Our History

Multilingual Australia, previously known as Bilingual Families Perth came to life organically in 2002 to support parents wanting to learn more about raising children in a bilingual or multilingual environment. Our members identified a need for support and better resources and so our organisation was born!

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With the simple aim to help families connect with other bilingual families, the organisation has evolved to suit the needs of families in more than 48 languages, and also of teachers, schools and entire communities through the delivery of workshops (e.g. “Raising children in more than one language”), and community events.

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An immense pool of resources has been gathered by committed volunteers who continue to enquire into what is needed by bilingual/multilingual families in a very fast-changing environment, to provide the best resources and opportunities for learning and growth while honouring and sustaining their cultural and linguistic background.

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We understand that maintaining the minority or community language is paramount to connecting to one’s identity, family, community, and cultural heritage. We also understand the enormous benefits of growing up bilingual, including cognitive and memory advantages, not to mention cross-cultural and communication advantages.

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In a global world, every culture and language is only one click away and proficiency in more than one language is a basic 21st century skill. It is estimated that more than half the world’s population is bilingual!

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We welcome volunteers and look forward to continuing to ensure that Multilingual Australia provides practical suggestions for helping children learn their community languages and supporting parents who want to foster successful bilingual/multilingual development.