PARTNERSHIPS
The Multicultural Leadership Initiative was founded on a commitment to collaboration. We work closely with partners who are willing to engage deeply with cultural complexity, recognising that inclusive multicultural leadership is the bedrock of multilateral success. Through these partnerships, we learn, adapt and shape a sustainable and climate safe future together.
EXPANDING AND DIVERSIFYING CLIMATE PHILANTHROPY
Less than 7% of overall charitable giving goes to environmental protection. Roughly 1% of that goes to culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Yet climate change is the single biggest existential threat to humanity, and the communities most impacted culturally and linguistically diverse communities. This imbalance needs to be addressed to accelerate the overall pathway towards a climate safe future. There needs to be greater targeted investment in underrepresented voices, without which a broad social mandate for climate solutions cannot be achieved thus casting climate policy debates into the realm of endless political football. The Multicultural Leadership Initiative is proud to work alongside our philanthropic partners to build this bridge, for all our sake.
HEATWISE COMMUNITIES
As our planet continues to experience rising temperatures triggered by human caused carbon emissions, so too does the suffering take its toll on communities. Whether its those who experience the urban heat island effect or rural and regional areas who wrestle with draught. The Multicultural Leadership Initiative co-founded this growing alliance of organisations to tackle the mitigating adaption work necessary to combat this edge of climate change. The co-founding organisations are:
NORMALISING CLIMATE CONVERSATIONS
In early 2024 the Multicultural Leadership Initiative launched an ambitious partnership with Cricket for Climate and the Macdoch Foundation to make the climate conversation accessible to everyday Australians. With 1 in 3 Australians being from racially, culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and with Australia's national sport, cricket, having over 8 million fans; the partnership will the expand the reach of the climate conversation to build a broad based social mandate for a climate safe future. This ambitious project is made possible with the support and partnership of the Macdoch Foundation.
PLASTICS REDUCTION
With more than 400 million tonnes of plastic produced each year and only nine percent ever recycled, the scale of the crisis demands new ways of thinking and organising. Clogging our oceans, which provides 70% of the world's oxygen, it is one of the key threats to the survival of humanity and our planet. Working alongside Break Free From Plastic, MLI is helping teams across Asia map the full system of plastic production and design sharper strategic communications and campaign tactics through our training programs. With an additional focus on cross-cultural leadership we equip the world's leading plastics reduction alliance with the multicultural literacy necessary to run effective campaigns in all regions of the world.
SOLAR EDUCATION
Residential solar is vital because it lowers household costs, strengthens energy security and now delivers the largest share of Australia’s clean energy generation. MLI is partnering with Solar Citizens and Asian Australians for Climate Solutions to bring practical, culturally grounded solar information to multicultural communities so families can make confident and informed choices. Multicultural communities matter because one in three Australians is from a multicultural background, over half of Sydney and Melbourne speak a language other than English at home, and their global experience and multilingual networks are essential for accelerating climate solutions nationwide.
