This recognises the inherent and equal moral worth and rights of all human beings who are made in the image and likeness of God. Honouring the dignity of community members means working to ensure the protection and provision of fundamental human rights. It also means ensuring the development of people’s capacities so that they can fully realise a sense of meaning, purpose and self-worth. Such a commitment to dignity translates into a fundamental orientation towards the support of those most marginalised or disadvantaged by the structures and attitudes of contemporary society.

ACU works for social justice, which is also a prime focus in the achievement of the CST principles. Through developing understanding, affirming human dignity, acting with humility, and building genuine connections, our community engagement works to stand in solidarity with those most in need, wherever they may be, and to advance the common good of our societies. This means working for the good of all, and for just and fair opportunities for participation in all aspects of society. In ACU's community engagement, there exists a fundamental orientation towards prioritising the needs of those who experience the most disadvantage or marginalisation.

Community engagement develops capacity and sustainability in the community through the virtue of humility. Humility is about true understanding of ourselves in connection with others, it is the basis for right relationships. Humility allows us to look ‘outward’ with a sense of equality (not superiority or inferiority) and to work collaboratively with community instead of ‘on’ or ‘for’ community. Humility can help to minimise the power differentials inherent to some aspects of community work. Humility is a necessary precondition for genuine understanding and respect for human dignity. Such a humble, non-judgmental, and non-moralistic approach honours the autonomy, and therefore the dignity, of all involved, so that together we form our consciences and work in ways that facilitate personal responsibility and, with it, human flourishing and empathy toward others.

Community engagement builds on connections with community organisations and the broader community. It is through our being-in-relationship that we are able to develop empathic understanding, to realise the fullness of our dignity, and to flourish as human beings. Through the development of respectful relationships and mutually beneficial partnerships, university and community can experience positive individual and institutional growth.

Empathic understanding involves listening and reflecting with one’s heart and with one’s intellect in order to come to a deep emotional and intellectual comprehension of the beliefs, dispositions, needs, desires, and hopes of the people we work with, and of how these are shaped by experiences and environment. Based on such empathic understanding we can respond in a considered, compassionate, and respectful manner to develop meaningful outcomes with community, as community.

ACU has, since 2003, been involved in providing tertiary education for young refugees who have fled persecution in Burma to end up in refugee camps in Thailand (McLaren, 2010).

The program has been successful because ACU and its partners, both other universities and local partners and staff, have been committed to it in terms of finance, staff, and determination. Perhaps its most profound value lies in illustrating that tertiary education, which in the past has been regarded by UNHCR and NGOs as a luxury for refugees in temporary situations, is now recognised in fact as a right for those caught particularly in protracted situations and that it can have wide ramifications for individual refugees, the refugee community, and the common good.

In a limited but important way, ACU’s tertiary education program contributes not only to education and human rights, but to the dignity of an entire marginalised community.

The Sacred Heart Homework Club offers weekly after-school homework support to local primary school students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and refugee backgrounds through one-on-one peer mentoring.

Based in Fitzroy, the program began in 2002 with 18 students and has grown to supporting more than 100 students each year. ACU students work as dedicated one-on-one tutors to enhance school-based learning and encourage the development of literacy and numeracy skills through a variety of learning activities.

Students enrolled in community engagement units within early childhood, primary and secondary education courses and ACU staff in Melbourne are welcome to volunteer to support this program.

The Read To Learn Program (RTL) supports primary school children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and refugee backgrounds, who have also been identified as requiring additional support to develop their reading and literacy skills.

This program targets primary school children, from years two to six and each student is matched with an ACU volunteer for a course of weekly one-on-one tutoring. Using specific diagnostic tools and literacy-based activities, tutors are able to provide specialised and individualised attention to the children to promote success in education.

This program is delivered in partnership by Campus Ministry, Clemente Australia, Multicultural Australia and the ACU Faculty of Health Sciences.

Whether it is overcoming past or continuing injustices, adapting and resettling into a new and vastly different country and culture, or persevering despite physical barriers, they bring valuable attributes that can only enhance us as a nation. Despite this, their voices are often left out of the discussions and decision-making processes that impact further on their lives. In response, we acknowledge the importance of building public understanding and cultural awareness of the hopes participants hold for their futures in Australia.

Narratives of Hope is underpinned by ACU’s commitment to projects that focus both on enhancing the dignity and wellbeing of the vulnerable in the community, as well as broadening our staff and students’ world views, and building their capacity for meaningful engagement. Narratives of Hope provides a unique opportunity for participants to be mentored by ACU staff and students to tell their stories either through speaking publicly, art, photography, music, or digital mediums. Each year these stories are presented at a community celebration at ACU.

In 2014, Dr Jann Carroll, lecturer in Education at ACU’s Canberra campus, was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Community Engagement for a project she established with her husband Simon, a pharmacist, both of whom were born in Africa.

Global School Partners (GSP) is a not-for-profit organisation that began in 2010 which aims to partner schools in Australia with schools in impoverished communities in Kenya and Zimbabwe. The aim is to work collaboratively with community groups (schools) and individuals to achieve mutually agreed goals that build capacity to both alleviate poverty in practical ways and raise awareness of how education can overcome poverty based on the principles of Human Flourishing.

At the time, Carroll (2014) stated, “Our aim is to work collaboratively with community groups (schools) and individuals, to achieve mutually agreed goals that build capacity to both alleviate poverty in practical ways and raise awareness of how education can overcome poverty. Our philosophy is based on the principles of Human Flourishing. The principle of the Dignity of the Human Person, recognising the value of and respect for each individual to enable achievement of their full potential; contribution to the Common Good through building lasting, positive relationships based on Ubuntu – ‘I am who I am because of who we all are’; Subsidiarity, which facilitates decisions being made by those who will be most affected; Participation and Preferential Option for the Poor drive our endeavours” (Massaro, 2000).

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provided a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future, and affects all humans on the planet. The 17 SDGs seek to realise the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.