In This Issue:                                                 

The 18th edition of the Australian mosaic is out now (limited copies remaining). You can view and download selected articles in the Snippets section of our website.

You can also download and complete a subscription form if you wish to subscribe or renew your subscription and fax it to (02) 6282 5734.

To order a hard copy please contact MaryAnn on (02) 6282 5755 or email her on admin@fecca.org.au.

Keep visiting the website for more information.
 

SUBMISSIONS                              

MAY 2008    Submission to the Citizenship Test Review.
MAY 2008    Submission to the Australian Youth Forum.
APR 2008    Submission for the Telecommunications Consumer Stakeholder Forum.

These can be downloaded from our website at www.fecca.org.au/Media_Releases.cfm for Media Releases, or http://www.fecca.org.au/submissions.cfm for Submissions.

FECCA WHITE RIBBON WORKSHOP

On Saturday 3 May FECCA successfully held a White Ribbon workshop in Canberra. The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness, simulate discussion and generate ideas on possible ways the CALD communities can be engaged in the Campaign.

Professor Bob Montgomery of the Sunshine Coast and Irfan Yusuf of Sydney (both White Ribbon Ambassadors) attended and addressed the participants on statistics of violence against women in Australia and the roles and experiences of a White Ribbon Ambassador respectively.

The WRC takes a stand against violence in any form and encourages men to pledge that they will neither commit, condone nor remain silent about violence against women.

The workshop participants resolved to stay in communication through a FECCA-WR email network to be established. This email network will be used to disseminate new information and information of any WR initiatives in the communities.

If you require more information on how you and your community can get involved please contact Kaddie Pass (snrpolicy@fecca.org.au) or Charles Njora (policy@fecca.org.au); or Phone: 02 62825755.

CALL FOR ARABIC-SPEAKING HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH

FECCA Multicultural Quality Use of Medicines (MCQUM)

FECCA works in partnership with the National Prescribing Service (NPS) to promote the safe use of medicines to culturally and linguistically diverse Australians. We are currently undertaking interviews with key informants who work with Arabic-speaking communities, including health and community service providers.

We are currently seeking bilingual health professionals (doctors, pharmacists, and nurses) working with Arabic-speaking clients and able to undertake an interview regarding issues around the safe and effective use of medicines amongst Australians from Arabic-speaking communities.

It is intended that this research will:

• Identify barriers and enablers to medicines safety within Arabic-speaking communities;

• Explore appropriate models for providing health information about the safe and wise use of medicines; and

• Identify commonalities and/or differences between and within Arabic-speaking communities in relation to the safe use of medicines (including identifying particular segments of Arabic-speaking communities who may be more susceptible to encountering problems using medicines).

The research findings will be used to inform future health promotion strategies targeting Arabic-speaking Australians.

If you are a health professional and able to be interviewed, or are interested in acquiring more information about this research, please contact Corinne Dobson at FECCA on 02 6282 5755, or via email mcqum2@fecca.org.au.

Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia (MRCSA)
SA REFUGEE WEEK 2008

'A Place to call Home'

The Lieutenant Governor of South Australia, Mr. Hue Van Le will launch 2008 Refugee Week on Monday 16th June at 11.00am at the Migrant Resource Centre of SA Hall at 59 King William St, Adelaide.

SA Refugee Week is now an important fixture in the South Australia annual calendar with over THIRTY events taking place featuring an array of forums, concerts, exhibitions, launches, open days, lunches, sports events, library events, reunions and community activities. All are held in the spirit of celebrating the important contribution to SA by refugees and their new & emerging communities.

Key events taking place during Refugee Week include the acclaimed photographic exhibition ‘Here & Now’ by Andrew Hill at the Marion Council Chambers Gallery, the ‘Triumphant Refugee Film Festival’ at the Mercury Cinema on 20th June, the annual Friendship Cup soccer match at St Ignatious College on 19th June, a Winter Solstice Cabaret at Hahndorf presented by various Adelaide Hills groups and a Rumi concert of mystical music and poetry by the Middle Eastern Communities at the SA Folk Centre on 21st June, as well as a major national Social Inclusion Conference ‘Making a Difference’ at the Adelaide Festival Centre on 26th & 27th June.

To view the SA Refugee Week 2008 Calendar of Events please visit http://www.fecca.org.au/PDF/RWC08.pdf.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Keith Preston. Arts Development & Media Officer
Email: keith@mrcsa.com.au Tel: 08 8217 9507 (Mon-Thurs) Mob: 0418 839 264.

SA Refugee Week is sponsored by: - Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia, SA Refugee Week Committee, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Office of the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity and the City of Adelaide.

Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia (MRCSA) NATIONAL CONFERENCE

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION

Making a Difference
Social Inclusion for New and Emerging Communities

Thursday 26 – Friday 27 June 2008
Banquet Room - Adelaide Festival Centre
King William Road, Adelaide

Hosted by the Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia, in partnership with:

• SA Refugee Week Committee

• Federation of Ethic Communities’ Councils of Australia

• Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

• Diversity Health Institute

• Victorian Multicultural Commission

• SA Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission / Multicultural SA

• Federation of African Communities Council

• Migrant Resource Centres

• Myriad Consultants

Message from Department of Immigration: Refugee, Humanitarian and International Division

As announced in the Budget, Temporary Protection visas (TPVs) will be abolished. This means that all applicants for a protection visa who are found to engage Australia’s protection obligations will receive a Permanent Protection visa (PPV). Temporary Humanitarian visas (THVs) currently granted to people outside Australia will also be abolished.

Current and former TPV and THV holders still in Australia will have access to a permanent visa with the same benefits and entitlements of the PPV.  Only health, character and security requirements will need to be met for this visa, and there will be no reassessment of protection claims.

Regulation change is needed to implement these measures. This is expected to take place in the first quarter of the next financial year. Until the regulations are made, people will not be able to access any of the changes outlined above. Detailed information will be made available explaining how the changes will work once the regulations have been made.

Please follow the web address below for further information on these arrangements http://www.immi.gov.au/refugee/tpv_thv/index.htm or visit the FECCA website www.fecca.org.au and follow the prompts.

Community Heritage Grants

The National Library is calling for applications for the 2008 Community Heritage Grants. Grants of up to $15 000 are available to community groups around the country to help preserve and manage locally held, nationally significant cultural heritage collections of documents and objects for future generations.
Community organisations such as historical societies, museums, public libraries, archives, Indigenous and migrant community groups which collect and provide public access to their cultural heritage collections are eligible to apply.

A wide range of projects may qualify for grants, including: significance assessments; preservation needs assessments; conservation and preservation activities and collection management training.

Applications close on 30 June 2008. For further information, please visit http://www.nla.gov.au/chg or phone the CHG Coordinator on 02 6262 1147 or email chg@nla.gov.au.

Canberra Region Languages Forum

Canberra Region Languages Forum - coordinated by Canberra Multicultural Community Forum (CMCF), in cooperation with the University of Canberra (UC).

An initiative to bring together everyone interested in language education to share their ideas and expertise to encourage our community to develop the language and cultural skills they will need in the 21st century through action at the level.

Over 75 people attended the second meeting of the forum on Sunday 18 May. Participants included language teachers from preschool to university level, embassy personnel, local politicians, parents, students, officials from the ACT Ethnic Schools Association, Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Australian Council of State School Associations.

Participants agreed on the importance of working together across languages as well as educational systems and levels. While the current focus on the languages and cultures of Australia’s neighbours, and the importance of this for trade and international relations, is welcome, it is important to promote awareness of the general educational and social benefits that learning any language can bring. This includes Australia’s indigenous and community languages as well as other world languages.

Issues which the forum will pursue revolve around the areas of:
• lobbying and awareness raising
• consolidation and better use of resources
• teacher training, professional development, and issues of workforce planning

Specific suggestions included Community Language Hubs to assist ethnic school operations, a major event to celebrate the International Year of Languages, a one-stop-shop website for information on where to learn languages in the ACT, a ‘Reverse Colombo Plan’, and strategies to increase the pool of qualified language teachers.

For more information, contact Dr Mandy Scott on 0408 089 235 or at Mandy.Scott@anu.edu.au.

Languages Matter!
Official slogan for 2008 - International Year of Languages.

Canberra Multicultural Community Forum (CMCF) Inc

General Meeting

Wednesday evening, 18 June 2008
7:00pm to 9:00pm
Light refreshments included

Venue: Function Room, Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre,
Level 2, North Building, 180 London Circuit, Canberra City

You are invited to attend the next Canberra Multicultural Community Forum Inc General Meeting with guest speakers:

• ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Mr. John Hargreaves, MLA;

• ACT Policing Representative;

• ACT and Regions Office, Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) Representative; &

• ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) Representative.

Come and hear about:

• Recent ACT Budget related to Multicultural Affairs;

• Relevant ACT Policing matters;

• Updates on DIAC and ACT OMA; &

• National Multicultural Festival (NMF)

CMCF will report on our recent activities:

• Language Forum;

• Living in Harmony Program;

• NMF Volunteers program;&

• Group Liability Insurance;

CMCF is about you and your community. Your attendance at this General Meeting is most welcome!

RSVP: secretary@cmcf.org.au for catering arrangement or contact Sam on 0433 947 888. Visit our Website: www.cmcf.org.au.

Business Services Excellence Awards

Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services, Mr. Bill Shorten, is calling for nominations for the inaugural Business Services Excellence Awards.

The Awards will recognise and encourage the extraordinary efforts of people with disability and their employers in making their business service one of the best in the country.

There are around 215 organisations operating 365 business service outlets across Australia, with over 22,000 people with disability assisted last year.

Everyday Australians with a disability contribute an enormous amount to our economic growth. Their engagement in the workforce is benefiting the individuals concerned, their families and community.

There are five award categories, with two sub-categories - small and large business services:

1. Business Service Innovation Award

2. Business Services Business Partnership Award

3. Business Services Achievement Award:

4. Supported Employees Team Award

5. Support Workers Team Award

In recognising Australia's best business services, we can contribute to the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy, which will examine steps the Government can put in place to overcome barriers for people with disability and mental illness to gain and retain work.

Nominations close on 20 June 2008, and presentations will take place at the National Disability Services Employment Conference on 21 July 2008.

To nominate or enquire about the awards:

email: excellenceawards@fahcsia.gov.au or visit www.fahcsia.gov.au/businessservicesexcellenceawards or call 1800 108 196

We All Need to Support the Businesses That Support the Disabled.

Earth Hour 2008:
Shedding Light on Climate Change

"58 per cent of Aussie adults participate in Earth Hour"

One month ago today, cities from Chicago to Copenhagen, Tel Aviv to Toronto and San Francisco to Sydney went dark to shed light on the dangers of climate change. By switching off, individuals across the globe have illuminated one of the most urgent issues facing our planet.

Polling by AMR Interactive showed that 58 per cent of Australian adults in capital cities took part in the lights-off campaign that started in Sydney last year. The research also showed that respondents participated in Earth Hour in a number of ways including turning off the lights at home (56%), turning off some household appliances (46%), and taking the mobile phone charger off standby (37%).

"The overwhelming support for Earth Hour from Australians across the country has amazed us and shows the willingness of both business and individuals to start cutting emissions," said WWF-Australia Earth Hour Director, Andy Ridley.

Internationally, 28 Earth Hour flagship cities in 10 countries participated across the globe. 370 supporting cities around the world made Earth Hour the largest voluntary power down event in history. Organised by WWF-Australia, Leo Burnett's and Fairfax, Earth Hour 2008 was hugely successful.

NSW Ombudsman: General Information Brochure

As you may be aware, NSW Ombudsman is an independent watchdog body that handles complaints about NSW government and certain non-government agencies. Our mission is to promote good conduct, fair decision-making, protection of rights and provision of quality services. Our services are free and accessible to all.

One of the strategies we employ to improve access to our services by CALD communities is to distribute information about the role of the Ombudsman in community languages. Currently we have a DL size brochure “General Information, making a complaint to the Ombudsman” in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Persian, Russian, Samoan, Serbian, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish and Vietnamese.

The NSW Ombudsman office would greatly appreciate it if you could help in distributing the brochures to your community and clients. Attached is an order form for the free publication.

To order multiple copies of the brochures, you can either fax through the order form, or use our online publications order facility via this link: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/publication/onlineorderform.asp.

If you think having our brochure in a particular language (not listed above) would benefit the community you are working with, the office would love to hear from you.

Comments and ideas about effective communication strategies for your particular community are also welcome.

For further information please call Lisa Du on 02 9286 1008 or by email at ldu@ombo.nsw.gov.au.

Forum Australia - Gen Y: Why not? Getting a grip on generation Y

Some 80 people attended the forum, Gen Y: Why not? Getting a grip on generation Y, that was arranged by Forum Australia in Canberra on Saturday, 10 May 2008.

The speakers included:

1.   Senator Gary Humphries,
2.   Prof Larissa Behrendt,
3.   Ms Jamila Rizvi, President ANU Students Association,
4.   Ms Rachel Longhurst, Editor, Lip Magazine and
5.   Superintendent Matthew Varley (Head, Crimes Prevention, ACT Policing).

The President of Forum Australia, Mr. Mohammed Ali, emphasised the need for more assistance to Gen Y in their attempt to meet the demands of a changing society. This resonated through out the forum where most people felt that it was an obligation of the society to understand the needs of the youth and provide them guidance and possibly financial assistance to help them settle.

Some student representatives from ACT colleges also contributed their thoughts on their issues.

Those who attended the forum included representatives of various community organization, Sam Wong of Canberra Multicultural Community Forum, Ms Mandy Scott of Canberra Region Languages Forum, Mr Ahmad Yusuf, President Canberra Islamic Centre, Ms Malinda Reist, President Women Forum Australia.

The forum acknowledged the need for future youth forums to find creative ways to assist the youth achieve their full potential.

The Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women's Coalition

Women's Power Forum Women in the Arts

The Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women's Coalition Invites you to join us at the 2008 Women's Power Forum Women in the Arts on Friday 30 May 2008 at 12 - 2pm (includes light lunch).

Inspiring, imaginative and professional artists - their personal story and what it takes to be a successful artist in Australia.

What does it take to be a successful artist if you are from an immigrant or refugee background?

Do you like hearing stories of artists who always have a unique view of the world?

Would you like to spend more of your time being an artist?

This event will be facilitated by Ms. Dur'e Dara, musician, restaurateur and VIRWC Patron.

Artists presenting include:

• Ajak Kwai

• Janette Hoe

• Sonya Suares

• Riza Manalo

The event will be at the Victoria Room, Queen Victoria Women's Centre, Level 4, 210 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000.

To RSVP please call on (03) 9654 1243 or email at virwc@virwc.org.au.

Proudly supported by:

The 4Rs Conference

Opportunity to volunteer for the 4Rs Conference…

Have you time you'd like to put into the 4Rs Conference? The organising committee needs your help.

Immediate support needed:

1. Organising group process
2. Incoming abstracts and papers
3. Liaison with partners and speakers
4. Liaison and
5. Organising tasks

Just before and during the conference:

1. Packing participants’ bags
2. Registration desks
3. Information and guidance to participants
4. Room support (av etc)
5. Other support tasks

We'll need your CV, an idea of your availability and what you'd like to do.

In return there are subsidised and free attendance available depending on what roles you take on.

Contact: Maqsood: secretary@the4rsconference.org or Andrew: convenor@the4rsconference.org ASAP.

Further info: www.The4RsConference.org.

International Unity in Diversity Conference, 2008

People, The Workforce, The Future of Australia
August 13-16 2008, Jupiters Hotel and Casino,
Townsville North Queensland.

The inaugural International Unity in Diversity Conference will take place in association with the 14th annual Cultural Fest in Townsville, North Queensland from the 13 – 16 August 2008. The Conference will emulate the success of Cultural Fest by providing a practical and theoretical framework for the emergence of a pathway to positive social, cultural and economic development, in our region and further a-field.

The International Unity in Diversity Conference addresses the need for collaboration, communication and cooperation across diversity and cultural barriers. The event seeks to bring diverse interest groups together to discuss emerging challenges including; diversity management, the current skills shortage and migrant settlement, communication across cultural, religious and ideological barriers, and the recognition of, and future for, Australia’s first people. Other important issues that will be addressed include; strategies to enhance community cohesion, youth empowerment, health and spiritual well-being within diverse communities.

Conference presenters include:

• Prof. Fariboz Moshirian, editor of Journal of Banking and Finance, and associate editor of the Journal of Multinational Financial Management international and lecturer at University of NSW School of Business;

• Tom Calma, Aboriginal Elder and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and acting Race Discrimination Commissioner;

• Professor Andrew Jakubowicz, Professor of Sociology at University of Technology, Sydney and Foundation Director of Centre for Multicultural Studies and University of Wollongong;

• Professor Amareswar Galla, Professor of Museum Studies, University of Queensland, Chairperson Cross Cultural Taskforce, International Council of Museum’s Paris; and

• Ms Voula Messimeri, Chairperson of the Ethnic Community Councils of Australia.

The conference will be held in conjunction with Cultural Fest 2008, which will allow our vibrant and diverse community to show that it is leading the way in our global efforts to achieve ‘Unity in Diversity’. This is an exciting and historical event for our region, which will bring lasting benefit to our local, national and international community.

The International Unity in Diversity Conference registrations are now open. For further information please contact Angela Beggs on 47724800 or email unityindiversityconference@bigpond.com.

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