Embrace has identified common considerations for meaningful engagement and participation with culturally diverse communities.

What is Community Engagement?

Community engagement is a purposeful and structured process that brings people together to identify community values, needs, and hopes. It’s about creating genuine partnerships where communities shape and influence activities that support their well-being, both individually and collectively.

This approach values the unique expertise of community members, their experiences, cultural knowledge, and understanding of what works best for them. By working collaboratively and in partnership, we can invest in solutions that are relevant, effective, and sustainable.

Good community engagement is not a single activity; it’s a long-term commitment to building trusted relationships and establishing the conditions essential for co-creating just and equitable systems and services that honour cultural knowledge and promote and support wellbeing for all.

Insights for Engagement with Culturally Diverse Communities

Many people from refugee and migrant communities have experienced trauma, loss, prolonged uncertainty, and settlement challenges, including racism and difficulties adjusting to different cultural contexts. They may mistrust institutions due to past experiences, both in Australia and in their home countries.

Understandably these experiences can deeply affect trust and require careful consideration.

While general community engagement principles apply to all engagement processes, there is a need to contextualise these for multicultural contexts to achieve outcomes that reflect community needs, strengths and structures.

  • Build trust first
    Invest time in developing relationships grounded in safety, respect, and genuine partnership. To maintain trust, you need to be clear about your purpose and follow through on commitments. Engage with local organisations, bi-cultural workers, and community representatives to strengthen connection and trust.
  • Honour culture and context
    Show gentle curiosity and willingness to learn about cultural practices and norms. Respect traditions, faith practices, family structures, and lived experiences that shape wellbeing and identity. Reflect on how your own culture shapes how you interact.
  • Adapt to cultural norms
    Understand and respect the communication styles, values, and decision-making processes unique to each community.
  • Listen and learn continuously
    Commit to ongoing dialogue, reflection, and learning from communities’ experiences and feedback, over once off consultations.
  • Understand diverse views of wellbeing
    Recognise that mental health and suicide prevention are understood differently across cultures, and differently across communities particularly intergenerationally. Respect cultural frameworks for distress, healing, and conversations about sensitive topics.
  • Address stigma creatively
    Acknowledge that mental health can be a taboo topic. Link discussions to familiar, culturally relevant activities and community spaces. Be flexible in how and when you receive information.  
  • Promote agency and choice
    Be guided by individuals and communities on what, how, and when they share, ensuring approaches are culturally safe and support trust and dignity. Respect people’s right to decide how they engage and provide clear options to step back or not share.
  • Challenge approaches
    Avoid imposing system-driven language and jargon, structures, or expectations that may not align with community realities.
  • Build capacity together
    Share knowledge, resources, and opportunities so everyone can contribute meaningfully to common goals.
  • Prioritise accessibility
    Use interpreters and translations intentionally. Invest time in understanding how to make communication inclusive and effective.

When engagement is done well, communities feel seen and respected. Their knowledge and leadership help create stronger, more inclusive outcomes for everyone.

Related reading:

Useful tools: 

To learn more or for support on your community engagement approach, please reach out to Embrace at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.