Shyamla Eswaran and BINDI BOSSES at SSI’s New Beginnings Festival in 2019.

This year, an eclectic group of Sydney’s newest community members will take centre stage. Click here to get a taste of the impressive 2022 lineup.

The Festival is the brainchild of Carolina Triana and has undergone a vibrant evolutionary journey since its inception back in 2015.

SSI New Beginnings Ambassador, Shyamla Eswaran (she/her/they), is an independent fusion dance artist, choreographer, educator and host. She holds a Master’s degree in international human rights law and policy and advocates for cross-cultural exchange and anti-discrimination through the arts.

What is the most exciting thing about being the New Beginnings Festival Ambassador, and what does the role mean to you?

Having performed at the New Beginnings Festival before becoming ambassador, I am super proud to promote this festival.

People lead it from diverse cultures, which is missing from most other festivals.

SSI Arts and Culture Producer Rapha Brasil’s curation is exceptional, and the SSI Arts & Culture team are incredible to work with.

This year involves more First Nations people than ever before as stallholders and performers, with an opening act by Malyangapa Barkindji rapper BARKAA.

We have an incredible lineup of artists, including the Indigenous Iraqi band Azadoota, the Sudanese musician Gordon Koang, the Armenian jazz band Zela Margossian Quintet, and the women’s percussion group Ile Ilu.

The New Beginnings Festival means a lot to me because it creates a safe space for artists to share their culture and heritage on their own terms.

It’s free so that everyone can enjoy it. People can come together over the things that unite us, like food, art and community.

What inspired you to start BINDI BOSSES?

My art is shaped by dance and music from all over the world.

But growing up, I never felt like there was a platform where I could fully express myself away from Western and Anglo-Australian-centric expectations. For example, people kept asking me to perform North Indian Bollywood dances when I felt more connected to South Indian culture and dance.

Starting BINDI BOSSES was a way to make my own platform where I could be myself.

It’s a fusion arts company that’s influenced by traditional classical and folk dances and South Asian cinema, and street and popular music both inside and outside our cultures.

It brings together dancers of different ages and backgrounds. People don’t ask for Bollywood anymore. They ask for BINDI BOSSES.

How do you use dance to advocate for human rights and anti-discrimination?

I often say that art changes hearts over minds.

It’s immersive and seeps into your body. You can dance to rhythms that aren’t part of your culture and be exposed to other people’s experiences, cultures and ideas. It opens you up.

When you advocate through art, there’s less pressure to be mainstream. You can be bolder and have a deeper impact. You can be staunch and tell controversial stories and push boundaries.

BINDI BOSSES is more than an arts company. It’s a platform to amplify marginalised voices.

At the New Beginnings Festival we will debut a new work called SIGNS, a collaboration with First Nations artists, choreographers, designers and mentors with spoken word by Boori Monty Pryor (a proud descendant of the Birri-gubba and Kunggandji people), Movement Direction by Ella Havelka (a proud descendant of the Wiradjuri people), necklaces designed by Cleonie Quayle from CQ Aboriginal Jewelry (a proud descendant of the Malyangapa, Barkindji people) and On Country learning facilitated by Clarence Bruinsma (a proud descendant of the Yaegl people) from Bush 2 Bowl, a 100% First Nations owned social enterprise specialising in growing, selling and educating about native foods.

This project is part of a deep, ongoing commitment to our First Nations partners, who help us understand what it means to connect with and perform on unceded land.

What has been your proudest moment?

I recently came down with COVID during an extremely busy period, with many performances to reorganise.

Everyone came together and stepped up, and we pulled through. I’m really proud of how BINDI BOSSES has become a close-knit community and support network.

We’ve created a space not just for sharing stories and connecting with our audiences but also for educating and supporting each other and the wider community to be unapologetically ourselves.
It’s also very special when our work is praised and shared by the artists of the songs we dance to, such as Lilly Singh, DJ Groove Dev, Cartel Madras and Baker Boy.

To find out more about SSI’s New Beginnings Festival, click here.

The multicultural cooking programs at the Community Hubs in Marsden State School,
Woodridge North State School and St Pauls are in full swing with delicious and healthy food
from a range of cultures.

The network grew considerably, with 20 new hubs commencing operations in 2021, bringing the total number of hubs to 94 across metropolitan and regional areas in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.

Across the network, hubs connected nearly 10,000 families with hundreds of services.

Each hub responded to its local community’s needs and continued to be the “place”, in person or online, for families to enjoy a variety of opportunities, including joining in the fun of playgroup, practising conversational English in activities such as gardening, walking, or crafting groups, learning new vocational skills, or simply having the chance to chat over a cuppa.

The hubs’ ability to adapt in the face of changing COVID-19 regulations was extraordinary, said Dr Sonja Hood, CEO of Community Hubs Australia.

Last year was also a big year for SSI’s Community Hubs program with 18 hubs in NSW and 10 hubs in Queensland becoming one team within SSI’s Health and Community Services team.

A wide range of programs and activities were run despite COVID-19 implications, including playgroups, English classes, certificate courses, exercise and nutrition programs, sewing and cooking sessions and many links and connections with health, education and family support services.

The SSI hubs have strong and trusting relationships with families, which has enabled them to walk alongside families to ensure they are linked in with services that support families’ needs.

The past year saw connections made to services including:

• GPs, paediatricians, and the Early Childhood Approach for pre-NDIS support
• schools, special schools, kindies, Early Childhood Development Program and the Child Development Program
• allied health supports such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychological supports, oral health and domestic and family violence support
• Centrelink, emergency relief and food relief

The team also worked closely with families to support their parenting, offered practical strategies to families that they could use at home, and offered certificate courses to upskill parents in areas such as First Aid and Certificate III courses.

Another important component of the work was working with external services to ensure they had a culturally responsive approach and advocated around where the gaps and unmet needs were.

Moving into 2022 the SSI hubs plan to improve the equity for children accessing kindy/preschool services as well as improve accessibility to health services, in particular paediatric services.

Cooking programs build confidence and expertise

Community hubs create invaluable space and support for families to build confidence, social connections, improve educational outcomes and increase employment potential.

A Deloitte Access Economics evaluation concluded that hubs generate nearly $34 million in benefits to Australian society. They not only create lifelong impacts for families, they also add real benefits to the whole community.

An example of this is cooking programs that have taken off in SSI’s Logan Hubs in Queensland thanks to partnerships with Metro South Health and the First 5 Forever program at Logan City Council Libraries.

Six mothers have been employed in the hubs and trained up in nutrition and food handling to deliver cultural cooking programs across three hubs.

The women have built their confidence and expertise in adapting traditional recipes to be healthier and then teaching these dishes to other women in the hubs.

Feedback included:

• The training was wonderful. We had the chance to meet each other and share our thoughts.
• I like meeting Mums from different cultures.
• I learnt many new things and loved all the food. Kym is a very good teacher.
• The community hub is very supportive and always helpful.
• I loved learning how to use more veggies in cooking, like adding mixed grated veggies in meat patties for burgers.
• I loved all the food! My kids would love the chicken nuggets and burgers and I loved the healthy salads and learning how to make salad dressing.

Some of the women are commencing with the Certificate III course in hospitality this year and hope to start their own business once they graduate.

The hubs continue to build a range of partnerships that help meet the needs of local families.

SSI launched its ‘Innovate’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) at Ashfield Town Hall.

SSI launched the its ‘Innovate’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) yesterday, to celebrate SSI’s reconciliation journey with key members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, staff and supporters at the Ashfield Town Hall.

The SSI Group’s ‘Innovate’ RAP, recently endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, is the organisation’s commitment to creating opportunities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, under three key pillars: Relationships, Respect and Opportunities.

A traditional Smoking Ceremony welcomed guests to the event where ABC International Affairs Analyst and Wiradjuri and Kamilaori man Stan Grant provided the keynote address, speaking about reconciliation and its meaning to Aboriginal people.

SSI RAP Ambassador, Anaiwan Elder, Owner of Lovelock Consultancy, Managing Director of the Armidale and Regional Aboriginal Cultural Centre & Keeping Place, Rose Lovelock, said by addressing the vision of Australian Society and key issues, SSI’s RAP provides a strong road map for the future.

“As an Anaiwan Elder I am pleased to endorse the SSI Reconciliation Action Plan.

“The first meeting of the ‘Council for Reconciliation’ held in February 1992 identified a vision of Australian Society for 2001 as ‘A united Australia which respects the land of ours; values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage; and provides justice and equity for all.”

“The eight key issues of understanding of the importance of land and sea; better relationships with the wider community; recognition of the value of culture and heritage; shared ownership of our history; awareness of causes of disadvantage in health, housing, employment and education; addressing high custody levels; First Nations People in control of their destiny; formalising the process of reconciliation.

“As the SSI RAP Ambassador, I believe the SSI RAP addresses the above vision and key issues thus providing a strong road map for the future,” said Ms Lovelock.

Stan Grant reflected on reconciliation being an important journey involving recognition.

“Reconciliation is a journey not a destination. This is an important step for Settlement Services International and recognises the importance of indigenous values and culture and importantly it recognises our shared history and that reconciliation happens when we find ourselves in each other,” said Mr Grant.

SSI CEO, Violet Roumeliotis, shared the organisation’s journey to date, as well as the ongoing commitment to embed a safe environment that increases and promotes the employment, participation, voice, dialogue, and discussion with people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities.

“The SSI Group entered the development of its first Reconciliation Action Plan expecting it to be an educational process. What we didn’t expect was just how humbling it has been. We are only at the start of our journey towards realising Makarrata, but already we have gained so much new insight into the immense knowledge and wisdom that resides in the world’s oldest living culture.

“This is more than just a proposal – it is our commitment to strengthening our relationship with Australia’s First Nations’ Peoples,” said Ms Roumeliotis.

SSI Indigenous Inclusion & Reconciliation Lead, Nicole Beaver, has led the development of policies that ensures consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and stakeholders before decisions are made.

“We are continuously advocating for consultation and believe decisions regarding organisational change, business or government policy need suitable consultation.

“We need to allow First Nations Peoples the opportunity to discuss and make decisions on issues that affect them. This sentiment is echoed throughout our RAP, and it was a proud day for us all to officially launch this plan,” said Ms Beaver.

The event also featured Aunty Munya Andrews, Director, Aboriginal Elder, Educator & Facilitator at Evolve Communities; and Aboriginal educator and artist, Walangari Karntawarra led a dance performance.

Launch events will be held at other SSI offices in the coming months.

This event was held on the Land of the Wangal People and we acknowledge their Traditional Custodians and pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We thank Brendan Kerin from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council for his beautiful Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony.

SSI thanks Inner West Council for supporting this event through the use of the Ashfield Town Hall.

To access and download the full Reconciliation Action Plan, please visit https://www.ssi.org.auhttps://www.ssi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SSI_Reconciliation_Action_Plan-compressed.pdf

Media enquiries:

For all media enquiries, including interviews, further information or photos, please contact the following:

Marlise Beasley, General Manager/Account Director, ZADRO, 0423 624 013, marlise@zadroagency.com.au
Oakley Grioli, Senior Account Executive, ZADRO, 0434 295 302, oakley@zadroagency.com.au

Zahid Aboobakr is optimistic about his future in Australia.

 From 2009 to 2012, he worked with a military security company as an interpreter. Following this role, he worked for five years in finance for an international non-governmental organisation, Muslim Hands International. He said that he lived a regular life before the Taliban.  

“Everything became lost, and lots of issues for everyone,” he said. 

“I lived in a dangerous district, and before the Taliban takeover, they had planted a Magnetic bomb near my house, and the blast caused great damage to our home and area.

“I then forwarded an email to the Australian Government for assistance as my life was at risk and was granted a humanitarian visa.”

Mr Aboobakr resides in his short-term accommodation, and, like other Afghan evacuees, received immediate support from Settlement Services International through the Australian Government’s Humanitarian Settlement Program funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs* to access essential services and integrate into Australian life. 

When asked how he’s faring so far in Australia, he said that despite not knowing anyone before arriving in the country, he found support through SSI and the Afghan Community Support Association (ACSA) of NSW.

“Lots of Afghan here, ACSA supported us,” he said.

“Feeling very happy, don’t have any issue about our lives, but I miss my family, who were not able to be evacuated and I fear and am distressed for their safety.

“Special thanks to the Australian Government for helping us.”

SSI recently enrolled Mr Aboobakr in a workshop about life in Australia, which he found beneficial.  

“I went to a course about knowing life in Australia, and there are lots of opportunities for learning.” 

When asked what he hopes his new life to be, he said it might be challenging to find the same job. 

“I will work very hard and try my best and learn more. 

“It’s difficult to find same job when I’m starting from zero, but it’s not a problem. I have a lot of opportunities here.”

Mr Aboobakr attended and played at the SSI and Cricket Australia launch event in late 2021. 

He said he used to play cricket for his village team but hasn’t picked up the bat for over two years.  

“I played cricket in Afghanistan for my village team and would like to continue playing cricket in Australia.”

“I like cricket and like to watch the game.”

*For information about Australia’s settlement program visit, https://homeaffairs.gov.au/ 

Tahir Sadeq and his family at the Waverley Council and SSI ‘Welcome Project’ picnic at Bondi Beach.

They currently reside in their short-term accommodation, and, like other Afghan evacuees, received immediate support from Settlement Services International (SSI) through the Australian Government’s Humanitarian Settlement Program funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs* to access essential services and integrate into Australian life. 

Mr Sadeq has worked in IT operations for multiple companies, including working with Australian and US forces, which, he said, helped him with his application for humanitarian visas.  

“We were in danger and applied for visas to Australia. My job helped.” 

“Back in Afghanistan, we had a good life, good job,” he said. 

Mr Sadeq said that many lost jobs and people like him who’d worked for foreign companies were at risk. 

“Then the Taliban came, and life was in danger.” 

Mr Sadeq and his family left Afghanistan from Kabul airport and spent one week in Dubai at an army base before arriving in Darwin, Australia.

After 14 days in quarantine, they chose Sydney as their permanent location.

“We heard a lot about Sydney in Kabul, and in quarantine, we heard about Sydney, they told us some benefits.” 

Mr Sadeq attended the SSI and Cricket Australia launch event in late 2021 and said that he doesn’t play cricket but prefers the sport as a spectator, and the Australian and Indian teams are his favourite.

“I don’t play, I’m busy with my job, but I saw lots of matches in 2020,” he said. 

“I like watching cricket and like the sport. 

“It’s something you do with family and friends.” 

Mr Sadeq said he’s excited to start his new life in Australia and hopes to work in IT operations again. 

“We see a bright future here.” 

*Go to https://homeaffairs.gov.au/ for more information.

Hala, Shaimaa, Subash, Achol and Shahida provided video testimonials to support the
Multicultural Community Wellbeing Campaign.

Over six weeks from October 12 to November 24, SSI reached out to the Youth Workers Network to recruit young people from migrant, refugee and multicultural backgrounds to be part of the campaign.

Building on its engagement with young people throughout the year, SSI was able to connect with five dynamic young people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to form a working group. The working group also included a youth worker from SSI’s partner organisation, Focus Connect.

Key activities included weekly workshops held by MHCS and SSI with the working group members. The workshops ranged from scriptwriting to the basics of filming with one’s smartphone, to the video editing process.

The goal was to be able to provide video testimonials to support the campaign and encourage young people, their families, and communities, to seek support for mental health.

SSI also engaged an emerging young talent to edit the individual film clips for social media and create a longer, cohesive video.

The result of the partnership can be seen in the strength of the testimonials – which are in Nepali, Hazaragi and English with English subtitles – and quality of work from young people, who were actively engaged throughout the project.

The campaign officially launched on November 24 with an online event, where attendees heard from Bess Bossman (NSW Primary Health Networks) about the Head to Health service and saw the premiere of the video featuring testimonials from Achol, Hala, Shahida, Shaimaa and Subash.

Also in attendance were youth workers from SSI and its partner organisations, as well as the Director and Deputy Director of MHCS, Lisa Woodland and Jesusa Helaratne. The closing remarks were delivered by Dor Akech Achiek, Head of Settlement Services at SSI.

Youth testimonials

Achol and Subash spoke at the launch, sharing their experience of the challenges during lockdown and how they stayed positive and maintained their mental health. Ivania Joya from Focus Connect also read a speech on behalf of Shaimaa.

Subash said the past couple of years were really difficult, coming to a new country and not being able to meet people while he was settling in to his education.

He tried to keep up with physical exercise, especially during the second lockdown.

He recently graduated and couldn’t find work, and had to contend with visa issues. He had seen his college counsellor and that resulted in a few positive changes, but he felt that being part of this campaign was a great opportunity for him as it allowed him to explore and share what he was going through.

He was grateful for the opportunity and said, “The project was designed for me … I had my say, I was always listened to … I was provided good mentorship and leadership.”

Achol spoke about the challenges she faced in not being able to write, as poetry is one of her passions. She said the second lockdown was the hardest and that, although she was working, she experienced a mental blank.

She said, “Although I was working, I promised myself I would write more, however when the lockdown happened I just went into a mental blank and I could just not find the motivation to write anything at all. I would literally sit on the floor and attempt to write and nothing, nothing would come to me.”

She said that although she was working, that didn’t help in her wanting to achieve the goal she set for herself. She said that mental health was never spoken about in the African community, and that young people didn’t have much support from adults.

This opportunity, however, would have a significant impact because it would make it easier to talk about, she said.

Ivania also thanked all of the young people involved and acknowledged their positive energy, saying that they were great role models. She read a speech from Shaimaa, who said that it was very difficult for her to manage her time and get schoolwork done on time. She tried to reduce her screen time and social media activity and instead go for walks with her family.

Confidence, resilience and leadership

Sofia Ahmad, Policy and Strategy Lead at SSI and coordinator of the Youth Workers Network, acknowledged the contributions of the video editor, Eve, who brilliantly showcased the strong personalities of the working group members.

In his closing remarks, Dor Akech Achiek spoke about the Youth Collective and how it emerged from the need to work collaboratively to improve service delivery outcomes for multicultural youth in NSW, by supporting them to build confidence, resilience and leadership skills.

Youth Collective is by young people and for young people, he said.

He also said it was important not to aggravate the experiences young people have gone through but rather to help them find their voice. The video testimonials demonstrate that and really amplified their voices, he said.

Finally, he encouraged people to think about how they could engage further and continue such positive collaborations.

The Multicultural Community Wellbeing Campaign allowed SSI to amplify the voices of migrant, refugee and multicultural youth. Funded by Primary Health Networks in promotion of the Head to Health service, it was a successful and unique partnership driven by young people using their creative talents to co-produce a number of testimonials sharing their experiences and encouraging others to seek support.

See the video messages on MHCS Youtube:

• Subash – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJvDzc4mx2A
• Shahida – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZUffWia1gA
• Achol – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiUZXGeTpxE
• Shaimaa – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD3acBqIYZ4
• Hala – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ym_H0RZJ_k
• Combined video message (multilingual) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05rA3x0cXH4

The statistics should be well known by now, but so far our society has failed to deal with the gravity of this problem.

Australian women are nearly three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner.

By the age of 15, one in four women in Australia would have experienced emotional abuse by a current or previous partner, and one in six would have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current or previous partner.

One in three Australian women experienced physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated by a man after the age of 15.

On average, one woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner.

More horrifying still is that COVID-19 brought with it a “shadow pandemic”, where there was not just an increase in numbers but also an increase in severity.

Just like the COVID pandemic, the domestic violence crisis reaches all areas of our society.

And the risk is not the same for all women; intersectional factors can increase a woman’s risk of harm. For example:

• A recent study by Harmony Alliance found one in three women from migrant and refugee backgrounds have experienced domestic violence, with women living on temporary visas at even greater risk
• Women with disabilities in Australia are around two times more likely than women without disabilities to have experienced sexual violence and intimate partner violence
• One in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women aged 15 and over have experienced physical violence in a 12-month period
• Although there is a limited national database, LGBTIQA+ women in all their diversity experience domestic and family violence at a similar rate to the wider women population

16 Days of Activism

SSI will be joining the global campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day).

The annual global campaign was initiated by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership and adopted by the United Nations to call for civil society action in addressing gender-based violence.

It is now a tool for actors working to advance Women’s Human Rights and social justice, including UN agencies, governments and grassroots women’s organisations who are raising awareness, mobilising constituents, demanding accountability and showcasing progress on eliminating gender-based violence.

The 2021 theme adopted by the United Nations is “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!”

In line with the global trend, SSI will focus this year’s campaign on coercive control, with the theme “Orange the World: Stop Coercive Control in its tracks!”

Coercive control is one of the forms of abuse that is hard to recognise. It refers to a pattern of behaviours used by an abuser to control their partner and create an uneven power dynamic.

It involves a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten a victim and create invisible chains and a sense of fear that pervades all elements of a victim’s life.

Several Australian states and the Commonwealth Government are planning to legislate on coercive control as it is the form of abuse that often underlies domestic homicide. It is important that communities understand coercive control as a pattern of abusive behaviour that has a severely detrimental impact survivors, even if there is no physical violence.

SSI will be hosting several activities that focus on creating awareness of coercive control and the 16 Days of Activism. They include a Q&A session on social media, a webinar educating staff about coercive control, and collaborating with other agencies to host the Annual Vigil to mark the International Day on November 25. The vigil will remember the women who have lost their lives to domestic homicide throughout the year.

We hope to provide the opportunity for our staff to take time out to pause, gain awareness, commit to action and assume accountability around any and all forms of gender-based violence.

The colour orange is symbolic of a vision for a brighter future, one free from violence. I encourage you to “orange the world” during the 16 Days of Activism.

Why not join in events in your community, for example the vigil online, and help raise awareness and confidence in responding to violence against women, creating a safer society for women and girls.

Links

Free confidential support for women, including migrant, First Nations, LGBTIQ+, and disability specific services:

• NSW: https://dvnswsm.org.au/service-directory/
• QLD: https://www.qld.gov.au/community/getting-support-health-social-issue/support-victims-abuse/domestic-family-violence/find-local-support
• VIC: https://www.dvrcv.org.au/statewide

An operator on SSI’s LAC multilingual intake line.

 LAC services include linking people to the NDIS and to mainstream and community supports in their area.

SSI delivers services to 16,000 participants across 14 local government areas in the South West Sydney and Sydney areas. The communities SSI supports include First Nations, Vietnamese, Arabic and Chinese participants.

Over the course of the three-week trial, SSI staff made over 3,400 calls to NDIS participants. Staff reported that the proactive contact was appreciated by participants and, overall, the activity was a heart-warming experience.

One participant’s carer discussed uncertainties around where they could access the Covid-19 vaccination locally. The SSI Local Area Coordinator (LAC) Team Leader provided support by researching GPs in the local area and was able to locate some nearby locations that had appointments available on the following day. The carer was provided with the phone number for the medical centre and planned to call and make an appointment for the participant immediately.

The carer was very appreciative of the information and assistance from the SSI LAC program.

SSI’s incredible effort was made all the more worthwhile as the majority of calls confirmed the participants contacted were already vaccinated or had booked in for their vaccination.

SSI produced five videos in language to inform community that the NDIS LAC program is here to support participants who would like further information on access to vaccinations. The videos, produced in English, Vietnamese, Arabic, Mandarin and Cantonese, are captioned. In the first week (October 22-27) total views since posting on social media were 300. See the video here.

Learnings from the trial will be used to inform other initiatives to connect with and support NDIS participants as we move towards “COVID normal”.