Multicultural Australia welcomes the launch of the Multicultural Framework Review as part of national efforts to strengthen social cohesion in Australia.
The review will ensure that Australia’s multicultural policies and institutional arrangements cater to the needs of our fast-growing cultural diversity.
Multicultural Australia Board Chair, Giri Sivaraman, has welcomed the announcement about the Review and congratulated Multicultural Australia’s CEO, Christine Castley on her appointment to the Expert Review Panel.
“We are very pleased to hear of Christine’s appointment and have full confidence that she will bring with her the voices and ideas of our community to help build a strong, resilient and multicultural Australia,” said Mr Sivaraman.
“Multicultural Australia has been caring for culturally and linguistically diverse communities for 25 years. In that time, we have gained an understanding of the unique and diverse needs of our clients and community and can share the lived experiences of those we engage with, to create policies that reflect the communities they intend to serve.”
“We look forward to contributing to the Review, and engaging in the very important conversations that need to happen about how we can best meet the growing diversity of needs in our society, to ensure that we care for every individual regardless of who they are or where they come from.”
In early February 2023, the Australian Government announced its plan to assess the fitness of current policies and institutions designed to serve culturally diverse Australians.
The 2021 Census revealed that Australia’s population is now predominantly of migrant background, with more than half of Australians either born overseas or with one parent born overseas.
For media enquiries please contact Stanton Dunn, Communications, Marketing and Events Manager on 0493 291 699 or stantond@multiculturalaustralia.org.au
Multicultural Australia’s LUMINOUS Lantern Parade, with its glow of colours and lights, returns to South Bank Parklands on Friday, 9 June 2023, in a spectacular celebration of welcome.
Now in its sixteenth year, Multicultural Australia’s LUMINOUS Lantern Parade has grown to become Queensland’s largest parade celebrating our fast-growing cultural diversity.
Multicultural Australia CEO, Christine Castley, sees this event as an important celebration of Queensland’s cultural diversity, as Multicultural Australia celebrates its 25-year anniversary in 2023.
“LUMINOUS is all about highlighting the warm spirit of welcome, connection and belonging that is extended to everyone living in Queensland,” Ms Castley said.
“It is a time to celebrate our many culturally and linguistically diverse communities who have made their home here, letting them know that their cultures are accepted and embraced.”
Featuring up to 100 groups walking in the parade – from cultural groups and schools to religious communities, government, and corporate organisations – LUMINOUS takes a symbolic walk along the South Bank promenade.
“South Bank is the perfect setting for LUMINOUS. Apart from being Brisbane’s designated cultural precinct, the iconic Brisbane River and illuminated Brisbane city skyline feature as the backdrop of the procession – symbolic of the vibrant and fast-growing cultural diversity of our city and state.”
The event culminates in Multicultural Australia’s signature LUMINOUS World Music Concert at South Bank Piazza. This energising event will feature a wide range of performers from refugee and migrant backgrounds and will showcase Multicultural Australia’s story of creating welcome and belonging in Queensland.
“For 25 years, Multicultural Australia has worked in the Queensland community to create belonging and to change the conversation about the many communities and cultures who live here and who make a significant economic, social, and cultural contribution in Queensland.”
“The World Music Concert features music and performances that reflect the rich diversity of sounds, rhythms, and traditions of Queensland’s multicultural communities.”
Multicultural Australia’s LUMINOUS Lantern Parade will also light up communities across Southeast Queensland with a series of LUMINOUS in the Neighbourhood events in Inala, Kingston East, Mount Gravatt, Redbank Plains and Zillmere, as well as LUMINOUS in the Regions events in the Lockyer Valley, Rockhampton, and Toowoomba.
For media enquiries please contact Stanton Dunn, Communications, Marketing and Events Manager on 0493 291 699 or stantond@multiculturalaustralia.org.au
Multicultural Australia and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) signed a multi-year partnership today, connecting the multicultural community in Queensland to opportunities in the arts.
The Connecting Through Arts partnership was launched with Minister for the Arts, Leeanne Enoch, and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Leanne Linard, in attendance.
Multicultural Australia CEO, Christine Castley, said the partnership is a significant step in improving arts access and equity for the multicultural community across Queensland and will open doors for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
“Our Connecting Through Arts partnership is an opportunity to transform the arts landscape in Queensland,” Ms Castley said.
“There is tremendous potential for our multicultural communities to enrich the Queensland performing arts landscape, and very real benefits if we create pathways and remove barriers for individuals from multicultural backgrounds – this is an exciting step forward to ensure that we are fully tapping into the significant and diverse talent that exists in our community.”
“We acknowledge the barriers that individuals from multicultural backgrounds face – this is the next step on the journey, where we co-design programs to address the barriers.”
Queensland Performing Arts Centre Chief Executive, John Kotzas, said accessibility is an essential consideration in creating a thriving arts culture for everyone.
“It is important that we work towards creating a sector that reflects the communities we serve and our state,” Mr Kotzas said.
“Our partnership with Multicultural Australia is a systematic and creative approach that will move us in the right direction.”
The QPAC and MA partnership will focus on engagement, participation, and experience. The launch of the MOSAIC Choir, which celebrates our cultural diversity through song, is one exciting project. The MOSAIC Choir will join a line-up of artists in QPAC’s 2023 Songs of Hope concert on 6 June in QPAC’s Concert Hall.
The concert raises funds and awareness for HEAL (Healing through Expressive Arts and Learning), a charity providing expressive arts therapies to young people from refugee backgrounds in Queensland.
The collaboration is also providing an exciting platform for the Changing the Conversation series – four stimulating events across the year that explore different dimensions of our cultural diversity. The theme for the first Changing the Conversation event in March was the First Nations Voice to Parliament, attracting a diverse audience of more than 700. Future Changing the Conversation events include Cultural and Human Rights in the Digital Age on 14 June at the QPAC Concert Hall (tickets currently on sale), Brave Conversations About Multiculturalism in August, and Creating Belonging Through Storytelling in November.
Additional exciting initiatives underway through the partnership include work placement opportunities, mentoring, translated performances and tours, and opportunities to connect the multicultural community with the broader cultural precinct at South Bank.
Multicultural Australia welcomes the introduction of the Queensland Government’s Racial Vilification Law reforms in Parliament and legislation.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today outlined the reforms to its Racial Vilification Laws which includes ‘Relocating section 131A of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) (the) into the Criminal Code’, classifying offences of racial vilification as serious crimes.
The changes also include the banning of public display of hate symbols, including Nazi flags and symbols, and a more severe penalties for serious racial, religious, sexuality or gender identity vilification, with perpetrators facing up to three years in prison.
The new laws will support culturally and linguistically diverse communities to live more safely in neighbourhoods and public spaces across Queensland.
Multicultural Australia CEO, Christine Castley, welcomes the Queensland Government’s commitment and action to address serious vilification.
“We are pleased and relieved to see the introduction of the hate crime and serious vilification legislation into the Queensland Parliament. This sends an important message that hate crime will not be tolerated in Queensland,” Ms Castley said.
“The laws will enhance the safety of every person and every community in Queensland, especially for those culturally and linguistically diverse communities who all too often face harassment as they go about their lives in public spaces and places of worship.”
As part of the Cohesive Communities Coalition, co-chaired by Ms Castley, Multicultural Australia advocated for legislation dedicated to addressing the issue of serious vilification and racial hate crimes in Queensland.
“Multicultural Australia is proud to have been a part of the Cohesive Communities Coalition, which has advocated for these laws and shared stories from individuals in our diverse communities who, in many cases, had to relive harrowing experiences and trauma from acts of hate that in most cases will be a crime under the new laws.”
Between 2015 and 2020, the Queensland Police Service recorded eight offences against section 131A (of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld). In the same period, its information management agency QPRIME also recorded a total of 550 incidents with characteristics of hate or vilification.
At a Parliamentary inquiry last year, The Coalition tabled 17 recommendations that informed the Queensland government on these reforms.
Ms Castley reiterated Multicultural Australia’s commitment to advocate for the safety of individuals from families and communities from culturally and religiously diverse communities.
“We will continue to amplify the voices of affected communities and individuals, and work with the Queensland Government and response agencies such as the Queensland Police to improve the awareness and reporting of hate crimes.”
Get to know former Justice Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights, Mick Gooda, ahead of our Changing the Conversation at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre where he is headlining a panel of thought leaders and advocates to talk about one of the most important conversations of this generation: the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The proud Gangulu man spoke about what he learned from his time working on the railways, his ideal dinner guest list, and the last time he changed his mind about something controversial.
You have been advocating for First Nations Peoples’ rights to equitable access to public health services. You’ve said that the ‘poor state of our First Nations people’s health is a human rights issue.’ Have you often wondered why it takes generations for people to understand what is simply right or wrong?
It goes back to how this country was colonised. They said that’s why the British justified colonising. This country was called Terra Nullius, which means ‘empty land’ and no one had lived here. However, there were countless people when the British first came here.
When you start from that position, that takes a long time to start asserting your rights. We will always assert our rights but it takes a long time for the colonisers to recognise your rights. It’s goes way back to how this country was colonised.
You previously said, “You do not ask for sovereignty you assert for it. We don’t wait for people to give it to us.” How has that influenced you in the way you negotiate anything with other people?
Absolutely, no one can give you your sovereignty. You can’t go in with cap in hand if you’re negotiating as a sovereign. You’ve got to assert yourself as having rights to do this. Now, whether the other side recognises those rights or not, it’s irrelevant to the way I would go in and negotiate rights.
We say we have a right to be here. We have a right to we have an equal right. To access services, good health services; we have equal rights to have our voices heard. So I think the important part is if you’re gonna sit around and wait for permission to assert your rights, you’re gonna be waiting a long time in these societies.
Let’s talk about your journey to leadership at the now abolished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). You’ve said,” I reckon I am going to be the last person in Australia that will start with opening mail and end up running an agency. I don’t think it is going to be done like that anymore.” What part of that journey do you value the most?
Well, these days you know, people have all gone to uni. I didn’t have access to university. No one in my family went to university. But these days we have lots of people going to uni, getting qualified to go and do jobs like I did as head of an agency.
Whereas I’d learned on the job. Not many people learn on the job these days. And I think I come from a background of, I was a labourer on the railways. I worked in telecom building towers and putting radio stations in. I think that set me up in a good way having to deal with people on the ground, dealing with things like industrial issues. I come from a position that I’m used to the practical side of it.
So when the time came to hit ‘enter’ into those leadership positions, I was ready for it because of the work I did. Other people get ready in different ways these days. But I’m proud of the way I did it. People say oh, “You worked on the railway. What is? Were you an engineer?” I was a labourer. I’m proud of that. And you’re showing people that anything’s possible if you’re applying yourself.
You were a member of National Museum Australia’s Indigenous Advisory Community. Are you an artist yourself?
No, I can’t even draw stick people. [Laughs]. That’s probably the last thing you should call me.
But you are patron of the arts.
Yes, I am! A woman that I really follow was once asked what the definition of happiness was. And her definition was ‘being comfortable with your limitations.’ And I’m comfortable with my limitations. I’m not an artist, but I can support artists and the people who can do that. And that’s why I think I enjoy that stuff. It’s not my thing, but I can set organisations up to support them.
And that’s the essence of difference in our society, you know? It’s okay to be different.
What has been the most honest piece of art you’ve seen? One that’s truly a conversation starter?
Oh, there’s so much of it, mate. I can’t really pick one piece out! But when you go to Central Australia, and you see art there. It’s a representative of our people’s country.
I’ve seen people get on planes – we’ve done a lot of flying in Central Australia – and they’ll sit there and go, “I can see that representation down there! How did these people get this feel of this country where we are 2000 feet up in the air looking down!” These [Indigenous artists], who didn’t fly, were able to represent that same thing. And that inspires me when people say, “Well, how do they do that?!”
What to you is the best way to start a difficult conversation at, let’s say, a dinner party?
[Long pause] It’s hard. I will start by saying it’s about time we started to come to terms with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country. We’ll come to terms properly. And that means conceding a few things. There’s a million ways you can start this conversation that always leads to the same space.
I’ve never thought about it and I generally just get up and talk about it. I generally say, “This is what I’ve learned. This is where I’ve gone and this is what I’ve done.” I think you’ve got to set it up and say ‘we’re going to have a difficult conversation. I want everyone to walk away from here feeling safe.’ And then it’s not that difficult. They can get a little bit scared, but it’s not that difficult.
Who would you be your ideal guests at a party to talk about difficult conversations?
All depends on how you want the dinner party to end. If you wanted to be fired up, you put Tony Abbot and Pauline Hanson in the room. [Laughs]
But if I wanted something constructive out of it. I’ll be talking to people like Ian Fraser, who won a Nobel Prize for developing a vaccine for women. I’d be talking to people like the former CEO of the Human Rights Commission, Padma Raman, who is an Indian woman who came to Australia and now heads the domestic violence research organisation ANROWS and talk about how do we change the attitudes towards domestic violence in this country. People like Mr. [Percy] Brown from Fitzroy Crossing, a cultural leader over there you know.
To the Aboriginal people, it cannot be ‘one-trick-ponies’. We’ve got to be covering a whole range: land rights, domestic violence, employment. So, I’d like people who challenge things.
When was the last time you changed your mind about something important?
Oh, that’s easy. In 2019, I went to Canada. My daughter had gone to do one semester over in Canada and they had legalised marijuana. I was totally against all drugs being legalised. And I went and saw how it worked. And I’m now an advocate for legalising drugs in Australia.
One that’s proving to be a huge test of how Australia reconciles varying views is the upcoming referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. What has been the most surprising argument you’ve heard so far about it?
We shouldn’t have: What are we doing bringing race in the Constitution?
We’ve had race in the Constitution since 1901! Race has always been in the Constitution. It’s called the Race Power. It’s in section 5126. We’re probably the only liberal democracy in the world whose Constitution gives our parliament the power, the authority to make laws that are racist. And these people go, “Oh we don’t want to put the Aboriginal Voice in because we don’t want race there.” I said, “Mate, we’ve had race in there forever. You blokes put it in there, your forefathers – and they were fathers, there were no women involved in this – put that in.”
I’ve read all the transcripts of the constitutional conventions back in the day. And they put it in there because ‘we have to control the lesser and darker races.’ If that’s not race, I don’t know what is.
How do you rate the level of engagement we have at the moment on the Voice?
Yeah, it has to be a lot better. It’s not ideal. I think once we understand what the question is, it’s simple to answer. We’ve got to convince to get that double majority to change the constitution, a majority of Australian, a majority of states.
Where do the efforts fall short on getting more people to engage?
At the moment, it’s a political and hard discussion. It’s got to be put out as a community discussion. We know we’ve got to do this politics. But soon we’ve got to move to the community.
Once the politics finishes, like when the bill is tabled in Parliament to set the Constitution, we’ll know what the question is. And we’ll know when it’s gonna be conducted, and we know when it’s gonna run, and then we can go forward with it.
Are you optimistic about outcome of this referendum?
You’ve got to be optimistic. If you’re not optimistic, go do something else.
Going back to that dinner party, how do make sure that difficult conversation ends well?
I don’t know how you do it, but I think you’ve got to create a safe space for people to talk.
You’ve got to create a place where everyone can walk away in a dinner party with their dignity and that means an active part on everyone. Not to attack people. Not to be racist, not to be offensive. But you can still put your views forward. A safe space where we can have hard conversations.
Tickets are still available for Changing the Conversation: The Uluru Statement from the Heart on Tuesday 28th March 2023 – click here to secure your seat.
By Celeste Macintosh
Multicultural Australia will partner with Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast (MCCGC) to deliver the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP) to clients in the Gold Coast region, starting 29 May 2023.
Christine Castley, Multicultural Australia CEO, has welcomed the partnership as the best way to deliver place-based and client-focused settlement services in the Gold Coast region.
“Multicultural Australia has a longstanding relationship with MCCGC and our partnership is a commitment to work with sector peers on delivering services, informed by local knowledge, that best meet the needs of our clients and communities.”
“We are committed to client-centered, culturally humble, and holistic practice; and will ensure that all clients are well-supported and cared for in this transition.”
Shane Klintworth, CEO of Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast, sees the partnership as an opportunity to continue to provide quality care to clients in the region.
“We will continue the excellent service and support that Multicultural Australia has delivered to clients on the Gold Coast,” Shane said.
“Our aim continues to be to inform and empower clients to have agency in their settlement journey, whilst working with their cultural and faith communities to enable connection and belonging.”
Ms Castley and Mr Klintworth highlighted that the self-determination of clients will remain paramount, with all clients being provided information on Settlement Engagement Transition Support (SETS) providers available to them.
Find out more about MCCGC: https://www.mccgc.com.au/mccgc/
For Anisa Nandaula, it was delusion that made her a comedian. The multi-award-winning spoken word poet and author Anisa Nandaula will join an all-female line up of comedians for Stand Up for Women at Sit-Down Comedy Club on 8 March.
She recently spoke with us about the enabling laugh of a friend, the versatility of comedy, Kevin Hart, and how social injustice can effectively be a punchline.
Did your poetry lead you to comedy? Or was it the other way around?
Poetry kind of led me to comedy. Poetry gave me the skills and the confidence of being on stage and being an artist. Yeah, it just taught me how to be an artist in terms of the craft, the writing every day, the business part of it. And then I got into comedy because of COVID. I had nothing else. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t do any poetry. So I thought: why not give a comedy go?
When did you realise you’re funny?
There’s actually no sign I was funny. I was just delusional for two years. But then after being delusional, I won a competition! And then whether I was good or not didn’t matter, but it just gave me the confidence. I feel like, you know, most people aren’t talented. Most people aren’t funny. You just work at it. And if you’re delusional enough, you get good eventually.
Do you remember the first joke you ever told? Did it land well? How did it feel?
Hahaha. No, no, it was horrible. It was absolutely terrible. And it was only well received because it was my friend who was in the audience. But other than that – and the other 50 times – it did not land whatsoever. I had never done comedy. I was like, ‘are they meant to laugh all the time?’ I didn’t know. I was like, maybe sometimes they don’t laugh. And then you realise: Oh, that’s not supposed to be a regular thing. And then you change it or you get rid of it.
You moved to Australia with your family when you were eight. What were your earliest memories of what was funny being so young and new to Australia?
I remember sneezing and then this boy saying, “Oh my god, I had no idea black people sneeze.” And then me and him both laughed, just because of how ridiculous it was. And we found that really funny together, which was really sweet.
Often your subject in your poetry is about social justice, racism, quite confronting story telling. You have used those as subjects for your stand-up material as well. How do you decide which one will work as material for stand up and what’s your thought process in making the same topics funny?
I think it’s really tricky because with poetry you can just say it. But with comedy, no one’s gonna laugh if you’re preaching to them. So, I really have to get deeper in myself and go personal. Because if I try to do what I do in poetry and just preach, they’re just going to switch off.
So, I need to go deep into myself and say, ‘How does this personally make me feel? How does it affect me my mom, my brother? Whatever the social justice issue is, if I’m speaking from a personal place, they can relate to me, then it’s no longer preachy. So that’s speaking from the personal, but then also find finding a punch line somewhere. It’s really hard. I’m still getting the hang of it, but that’s the strategy I’m using now.
There are quite a few talented comics who use music and song to deliver jokes. As poet, have you tested whether jokes are funnier when they rhyme?
Yes. Actually, I have. I have some jokes that are funny ‘cuz they rhyme . It’s really interesting. When that happens, it’s a lot of fun. Usually, the ones that are funny are jokes where you have a well-known idiom or phrase, and you change the ending. And then that’s funny. Like in Australia, we say ‘no hat, no play’ [strict sun protection policy at schools]. So, if I change it, I’m like, ‘No hat, no play. I’m black go away.’
What was the funniest thing you’ve heard recently?
It was actually a meme. And it was this boss telling their employee where the boss was saying, ‘We’re so happy to have you as a part of our family.’ And then the employee who he was saying that to was like, ‘I’m currently applying for other families.’ So just as a joke as to how bosses always say that you’re ‘family’ when in reality you’re not. I just find that really hilarious.
Was there a joke that you was pure comedy gold and thought: God I wish I had written that myself?
So Kevin Hart has this joke where he’s just talking about the fact that he’s been married so many times. And he was like, I really have to make this marriage work. Because once you get past two, you’re not looking for love. You’re just looking for a death buddy. I don’t know if it’s appropriate for this. But I thought that was hilarious. Your taste becomes a bit dark when you hear comedy all the time. For something to be funny, it really has to shock me. Yeah, and it’s usually dark comedy.
Speaking of darkness, there’s this famous line by Mark Twain: “The secret source of humour itself is not joy, but sorrow. There is no humour in heaven.” Do you agree with that?
I agree that there’s humour and sadness, but I don’t think that’s the only source. I think humour can come from anywhere. It can come from dumb things. But when you refer to sorrow, I don’t think it’s as deep as if something bad has to happen. It’s just as long as it’s your pain point. Like, I could feel pain, from the racism that I experience, but I can also feel pain when someone cuts me off in traffic. Like whatever the pain is, there can be laughter.
Stand Up for Women is a fundraising comedy show hosted by Multicultural Australia to celebrate of Australia’s diverse women and their communities through the stories and experiences from stellar lineup of all-female comedians. It’s happening at the Sit-Down Comedy Club in Paddington. All proceeds from the event will assist migrant and refugee women affected by domestic and family violence.
Find out more: https://lnkd.in/gSVSPmzb
By Celeste Macintosh
Ahead of our International Women’s Day event Stand Up for Women, we spoke with comedian Jo Gowda about the high and lows of stand up, her past life as a former cricket player, and the value of being your authentic self in comedy.
When did you realise you’re funny?
A childhood memory comes to mind, I was probably in 4th grade and was spending summer holidays at my grandmother’s house which was a very strict environment. One afternoon I was just being myself and goofing around with my aunties making them laugh and one of them said ”she’s got a good sense of humour”. It was the first time I had heard that phrase and it made me feel like I had found my superpower.
What did it feel like the first time your stand-up jokes landed well with the crowd?
It was a surreal feeling, like I was watching myself from the outside. I felt so authentic being on stage telling jokes and I remember thinking ‘this is it, this is what I want to do’. There’s no better feeling than having a gig where the crowd is fully tune with you and are enjoying everything you say, it kind of feels like a warm hug from an old friend.
Do you remember a time when a joke didn’t go too well? Tell us about that.
I had a terrible gig quite recently in front of 500 odd people. There is no worse feeling than telling a crowd a story or your thoughts about a topic and it just falling flat! Anything performed live is quite intense with stand-up comedy being even more so. So, when a joke doesn’t work, you’re just standing there with zero response and that’s totally nerve racking. You quickly want to move on to your next joke. However, in the gap between the jokes your mind is racing a million miles per second. You feel like an absolute idiot, questioning why you choose to do this?
On ABC’s ‘Help Me I’m a Comedian’, you talked about your previous life as a cricket player and sports analyst. You wanted to transition into a sports career in Australia. What was it like trying to do that?
Australia is synonymous with sports and like India cricket is a major sport here too. I grew up watching and admiring Australian cricketers like Glen McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne. So yes, when I moved here, I was very keen to continue working in sports analytics.
I contacted lots of recruiters and sports organisations but unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of opportunities going around. Months passed and I still had no signs of getting a job. When you move to a new country, you rely on your skills to make it and not being able to do that made me feel really dejected, in fact it still hurts when I think about it. Instead of my jokes, it felt like my resume was bombing!
You said in that interview that you never felt you had to be someone else here in Australia, and that “there is a bigger pressure to be very Indian”. What did you mean? How did that influence your comedy?
Immigrants face unconscious biases on the daily. You are perceived to be a particular way based on your background or where you come from. This can be even more when you have an accent. When only one aspect of who you are is heightened you begin to feel the pressures of it.
On the flip side, performing comedy in Australia has been very liberating for me, especially coming from a culture where I didn’t see a lot of women talk openly and freely about things. In Australia, I felt like there were no taboo topics that we weren’t allowed to talk about and that gave me a lot of confidence to be me. In my comedy, I firstly try to share my personal experiences as Jo, as a wife or mum and those experiences happen to be about an Indian woman, this I think gives my stories the perfect balance and flare.
You did a stand-up comedy course years ago. Where was that? Was there a moment during the course when you thought: “Well, that will not work with my material”?
I did Fiona McGary’s stand-up comedy workshop in 2019. It was a two-day workshop at the Sit Down Comedy Club. I was a new mum with my daughter being only 12 months old, there were lots of instances where I thought ‘’Umm, what the heck am I doing here?’’. I’m a mum, I am never going to talk about nudity or sex. But happy to report that I overcame the odds and I do enjoy a bit of blue comedy in my set now.
What makes a perfect monologue / stand up material for you?
I enjoy watching comedy that is authentic and an extension of the person. I find this kind of content really connects with the audience. When you build that trust with them, they will come with you on any journey you take them in your set. Which is super exciting and entertaining for everyone!
Apart from making people laugh, what do you think is the most rewarding thing about doing comedy?
I have had occasions where after a gig someone has come up to me and said ‘’I never thought about Arranged Marriages in such a way, thank you for that perspective’’. I have had immigrants from totally different cultures tell me how relatable my content was to them. These interactions make me feel really gratified and appreciative of comedy.
Stand Up for Women is a fundraising comedy show hosted by Multicultural Australia to celebrate of Australia’s diverse women and their communities through the stories and experiences from stellar lineup of all-female comedians. It’s happening at the Sit-Down Comedy Club Paddington. All proceeds from the event will assist migrant and refugee women affected by domestic and family violence.
Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/gSVSPmzb
By Celeste Macintosh
Multicultural Australia is excited to introduce Culturability Accreditation, designed to promote cultural diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This new workplace accreditation provides a comprehensive and authentic approach to diversity and inclusion, allowing organisations to demonstrate their commitment to creating a sense of belonging for both their staff and customers.
According to CEO Christine Castley, Culturability Accreditation has the power to revolutionise the way we work by creating workplaces that are equitable, inclusive, and welcoming. “Through rigorous consultation with our clients, partners, and community leaders, we have created an affordable framework that allows organisations to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse individuals and communities.”
Designed for businesses of any size from any sector, accreditation is based on five standards and includes assessment and journey support to help organisations increase their cultural capability and create a meaningful sense of belonging for everyone they engage with. As Ms Castley notes, “The standards are critical in creating a safe and welcoming organization where all people feel a sense of belonging.”
Discover how Culturability Accreditation can transform your organisation by visiting www.culturability.com.au
Multicultural Australia is dedicated to changing the conversation on cultural diversity and social cohesion across the country. With a mission create belonging to promote and celebrate diversity in all its forms, Multicultural Australia offers a wide range of services, including settlement support, employment assistance, and community engagement programs.
Multicultural Australia will create welcome for refugee and migrant communities in Springfield with a new community centre at the Brisbane Lions’ Brighton Homes Arena.
CEO of Multicultural Australia, Christine Castley, said the community centre has the potential to make a significant difference in the local community.
“The community centre will become a space for Springfield residents from refugee and migrant backgrounds to access services and support that will help them feel more connected and cared for,” she said.
“We work to build communities where all people feel a sense of belonging. A part of achieving that is to create spaces for people to connect with those in their community and explore opportunities to engage with the wider community. Our new community centre will make that possible in Springfield.”
“The programs we run will be tailored to meet the needs of the community, with a focus on education and empowerment.”
Greg Swann, CEO of the Brisbane Lions, said the state-of-the-art venue will create opportunities for women and the multicultural community in AFL.
“Brighton Homes Arena is the best of its class for women’s sport in the country and will go a long way in helping the growth of women and girl’s footy in Queensland,” he said.
“Having the Multicultural Australia Community Centre at Brighton Homes Arena is significant because it caters to the needs of the region’s growing diversity and helps individuals and families from multicultural communities feel at home in a space that is dedicated to footy.”
The community centre is the latest addition in a fruitful partnership between Multicultural Australia and the Brisbane Lions.
Find out more about the Brighton Homes Arena: https://www.lions.com.au/brighton-homes-arena/our-home
We who have come from many places acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land which always was and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island land. We pay our respects to their Elders throughout all time. We walk together in solidarity of the pain of the past and the shared hope for the future.
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