Intercultural Cities Australasia Symposium

As part of the Intercultural Cities Australasia Summit 2019, we were pleased to host the Intercultural Cities Australasia Symposium on Wednesday 31 July. It was attended by over 250 delegates. Keynotes Irena Guidikova (Head of Division, Council of Europe) and Kristen Hilton (Victorian Human Rights Commissioner) were joined by diverse speakers from the Institute for Economics and Peace (Sydney), International Storytelling Centre (Tennessee, US), and several Victorian and local initiatives to deliver an engaging and informative programme. 

This symposium was part of a three day collaborative summit delivered with Australia's two other Intercultural Cities - City of Maribyrnong and City of Ballarat.

Photos from the Symposium

Intercultural Cities Australasia Symposium program 

 

Time	Topic/Theme	Speaker/Presenter
9.40am	Tri-Mayoral Welcome	Cr Bob Turner, Mayor City of Melton Cr Martin Zakharov, Mayor City of Maribrynong Cr Samantha McIntosh, Mayor City of Ballarat
9.45am	Keynote Is Intercultural integration a radically new approach?	Irena Guidikova, Head of Division, Inclusion and Anti-discrimination Programming, Council of Europe
	Minority voices in intercultural places (policing, schools & community)	Akuot Martin Majier, New & Emerging Communities Liaison Officer, Victoria Police Robert Aduer Ring, Community Liaison Officer, Melton Secondary College Tigist Kebede, Board Member, African Think Tank
	A Pot of Courage: from intercultural support group to social enterprise	Presented by Joy Juma, Nyibol Deng & Shiree Pilkington from A Pot of Courage, a Ballarat-based Incorporated Association.
11.00am	Morning tea
11.30am	Keynote Regulating racism: impacts, challenges and engaging Victoria’s multicultural and multi-faith communities	Kristen Hilton, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner
	Exploring Melbourne’s superdiversity through data visualisation	Alan Gamlen, Head of Human Geography, Monash University
	Storytelling: a force for social change	Kiran Singh Sirah, President of the International Storytelling Center
1.00pm	Lunch
2.00pm	An Introduction to Inclusive Australia	Sarah Rush, National Partnership Manager, Australia Post
	Positive Peace Academy	Charles Allen, Director of Partnerships, Institute for Economics and Peace
	Joining the dots of humanity and multiculturalism - one dinner at a time	Sunita Waghmode, Local Facilitator Joining the Dots – Welcome Dinner Project
3.15pm	Afternoon tea
3.45pm	In conversation with Rafael Epstein	Irena Guidikova, Head of Division, Inclusion and Anti-discrimination Programming Sonia Vignjevic, Victorian State Director, Settlement Services International Ahmet Keskin, Executive Director of the Australian Intercultural Society Dr. Mimmie Claude Watts, Director of Akirteh Institute of African Studies hosted by Melbourne Polytechnic and Commissioner, Victorian Multicultural Commission  Lynda Ford, Director, DiverCities Network Australasia
4.25pm	Closing remarks	Rafael Epstein

 

Symposium Speakers

RAFAEL EPSTEIN

The host of one of the top rating Drive programs on ABC Radio Melbourne, Rafael has spent more than 20 years as a journalist and broadcaster interviewing Prime Ministers and Premiers to famous novelists and popstars.

 

 CR BOB TURNER

Immigrated to Australia from Dundee, Scotland, in 1989 with his family and settled in Melton in 1990. Cr Turner is passionate about the wellbeing of the City of Melton community and is a strong advocate in the areas of health, education and transport.

  

 CR SAMANTHA MCINTOSH

Now in her third term as Mayor, Cr McIntosh is reponsible for delivering a strategic vision for the City of Ballarat focusing on job creation, investment and essential services.

 

 CR MARTIN ZAKHAROV

Has served the community of the City of Maribyrnong as a councillor for 10 years. Cr Zakharov is passionate about improving public transport infrastructure.

  

IRENA GUIDIKOVA

A graduate of Political Science and Political Philosophy, Irena is leading the inclusion and anti-discrimination programs of the Council of Europe. She was the coordinator of the World Forum for Democracy (2013-2017), gathering over 2000 decision-makers and practitioners annually to develop and mainstream the know-how of participatory and deliberative democracy.

 

AKUOT MARTIN MAJIER

New & Emerging Communities Liaison Officer, a community engagement initiative fostering a positive and healthy relationship between members of the emerging communities and the Victoria Police.

 

ROBERT ADUER RING

Community Liaison Officer at Melton Secondary College. Robert is driven by his passion for community, especially through capacity development approaches.

 

TIGIST KEBEDE

With extensive experience as a counsellor, advocate, facilitator and guest speaker Tigist understands the societal, systemic and institutional oppression that exists for people of colour.

 

JOY JUMA

Registered nurse, midwife and infant massage therapist. Through Women’s Health Grampians, Joy is also an Equality for All advocate. 

 

NYIBOL DENG

Part of the Unstoppable Women project in Ballarat, Nyibol is very proud to have a chapter in the book, “It Takes Courage – sharing secret recipes and stories from our homelands”.

 

SHIREE PILKINGTON

Identifies as Maori-Croatian, and has lived in Australia since 1990 with a strong interest in the arts, teaching, training, and advocating for adults.

 

KRISTEN HILTON

Completed a Law/Arts degree at Melbourne University and is a Churchill Fellow. As Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner since 2016, Kristen has been leading the Commission’s work in creating a rights respecting culture within organisations, governments and communities.

 

ALAN GAMLEN

The Associate Professor of Human Geography at Monash University. Alan received his Doctorate (in Human Geography) from the University of Oxford as a New Zealand Bright Future Scholar.

 

KIRAN SINGH SIRAH

President of the International Storytelling Center, and has developed a number of award-winning peacebuilding programs across the UK. Kiran is an advisory member to UNESCO and a Rotary Peace Fellow.

 

SARAH RUSH

Community Relations Manager at Australia Post with strong experience in public relations and partnership management at organisations such as Foster’s, AFL and Hill and Knowlton.

 

CHARLES ALLEN

The Director of Partnerships with the Institute for Economics and Peace. Charles was recently awarded the Australian Police Medal, a Division of the Order of Australia.

 

 SUNITA WAGHMODE

Migrated to Australia from India in 1986. Sunita joined the Welcome Dinner Project in 2016 and became a local facilitator in 2017.

 

 

SONIA VIGNJEVIC

The Victorian State Director at Settlement Services International. Sonia is an executive manager with over 20 years of experience in the multicultural, migration and resettlement.

 

AHMET KESKIN

The Executive Director of the Australian Intercultural Society and one of the co-founders of Affinity Intercultural Foundation and a NSW Centenary ANZAC Ambassador.

 

DR MIMMIE CLAUDE WATTS

Convenor of the African Diaspora Women Summit, Academic, Consultant, Public Speaker, Entrepreneur and a Commissioner to the Victoria Multicultural Commission.

 

LYNDA FORD

The Director of iGen Foundation, a charitable organisation promoting interculturalism and entrepreneurship in Australasia. Lynda is an Intercultural Cities Expert with the Council of Europe.

 

 

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