A talented artist who is seeking asylum in Australia has found his place in the local arts community after getting involved with SSI Arts and Culture initiatives such as the annual New Beginnings: Refugee Arts and Culture Festival.

A group of 15 children and their mothers, who are in Australia seeking asylum, took part in a creative excursion to the Auburn Friendship Garden, organised by SSI and the Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) for the school holidays.

An Iraqi doctor is one step closer to his goal of becoming a registered practitioner in Australia, just months after arriving in the country as a refugee.

Young refugees needing help with their school education and adults seeking local recognition for their qualifications will be among those eligible for new scholarships worth more than $90,000.

Young refugees needing help with their school education and adults seeking local recognition for their qualifications will be among those eligible for new scholarships worth more than $90,000.  Allianz Australia and not-for-profit humanitarian organisation Settlement Services International (SSI) are offering the scholarships to help refugees settle in the community.

SSI recently celebrated two years of delivering the Ability Links NSW program with a ‘masquerade’ themed team building day that brought together SSI Linkers from regional areas with other Ability Links and SSI Corporate Services staff.

A talented refugee from Syria has used his IT and web science skills to co-develop an online platform to help bridge the gap on one of the greatest challenges facing newly arrived refugees – employment.

Starting a business takes perseverance and hard work. That is especially true in a foreign country with different business practices and a new language, like Syrian refugee Zaher Batal has done.

Harmony Day is a celebration of cultural diversity that focuses on inclusiveness, respect and belonging. At SSI, we marked the day with an afternoon of food, music and dancing that also integrated Nowruz – the New Year’s celebration for more than a dozen cultures globally.

An innovative partnership between Allianz Australia and Settlement Services International (SSI) will deliver new career opportunities and support for refugees and migrants who have settled in Australia. Today’s joint announcement by Allianz Australia Managing Director Niran Peiris and SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis coincide with the first week on the job for five recruits under the partnership employment program. The partnership aims to improve employment and educational opportunities for SSI clients as well as enhance workforce diversity at Allianz.

Settlement Services International invites its staff, partners, supporters of diversity and inclusion and refugee support professionals to participate in ORAM Training on Sexual and Gender Minority Refugees.

Oscar Al-kinani is just 20 years old but already he’s achieved several milestones that have brought him closer to his goal of working with an international humanitarian organisation. Since arriving in Australia 19 months ago as a refugee from Iraq, Oscar has completed English language and high school qualifications and he is now on track to finishing a TAFE certificate in community services.

Simon Shahin is young, intelligent and has ambitious plans to contribute to the future prosperity of Australia. The 22-year-old is also a former refugee from Syria, who arrived in this country in September last year.

Being a volunteer involves a high level of commitment, but it is thanks to those who can commit that some of the most beautiful causes in the world become possible. Volunteers are usually firm believers in a cause; they are trustworthy, professional and kind-hearted.

Youth Collective will address some of the most complex issues facing multicultural youth in the year ahead, with education, language acquisition and youth homelessness to top the agenda in 2016.  Youth Collective is a collaborative initiative between SSI, MRCs and youth organisations.

A group of former refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia reached a creative milestone recently when they exhibited images produced during eight weeks of photography workshops with SSI and CuriousWorks.SSI has partnered with CuriousWorks, a media arts company celebrating diversity in multicultural Australia, to facilitate a series of photography and video workshops aimed at developing the creative potential of asylum seekers and refugees in western Sydney.

Settlement Services International today held its first Annual General Meeting under the new structure of Company Limited by Guarantee. Another first for the organisation, the AGM was held at its recently opened office in Bankstown.

Settlement Services International has celebrated its 15th Anniversary in the company of members, founders, friends and partners, who enjoyed food, music, dancing, speeches and an anniversary video at SSI’s Bankstown auditorium on November 18.

Settlement Services International (SSI) has been awarded for its ongoing efforts to support and maintain the mental health of refugees and people seeking asylum. At the annual NSW Mental Health Matters Awards in Sydney on September 30, SSI was presented with the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities award.

The world is facing many challenges as unprecedented numbers of people flee their homes in search of somewhere safe to settle: how we treat fellow human beings should be a top priority.