Oral histories are a feature of the AHC migrant heritage project. Information gathered from interviews is used to identify important places. One group involved in this project was the Maltese community of Blacktown, Sydney. In New South Wales, the Migrant Heritage Community Consultation Program is conducting workshops to find out the most effective ways for people from non-English speaking backgrounds to identify and assess heritage items from their own cultural perspectives. One strategy is to give workshop participants a camera and invite them to spend an hour or two photographing the sites and items of importance to their communities.
Some places created by migrant communities are vibrant and exotic.
Other places are known only to migrant groups themselves and are not easily identified by outsiders. These are places in the cultural landscape of Australia which are rich with meaning. Such places are part of the cultural heritage of Australia. Click the icon to listen to various points of views Heritage can offer a pathway to reconciliation with indigenous and migrant communities. While the distinct and meaningful in Australia's blend of cultures remains a focus, community identification of heritage can inscribe a sense of the communal and this can cross cultural boundaries.