News – Page 73 – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

NAIDOC WEEK 2021

July 7, 2021 by Ethnic Council

The NAIDOC 2021 theme – Heal Country! – calls for all of us to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction. Country that is more than a place and inherent to our identity. The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District celebrates NAIDOC Week and supports the Yorta Yorta nation, the works of Rumbalara Cooperative and the Kaiela Institute in the Goulburn Valley.

Nyadol Nyuon uses National Press Club speech to denounce racism, launch survey on refugee women

July 1, 2021 by Ethnic Council

Nyadol Nyuon has shared powerful first-hand accounts of racism and called for a “bold” and “revolutionary” multicultural vision for Australia in a speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday, 30 June 2021.

The chair of Harmony Alliance, a women’s advocacy group, made the remarks at the launch of a new survey of migrant and refugee women, which found one-third had experienced violence at the hands of their partners.

Ms Nyuon said Australia first felt like home to her when, after living in a refugee camp in Kenya and praying nightly with her mother to escape, she touched down at Tullamarine airport in Melbourne in 2005 holding her Australian passport. “I handed that passport to the immigration officer. She inspected it and returned it to me and said, ‘Welcome home’,” Ms Nyuon said.

United Nations: Dealing with Systemic Racism

July 1, 2021 by Ethnic Council

The murder of George Floyd on 25 May 2020 and the ensuing mass protests worldwide have marked a watershed in the fight against racism. In some countries, there is now broader acknowledgment of the systemic nature of the racism that affects the lives of Africans and people of African descent and of the need to address the past in order to secure future conditions of life that uphold the dignity and rights of all. It is our collective duty to address these issues – immediately and everywhere. We bring the United Nations Human Rights Council’s steps to apprehend systemic racism.

Call for End to Systemic Racism

June 30, 2021 by Ethnic Council

GENEVA (28 June 2021) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday issued an urgent call for States to adopt a “transformative agenda” to uproot systemic racism, as she published a report casting a spotlight on the litany of violations of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights suffered by people of African descent – on a daily basis and across different States and jurisdictions.

Free Interpreting Services for Real Estate Agents

June 29, 2021 by Ethnic Council

Recent feedback indicates Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community members may be reluctant to contact their local real estate agent due to language barriers. The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) provides licenced real estate agencies access to free interpreting services.

Covid 19 and Refugees

June 26, 2021 by Ethnic Council

The number of people forced to flee their homes reached a new peak last year, as COVID-19 failed to prevent conflict but made it to harder to find refuge.

We need our new neighbours

June 25, 2021 by Ethnic Council

We need our new neighbours is a reflection on refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic by Shankar Kasynathan, a Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission.

“Being a multicultural country is something to be proud of, not something to make fun of.”

June 25, 2021 by Ethnic Council

When Ajaz Hussain arrived in Australia six years ago, he never thought he would become the person he is today. Not because a lawyer made a typing mistake on his visa and changed his legal name to Ejaz, but because the road he has taken from his native country Afghanistan has not been an easy one.