Penny Elsley

What are we fund-raising for?

This fund-raising campaign is for the purpose of developing a new website for joiningthedots to enable us to communicate and spread the word about The Welcome Dinner Project and our other initiatives. In these next 12 days we are aspiring to raise over $5000 by inviting our supporters to donate whatever they can. In return you will receive a reward from our team, supplied by some of our generous sponsors. The real reward is of course a more connected and aware Australian community. If we raise more, we can achieve more!

Who's idea is this?

The Welcome Dinner Project is an initiative of joiningthedots, a not-for-profit organisation, established by Penny Elsley in 2010. joiningthedots is aspiring to become a global movement for furthering connectedness at all levels, maximising the effectiveness and deep reach of the work of change makers and their endeavours for good. It is about opening up spaces for meaningful encounters, leading to ongoing transformations, both personal and communal.

What's it all about?

The Welcome Dinner Project will enable new Australians and established Australians to meet over dinner conversation in the comfort of their own home. The aim of these pot-luck-style dinners is to create a platform throughout Sydney for meaningful connection, sparking friendships between people of diverse cultures who are living in close proximity to one another but have not had an opportunity to connect in a supported environment. The project will also encourage further local collaborative endeavours. We are aspiring for this project to swiftly spread across the nation, resulting in significantly increased social cohesion by involving the broader community in building a welcoming Australian society, one which embraces and celebrates diversity.

It's about “changing the conversation” through real life encounters and connection

What are we going to do?

Organise and facilitate dinner parties between new Australians and established Australians across the greater Sydney region. The average dinner will have in attendance 6 established Australians together with 6 new Australians as well as a facilitator. The facilitator will assist each of the parties to organise the dinner as well as support them on the night and give feedback. The dinners will take place between people who live locally to each other (for ease of transport and to maximise opportunities for ongoing relationships). All participants will undergo some preparation in the lead up to the dinner via means of a downloadable kit from the website, as well as support from the volunteer facilitators and point of contact in partner organisations (service providers, community groups etc). The dinners will take place at one of the participant’s homes (the host), although the food will be provided by all in attendance (pot-luck style). Bringing a dish that represents one’s culture will be encouraged.

What is the aim?

The overall aim is to encourage a sense of belonging, promote inclusiveness and contribute to human happiness and dignity in Australia. The objective is to provide people residing in Sydney with a platform to enable them to meet the “other” (new Australians / established Australians) and have a meaningful encounter over something common to us all – sharing a meal together, with the intention of encouraging friendships between groups that are not commonly integrating. A secondary objective is to inspire collaborative endeavours which bring about greater social cohesion between new Australians and established Australians throughout Sydney’s local communities.

How will we get people involved?

joiningthedots is providing a framework for facilitating the dinner parties based on partnerships with existing community organisations, service providers, civic groups and institutions. A community consultation evening has already taken place which was well attended by people working alongside culturally and linguistically diverse groups throughout Sydney. We now have an organising committee and “points of contact” are being identified amongst cooperating organisations. These key people will link potential participants with the program and liaise with the central committee. We will also attract people to the program through extensive online and social media presence.

What will it cost?

This initiative presents enormous opportunities to tap into existing resources and links within the community and it is therefore expected that the ongoing costs for this project will be minimal. One of the main things we need to get it going is a good website! This will enable us to promote the project, distribute information, register participants and collect the stories and photos via a blog.

Where did the idea come from?

This project was conceived after observing a need from the perspectives of both new Australians as well as established Australians that they are struggling to find opportunities to meet each other in ways that do not seem tokenistic. It is also a response to the need to “change the conversation” (to something more representative of a welcoming Australia), given the current political debates about refugees and asylum seekers in particular. The project will encourage a sense of belonging and inclusiveness for new Australians and bring a greater sense of connection, cultural understandings and well-being for everyone involved. And it is a lot of fun!