Representatives of DECCW and ECC NSW at the media launch in Chinatown
The Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW (ECC NSW) held a press launch to raise awareness of climate change among the Chinese community in NSW.
It is one of the first climate change awareness media campaigns to target the Australian-Chinese community.
The campaign includes a CD of songs and talk-back radio segments in Cantonese and Mandarin and was produced in collaboration with the Spring Glory Chinese Women's Association and funded by the NSW Environmental Trust.
The Spring Glory theme song, which features on the CD and has an environmental message, was sung at the 2009 Chinese New Year Celebrations in Sydney and Chatswood, and broadcast on 2AC, 2RC and SBS Chinese Radio during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Articles about the song appeared in Sing Tao and the Australian Chinese Daily newspapers.
Since the press launch on 13 October, energy saving tips and rebate information has been broadcast/published by Sing Tao Daily Newspaper, 2CR China Radio Network, Chinatown Communications, 2OR Australia Oriental Radio, Australia China Weekly, SBS Radio, 2AC Radio, China News, Australian Chinese Daily Newspaper, New Express Daily Newspaper and TVB.
There are more than 130,000 Cantonese and Mandarin speakers in NSW. However, uptake of energy efficiency rebates in this and other culturally and linguistically diverse communities is low – primarily because this information is not as readily available in Chinese as it is for mainstream English media consumers.
The Chinese campaign includes messages about waste, water and energy as well as information on rebates for energy efficiency.
The campaign is a part of the Ethnic Communities Sustainable Living Project (ECSLP), a partnership project between ECC NSW and the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW (DECCW).
Previous ECC NSW campaigns targeted the Asian business community, introducing waterless woks to restaurants and electricity saving initiatives to dry cleaners.