This week, I had the remarkable experience of presenting Pema with the SSI Journalism Excellence Award at the Australian Settlement and Migration Awards. The reason this felt so remarkable was because the last time I saw Pema was two years ago when she was speaking at SSI’s Mosaic Gala about her journey to Australia and her disrupted education.

Pema is an alumni of the SSI-Allianz scholarships program, which helps refugees to overcome financial barriers to education.

With support from SSI, Pema has resumed her university education and is putting her skills to good use, reporting on wonderful local initiatives like Water Skills for Life’s swimming program. You can read her award-winning article here.

In a week where newspapers around the country have censored their front pages to protest press freedom, it is more important than ever that we acknowledge and recognise the positive contributions journalists make to our society.

The media plays an important role in shifting public perceptions about migrants, multiculturalism and social inclusion. Transparency and pursuit of the truth are core tenants of journalism, and this is particularly true when reporting on our new and emerging communities.

Media representation and language directly affects public perceptions. This has a trickledown effect to the everyday lives of community members.

We see this in our day-to-day work at SSI, where we support migrant and refugee communities to live rich, independent lives in Australia.

When new arrivals feel welcomed and included, they have a greater sense of belonging and can make an important contribution to their new home.
Journalists like Pema are playing an important role in fostering social inclusion and helping the wider community to understand the benefits migrants and refugees bring to our shores.

I was honoured to present this award to Pema on a night where so many of our colleagues in settlement received well deserved recognition. My heartfelt congratulations particularly go to our colleagues at Access Community Services, part of the SSI group of companies, which received the Settlement Innovation Award for its ‘no wrong door’ approach. You can read more about this here.

SSI employment program participant Tiba Obada captured at TEC.

“The most valuable thing I gained is I feel more confident as a new employee. I developed life skills; ones you need not just at work, but in life too,” Ms Obada said.   

Ms Obada decided to participate in TEC after completing work experience at SSI, as she was seeking further professional development to increase her employment opportunities.   

Before Ms Obada left her country, she was in her final year of a Diploma of Nursing and had completed three months of work placement in a hospital.

Passionate about pathology, she set forensic science as a career goal and studied a pathology collection in Australia at the same time she was completing her HSC.   

Supported by the AMP Foundation, a simulated office learning experience, TEC allows participants to build practical experience and career skills which are transferable to real-life work environments.   

While at TEC, Ms Obada gained experience in contacting companies and scheduling pop-up stores, searching for suppliers, producing brochures and social media content, and creating effective consumer research surveys.   

“TEC was a new journey for me. I’d never experienced anything like it before,” Ms Obada said.   

“As a refugee and newcomer to Australia, the TEC experience was so valuable and interesting.”  

TEC has helped in improving Ms Obada’s communication skills and boosting her confidence. She has since found a job in her dream profession in pathology as a blood collector at St George Hospital.   

“I will always have the ambition to be in the upper and highest staircase of success.”

Dress for success and their suited maniquine. 

Employment is integral in the settlement journey for newly arrived refugees, migrants and people seeking asylum. It provides a valuable pathway to achieving independence. To highlight the opportunities available to new arrivals, SSI partnered with a number of specialist organisations to hold a targeted employment expo.

A young mother from Iraq, Sabha, had been in Australia just two weeks, but said she attended the event to gain knowledge about entering the Australian workforce.

“I would like to find work in the near future when my children are old enough to attend school and it is helpful to get some information about how I could do this and what work I could find,” she said.

The expo took place at SSI’s Community Kitchen – a fortnightly intercultural lunch event bringing together new and established communities. More than 10 specialist organisations participated, including Dress for Success, Navitas, Macquarie Community College, Centrelink, Fighting Chance and Futureability

Before a delicious Persian lunch was served, organisations shared tips and advice for jobseekers. Topics covered included; CV support, understanding worker’s rights and self-care when job seeking.

“Employment provides a valuable pathway to achieving independence and is integral to new arrival’s settlement journey. The Employment Expo was a fantastic opportunity to bring providers together and share accessible information on how individuals can be supported in their search for employment,” said SSI Director Employment Services and Social Enterprise, Kylie van Luyn.

Learn more about Community Kitchen here

Performers from the 2018 Mosaic Gala

I felt it was such an injustice that someone would not have the opportunity to realise their full potential simply because they didn’t speak English or their overseas experience wasn’t recognised here.

These were intelligent, hard-working people who could have contributed greatly to our country. And yet they were languishing in situations where there was an underutilisation of their skills and no hope for a brighter future.

I firmly believe every person should have the opportunity to realise their full potential – whatever those dreams and desires may be. It’s why SSI has made it our mission to help refugees and other individuals achieve independence. Next month, we are hosting our annual Mosaic Gala, and I’d like to invite you to join us to support initiatives that help refugees on the pathway to independence. Click here for more information.

Independence is at the heart of much of the work SSI does. Being independent means you have the strength to survive autonomously – without support from organisations like SSI.

Our vision is to achieve a society where all individuals and families can meaningfully participate socially and economically and, ultimately, reach their full potential.

If we achieve that vision, there will no longer be a need for organisations like SSI. But that future is still some distance away and, in the meantime, we need support to run self-funded initiatives like our refugee educational scholarships program and Ignite Small Business start-ups.

Along with raising funds, the SSI Mosaic Gala increases awareness of the positive contributions refugees make in our community. This is important because it challenges the narrative many of us hear about refugees from our media and political representatives.

The real story of refugees in Australia is the one you see when you walk through our neighbourhoods. You see friendships and wonderful acts of kindness and generosity between people from all walks of life.

It is something that fills my heart and reinforces the value of supporting refugee to live independent lives where they can meaningfully contribute and participate in our communities.

I hope you’ll join us at the Mosaic Gala as we walk towards that future.

Nicole (left) and Juliana (centre) in cultural dress and Kathy (right) at the FECCA Conference 2019.

At the 2019 FECCA Conference, First Nation women Juliana Nkrumah AM and Nicole Laupepa presented their paper ‘Recognising Makarrata through Sankofa’, which proposes the idea of realising makarrata (an Indigenous term for coming together after struggle) through sankofa (a word from the Twi language of Ghana that symbolises reflecting on the past to build a successful future).

Nicole and Juliana highlighted the deep spiritual and cultural connection between indigenous people from countries around the world and how these connections can be harnessed to assist the achievement of healing from cultural trauma and enhanced belonging. They also shared examples of work SSI staff are undertaking to foster this connection between new arrivals and our Indigenous communities.

Nicole said she was impressed that FECCA chose to walk side by side with indigenous Australians and acknowledge the value they present to broader multicultural Australia.
“I feel proud to be an Aboriginal woman that I am part of welcoming and the healing process of newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers coming to our lands.”

The conference saw over 500 delegates from all over Australia come together to share their lived experience and professional and academic knowledge to shape multicultural Australia into the future.

A core focus of the conference was leading the conversation on building an alliance between multicultural Australians and Australia’s First Nations Peoples so that together both communities can be stronger and more successful in achieving their goals.

Eleven SSI staff, including CEO Violet Roumeliotis, presented at the event, sharing their professional knowledge on a number of topics including multicultural youth, enhancing community led solutions and the NSW Settlement partnership.

FECCA is the peak, national body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. FECCA’s role is to advocate and promote issues on behalf of its constituency to government, business and the broader community.

But after just three months at TEC Kaddie has a newfound confidence and insight into the business world that has assisted her in gaining a cadetship position with Allianz Australia Insurance Limited.

“TEC helped me gain self-confidence. When I first came into TEC I couldn’t speak, I was so shy I couldn’t voice my opinion but as time went on I got used to my team. They made me feel welcome like I was a part of something,” Kaddie said

Originally from Sierra Leone, Kaddie decided to apply for SSI’s TEC program as she was eager to gain experience and knowledge in a professional environment that would improve her job prospects.

Supported by the AMP Foundation, TEC is a simulated office learning environment that provides hands-on work experience opportunities on a wide range of office-based roles where participants can develop and apply their skills towards a start-up social business.

The program offers jobseekers like Kaddie both technical and interpersonal training. This includes exposure to relevant professional industries, experience working in an Australian professional cultural environment, development of foundational communication, teamwork and leadership capabilities, and multiple employment pathways through corporate partners.

One of the projects Kaddie participated in while at TEC was a marketing campaign for Humble Creatives, a social enterprise of SSI that creates scented handmade candles. Along with a team of other newly arrived job seekers, Kaddie supported the development of a Mother’s Day candle marketing campaign, where she learnt how to conduct a market analysis, create customer profiles, data collection, explore creative and cost-effective branding and packaging as well as being part of the sales team at weekend markets.

During her time at TEC, Kaddie also signed up for ‘Allianz Ladder,’ a pre-employment workshop delivered in partnership with Allianz Australia, supporting refugee youth with the development of core business skills and confidence in finding their first role in Australia. Kaddie excelled in the workshop and was successful in gaining a cadetship at Allianz.

Kaddie described the program at TEC as an incredibly valuable experience where she could connect with her team and be a part of something important.

“I have been able to get out of my comfort zone. I have learnt a lot about marketing, working in a group as a team, brainstorming ideas and building a good relationship with my team.”

Learn more about the Humble Creatives Social Enterprise here: https://www.humblecreatives.ssi.org.au/

Soft Landing Employees stop for a photo with SSI visitors 

Soft Landing Smithfield’s move has created much needed jobs for a demographic that faces various barriers to employment, such as a lack of local work experience, awareness about the job search methods, local referees and lack of social networks.

Soft Landing Operations Manager Joe Rasmussen said when the social enterprise’s material recovery machines were compromised in a factory fire, they reached out to SSI in search of people seeking employment with transferrable skills.

Within two months SSI was able to refer 21 experienced individuals from an asylum seeker background. Joe Rasmussen explained that the move has led to a notable increase in productivity.

“The employment team at SSI quickly identified some very hardworking guys to join our team, and overall it has been very successful; growth has meant opportunity at every level of the organisation.”

Sunny, an individual seeking asylum, has been working at the recycling company for three months. He said he has learnt a lot since starting work at Soft Landing, having progressed from cutting and recycling mattresses to pressing steel to making trips with delivery trucks.

“You have to think about your boss as your big brother. You need to support their business so they succeed, because if they succeed you will succeed. Think about the company’s needs and the company will think about you,” he said.

Watisomi, another individual SSI referred to Soft Landing, said he hoped to progress upwards in the organisation.

“It would be great to become a manager or a supervisor, but mostly I am just looking to do my best and work as hard as I can. “

Finding employment is a crucial step in the journey towards social and economic independence. Many vulnerable communities SSI supports require support to overcome barriers to securing sustainable, meaningful employment. The SSI Employment and Enterprise Services team provides individually tailored employment support that generates real outcomes for refugees, people seeking asylum, and other job seekers. Learn more about SSI’s employment services here.

Soft Landing is a national social enterprise of Community Resources Ltd, a chariable organisation that exists to support people and the planet. Soft Landing operates across NSW, ACT, VIC and WA and focuses on diverting waste mattresses from landfill and recovering the materials to recycle. A key focus of the enterprise is providing employment opportunities for people who experience barriers entering the open labour market.

Participants cooking in the Disaster Chef Cook-Off at The Staples Bag Camperdown Grand Opening

This act of humanity welcomed individuals, children and families in dire need of our support and triggered the Australian community to mobilise and help our new neighbours turn a foreign land into their home.

Through partnerships forged between not-for-profits, governments, and corporate Australia, we have helped this cohort begin their new lives in Australia.

But many other refugees and people seeking asylum are still in need of community support in order to achieve their full potential.

For example, securing employment is a critical marker of integration. It sets refugees up for economic independence and helps them to forge social connections outside of their family and diaspora community. Employment is particularly important for people seeking asylum in Australia as they are ineligible for income support. Since last year, the government funded support program for people seeking asylum, SRSS, has also begun exiting people who are deemed ‘work ready’.

Both refugees and people seeking asylum face a number of unique employment barriers such as lack of local work experience or recognition of prior skills and experience. Thankfully, there are more and more community oriented employers who also see great benefit in supporting jobseekers to secure meaningful, sustainable employment. It’s a win-win as they also gain access to a diverse and often untapped talent pool.

A great example of this is Soft Landing Smithfield, which has found work for 21 people seeking asylum. You can read more about that here.

These kinds of partnerships form a key part of the work done by SSI’s Employment team, which partners with up to 100 employers in a given year. SSI’s integrated approach to employment ensures individuals get the right support, while also maximising the services we can provide in a more integrated way and delivering great value for our funders.

Our work in the employment space is constantly evolving. Since July 2015, SSI has supported job seekers through JobActive to become work ready and employable, as well as assisting them to find and maintain a job. That move into employment has since been complemented with a number of social enterprises and diversification into more specialist areas such as the Refugee Employment Support Program.

Our recent win of funding from the iCare Foundation and the NDIS reflects the leaps and bounds we have made in establishing SSI in the employment sector. One program will see SSI upskill injured workers to find work, while the other will roll out cultural awareness training to one of our nation’s largest workforces.

With the help of government and philanthropic funders, community-minded employers, staff and volunteers, SSI is supporting thousands of jobseekers every year to overcome barriers to employment.

In the coming months, one entertaining way you can support more refugees on the pathways to employment is by sponsoring or attending SSI’s Mosaic Gala, which will be held in Sydney on November 15. This event raises critical funds for our scholarships that help refugees to overcome financial barriers to education, along with Ignite® Small Business Start-ups, which supports refugee entrepreneurs into business. This year, we’re particularly pleased to have award-winning author, artist and comedian Anh Do joining us as a keynote speaker. Click here to get involved.

Peter Zographakis

SSI Ignite® entrepreneur Hedayat Osyan giving a TED talk at the recent TEDxSydney 2019 conference.

Hedayat Osyan, a speaker at TEDxSydney 2019, held in May at the International Convention Centre, was part of SSI’s Pay it Forward contingent at TEDxSydney 2018.

“Pay It Forward” is a key component of the partnership between TEDx and SSI, the official community partner for TEDxSydney. Conference registrants give community members from a wide range of SSI programs — including disability services, refugee resettlement, multicultural foster care, and startups — the opportunity to attend the conference for free.

Pay it Forward has a positive, naturally occurring domino effect. The receiver of a good deed repays it to others instead of to the original benefactor and asks their recipients to do the same. That means one good deed or act of kindness can have ripples felt far and wide beyond its starting point.

That is certainly true of Mr Osyan, a 27-year-old former refugee from Afghanistan and an SSI Ignite® Small Business Start-ups entrepreneur who founded a tiling company to support fellow refugees to establish their new lives in Australia.

Mr Osyan was so inspired by his 2018 TEDx experience that he took part in one of the 2019 pitch nights and finally spoke at the main event, where his message around welcoming refugees reached an audience of 5,000 people.

Since Mr Osyan came to Australia in 2010, his passion for pairing social responsibility and entrepreneurship has been significant. After graduating with a bachelor degree in politics and international relations and an honours degree from the University of Canberra, he worked as a youth consultant for the Cumberland Council, MYAN NSW and Community Migrant Resource Centre.

As the passionate founder and managing director of social enterprise Nick Tiling Services, Mr Osyan harnesses his lived experience and trains, employs and supports other refugees and asylum seekers.

Mr Osyan said that his “main goal” was “to help [refugees] become independent and empower them”.

Former refugee Hedayat Osyan is the passionate founder of a social enterprise that employs other refugees and asylum seekers.

A recent testament to his dedication to the cause was his selection as Young Social Pioneer by Foundation for Young Australians in 2018 and First Gens Accelerator by ygap in 2019.

Diversity and disability peer facilitator and mentor Pauline David is another community member that attended the conference as part of the SSI cohort.

As someone from an Assyrian background who has lived with a physical disability from birth, Ms David has experienced social, cultural and structural related barriers her whole life and now advocates for improved accessibility for herself and others.

“Through sharing my story, I hope to challenge perceptions, attitudes and stigmas to help improve community access for people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds,” Ms David said.

“Attending the TEDxSydney conference helped inspire some new ideas for my advocacy work,” Ms David said.

TEDxSydney Founder and Licensee Remo Giuffré said that TEDxSydney was thrilled to be able to give SSI program participants a unique learning experience through the Pay it Forward initiative.

“At the core of TEDxSydney, we aim to create a connected community, and it’s great to be able to collaborate with SSI and bring the two communities together,” Mr Giuffré said.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said that the collaboration between the two organisations took a fresh approach in encouraging the broader community to get involved and support marginalised communities to attend a high-profile event.

“Through this wonderful partnership, we’re able to provide a seamless way for the wider community to give back to those people who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to attend a TEDxSydney conference,” Ms Roumeliotis said.

“SSI appreciates the ongoing support and generosity of TEDxSydney and its members, who are empowering people to change their lives through direct exposure to myriad brilliant speakers and thought-provoking conversation.”

Ignite® entrepreneur Sophie Bejek and award-winning restauranteur Sharon Salloum at the Cook for Syria dinner. Photography credits: Nikki To. 

Her involvement stemmed from inspiring award-winning restauranteur Sharon Salloum during one of Ms Bejek’s community cooking classes.

In Aleppo, Syria, Ms Bejek graduated with a degree in biological engineering. Shortly afterwards, she worked as a lab assistant until she fled Syria to Lebanon with her family due to the ongoing conflict.

She arrived in Australia from Syria as a refugee in January 2018.

Through the support of Inner West Council, Ms Bejek recently requalified as a certified Zumba dance instructor. With the support of Settlement Services International’s (SSI) refugee entrepreneurship program Ignite®, she has now set up a business to run her own classes.

She has also run a project under the SSI Community Innovation Fund to raise awareness in newcomer communities about local farming practices.

“I have seen many issues in the media about Australian farmers, and I am eager to familiarise myself [and newcomer communities] with Aussie products,” she said.

Ms Bejek was introduced to the founder of award-winning restaurant Almond Bar, Sharon Salloum, while running her community cooking classes.

Ms Salloum attended a community gathering at the Refugee and Community Welcome Centre in Callan Park, Lilyfield, where a diverse group of Syrian women congregated over language-learning, cooking, and some dancing led by Ms Bejek.

“It was heartwarming to see a group of strong-willed Syrian women, who have fled a war zone — and then they’re up dancing!” Ms Salloum said.

“To witness their resilience, how they’ve taken on life, is truly inspiring.”

As a second-generation Syrian, Ms Salloum walked away emotionally moved and eager to contribute to enrich the lives of those women.

Shortly afterwards, she asked Sophie and the wider group of six women to participate in UNICEF’s Cook for Syria fundraising initiative, in which she had a key role.

Recognised as one of the country’s top culinary talents, Ms Salloum was invited to join forces with the head chef of NOMAD restaurant Jacqui Challinor for the fundraising dinner in August.

Ms Salloum said the experience of cooking for a common cause while incorporating a Syrian stamp on their signature dishes was soul-stirring.

“Collaborating with a group of the country’s most prestigious chefs with a group of Syrian refugees was truly uplifting,” said Ms Salloum.

“For me it made the night [so] much more important, to actually have members of the Syrian community there.”

The group of women from the Laziz Project and the Salloum sisters during the Cook for Syria cook-off. Photography credits: Nikki To.

The SSI Community Innovation Fund keeps community at heart, enabling the newcomer community to have a voice in the settlement process through harnessing their innate knowledge about their assets, strengths and opportunities. Learn more about the Laziz Project and other funded projects.