ViệtSpeakOur voices must be heard
ViệtSpeakViệtSpeak is a non-profit community arts organisation situated in Melbourne’s west. ViệtSpeak formed in response to the loss of Australia’s only Vietnamese-English bilingual program. We seek to promote Vietnamese Australian diasporic art and culture, and advocate for and support the preservation of Vietnamese language in Melbourne’s west.
We believe in community arts and language education that values cultural heritage through multilingual inclusion. We value a dynamic continuity, across generations, in the languages and cultures of Australia’s Indigenous, multicultural and diasporic communities. In working for the continued life of Vietnamese language and culture, we recognise that the vital importance of local language and culture extends to other disenfranchised groups within the west. We therefore lend our advocacy in support of projects and alliances that acknowledge and foster the lived cultures and experiences of diverse communities.
To learn more about bilingual education please visit here.
Through community arts projects and other means, every Vietnamese Australian child will have access to enriching educational programs and resources that support proficiency in both Vietnamese and English, involving both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese children. In turn, these and other community arts and language programs contribute to building a socially-just Australia.
To provide opportunities for a wider range of community members to engage in bilingual education, keeping alive their own and other languages and cultures.
To promote bilingual learning experiences in Vietnamese, as a valued community language and of worthy use for educational programs.
To support Vietnamese families in raising bilingual children and keeping their language and culture alive
We will promote Vietnamese Australian diasporic art and culture, through community arts practices and projects. We will advocate and work towards the provision of Vietnamese-English bilingual programs and learning experiences for children and young people ages 0-18, across formal and informal learning spaces. With advocacy and community arts projects focused on Vietnamese programs, we will also support other groups seeking educational recognition and use of their languages and cultures.
