A collaboration between Regional Arts Victoria, Centacare Catholic Family Services and Fed Square Pty Ltd has resulted in the installation of Federation Square’s old Big Screen in Marysville from September to January 2010.

The primary purpose of the screen is strengthening community. It will be a focal point for community entertainment, celebration and engagement, and will allow artistic and cultural expression.

The initiative has been developed in the context of Centacare’s audit of needs as a consequence of the February 2009 bushfires, from which three key themes emerged:

• There is overwhelming evidence that support must be provided, not just in the short term, but for the longer term, with clearly articulated goals.
• There is an opportunity to fill gaps in services provided by front-line agencies such as the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority and the Department of Human Services, and for the Catholic community, through Centacare, to provide services and programs to tackle family and relationship issues, grief, loss and mental health and wellbeing.
• In times of crisis new community leaders often emerge. There is the need to support these people to assume authority and to drive change within their own communities in a way that does not provoke the latent anger that is often prevalent in traumatised communities.