Our Purpose
As Jews we have a responsibility to improve our world. Stand Up exists to channel the collective willpower, expertise and compassion of the Australian Jewish community to grasp and fulfil this responsibility.
Our Vision
Australian Jews realising a just Australia where everyone has the opportunity to thrive – unconstrained by attitudes and systems that entrench disadvantage.
Our Mission
Inspiring and mobilising the Australian Jewish community and working together with marginalised communities to tackle Australia’s most pressing social challenges through action and education.
Our Principles
We’re proud to present our 9 new program principles. These principles break new ground for Stand Up. These principles are not just signals, they are commitments. They will define the parameters of our work for years to come, to ensure that the programs we develop are high on impact, relevance, excitement and stay true to who we are as an organisation. These principles will embed and underpin the work that we do, and we’ll invite and share these with other organisations to build powerful, enduring programs together.
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Education and action are inseparable
Stand Up recognises that education without action doesn’t effect change and that action without education can be counterproductive.
Education is central to our ideology and action is ingrained in our identity; for 26 years we have worked to change peoples’ lives for the better.
For everything we do, education and action are inseparable.
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Working in partnership
Every community is an autonomous, unique and complex group of individuals who face different challenges that require different solutions.
Stand Up has a long history of working in partnership with others. We’re proud of that work and we will continue to build on that legacy.
By working in partnership, anything can be changed.
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We act as allies and we consult deeply
In the Torah we are told 36 times to love the stranger, so let’s do it properly.
We have a proud history of working closely with our partner communities, and this enduring practice is at the heart of our work.
We will work hard to understand the situation of the people we work with, learning about their unique challenges and then leveraging our resources, capital, expertise & willpower we'll work together to achieve our goals.
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Our work is inspired by our Judaism
Our organisation, actions, decisions and programs are backed by our Jewish values, Jewish identities, Jewish culture and Jewish experiences.
We believe that our history as a people and our lived experience in Australia is a powerful element that we bring to our programs. We work towards tikkun olam - repairing the world.
We pledge to operate as an organisation where any member of the Jewish community can come and contribute. Our programs and projects will be accessible to all Jewish people.
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Non-partisan but not uncontroversial
We won’t be silent on important issues. We will take a side.
We’re committed to working towards a future that is consistent with our humanitarian and democratic values as Jews. If something is an affront to our human and Jewish values, we are obliged to speak up and act against it - irrespective of who is behind it.
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Dynamic and best practice
Social justice is unpredictable and times, attitudes, policies and circumstances constantly change.
We’re committed to delivering dynamic, innovative and adaptive programming and we won’t compromise on striving towards best practice in the end-to-end delivery of everything that we do.
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Sustainable programs, common goals
We’re committed to delivering programs that create sustainable and enduring solutions and deliver on their promises.
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We never lose sight of why we exist
We are taught to let justice well up like water, righteousness like an unfailing stream - Amos 5:24
We've made two promises: A promise about impact; to make the world a better place, and a Jewish promise; for Jewish Australians to make an invaluable contribution to that world.
For our work, both are equally important; we won't do one without the other.
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We apply a gender lens to our work
At Stand Up, we have a proud history of working closely with women in the refugee and First Nations communities. We also recognise that there are persistent and deeply entrenched biases, issues and barriers that women, girls, non-binary, transgender and gender diverse people face in Australia.
We pledge to apply a gender lens to our organisational and programming decisions to ensure we continue to create inclusive spaces and address and combat gender inequality.