Enliven Victoria is a not-for-profit health charity based in one of Australia’s most culturally diverse regions — an area where more than 130 languages are spoken at home and 60 per cent of residents were born overseas. Since launching their Health Literacy (Plain Language) Services in 2016, they have built a substantial programme of training, document conversion, and capacity building for health and social services organisations.
Their work expanded dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they were engaged by the Victorian government’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities Taskforce. They trained over 60 bicultural workers and community leaders, produced endorsed plain language health resources, and helped vulnerable communities understand critical public health information.
Enliven received the Christine Mowat Award at the 2021 online conference in recognition of their sustained, impactful work bringing plain language and easy English to some of Australia’s most vulnerable communities.
Their COVID-19 response demonstrated exactly how plain language can be a matter of health equity — helping communities that traditional communication leaves behind to understand information that protects their lives.
