For more than 40 years, SBS’s commitment to the communities it was established to serve has been central to all that it does. As the multicultural and diverse fabric of Australia continues to evolve, SBS continues to invest in initiatives, inspired by its Charter, to deepen its connections with communities, and increase respect and understanding within society as a whole.

In 2018-19, SBS established partnerships and engagement initiatives to connect with communities, and extend its exploration of national issues including asylum seeker policy, cultural diversity of modern Australian families, homelessness, and voice, truth and treaty for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

New digital capabilities enhanced the SBS Learn education function and a community feedback program was well-received by both educators and students. Several partnerships with State and Federal Government agencies and community groups, as well as Indigenous policy and advocacy bodies nationally, assisted engagement with Australian communities, reinforcing the important role SBS plays in fostering greater inclusion through its content, services and activities.

Economic benefits of social inclusion

In 2018-19, SBS commissioned Deloitte Access Economics to deliver innovative new analysis examining the positive economic outcomes of improving social inclusion.

The report is one of the first in Australia to quantify the economic dividend from raising the level of social inclusion in Australia. The report provides new quantitative modelling, data and analysis across five areas of inclusion; workplace productivity, employment outcomes, mental and physical health, the cost of social services and inclusive growth.

The research, published in the 2019-20 year, reflects SBS’s ambition to continuously link policies and content strategies with its commitment to its Charter, to positively influence social inclusion. Respected Australian economist, Reserve Bank of Australia board member, and Dean of Melbourne Business School, Professor Ian Harper, contributed to the report, endorsing SBS as a critical driver of social inclusion.

SBS Outreach

SBS Outreach extends the reach and impact of SBS content through initiatives designed to engage communities, as well as meaningful collaborations with educational institutions that aim to support further learning.

In 2018-19, SBS Outreach supported SBS’s commissioned drama, On The Ropes, hosting an advance screening and female-led panel discussion at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in south western Sydney. The event enabled SBS to thank the community of Western Sydney for supporting the production. It was attended by 150 community members, with support from SBS Arabic24, Lingo Productions, Screen Australia, Create NSW, Liverpool City Council and Casula Powerhouse Arts.

SBS Learn

Central to SBS Outreach is SBS Learn, the education function of SBS dedicated to providing students and teachers around Australia with educational resources linked to SBS documentaries, drama series, news and current affairs and other network productions. Resources are developed in accordance with the Australian schools’ curriculum.

In 2018-19, SBS Learn delivered engaging, interactive and freely accessible education materials aligned to SBS commissions including Filthy Rich & Homeless season 2, Go Back To Where You Came From - Live, Child Genius, and the final season of Australia’s much loved Asian-Australian family comedy, The Family Law. For SBS drama, Dead Lucky, SBS Learn extended its reach to international student resources within the tertiary education sector, with resources published in seven languages.

Continuing to raise awareness about the inclusiveness of football, SBS Learn launched Everyone’s Game to celebrate the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™. The resource covered a range of subjects including English, geography, and health and physical education, and featured a range of contributions from teachers as well as the Department of Home Affairs, Football Federation Australia, the UN Women National Committee Australia, Football United, Creating Chances and John Moriarty Football.

In 2018-19, there were over 15,600 downloads of SBS Learn resources (Adobe Analytics, Jul 2018-Jun 2019). In addition, over 35,000 printed resources were distributed to school, tertiary education and community contacts during the year.

In 2018-19, SBS Learn sought to gain direct input from teachers and students across Australia to further develop its services, with several feedback sessions facilitated to gain insights from Australian schools using SBS Learn resources. Focus groups indicated that students and teachers consider SBS to be a trusted brand with an immense opportunity to play a key role in student learning that provokes conversation about issues of inclusion.*

* Meet The Teachers, Qualitative Research, Feb 2019 + May 2019.