Last weekend, an extraordinary number of Victorians of all backgrounds took to the streets of Melbourne to protest against racism and the shocking number of First Nations People who have died in custody since 1991.
Message from the Chairperson
Multicultural community leaders who participated in the protest have told us we’re not doing enough to address racism. And we agree.
I invite you to read our statement in response to #BlackLivesMatter. We understand that silence is not an option and we know our role has never been more important or relevant.
We unequivocally condemn any form of racism or vilification directed at someone because of their colour, ethnicity, faith or national origin. We also acknowledge the rise in racism towards Asian, African, Jewish and Muslim communities. Racism hurts our whole society and we must do better in addressing it.
The Commission will be issuing a statement outlining our position on racism shortly.
We were pleased to hear the news this week that Victorian Multicultural Commissioner Director Hakan Akyol, was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Queen's Birthday 2020 Honours List. Many of you will know Hakan, and I'm sure you'll agree that this is a well deserved recognition of his profound contribution to multicultural Victoria.
This week, SBS also farewelled their outgoing Chair, Dr Bulent Hass Dellal AO, after a decade of service on the SBS Board. I’d like to congratulate Hass, on behalf of the Commission, and thank him for the significant contribution he has made to ensuring the voices of multicultural Victoria are heard and represented.
Finally, I ask you to continue to share multilingual coronavirus (COVID-19) resources with your networks. This week, we're sharing links to the latest resources from Health Translations, the Victorian Government stakeholder pack for the Staying Safe Keeps us Together campaign and the Department of Health and Human Services Easy English factsheets.
Stay safe and look out for each other,
Viv Nguyen, Chairperson
#BlackLivesMatter
We commit to playing a leading role in tackling racism in Victoria and mobilising multicultural communities to join us. Meaningful change will only happen when people of all backgrounds come together in solidarity and become actively anti-racist.
Congratulations Hakan Akyol
A very warm congratulations to Victorian Multicultural Commission Director, Hakan Akyol, on receiving the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to multicultural policy design and program delivery in Victoria in the Queen's Birthday 2020 Honours List. An incredibly well-deserved award for an outstanding leader and wonderful human.
Easy Read English fact sheets
The Department of Health and Human Services have created Easy English coronavirus (COVID-19) factsheets, written in simple, everyday language, supported with images. Topics include looking after your mental health, family violence support and emergency relief packages.
Multilingual campaign materials
Restrictions have been eased, but limiting our movement everyday means we slow the spread of the virus. A range of translated materials are available promoting this message, including posters, social media content and audio recordings to help you share this campaign with your networks.
Health Translations newsletter — June
The Health Translations June newsletter includes multilingual resources on early childhood intervention, volunteering, working with interpreters by phone in a family violence setting, business support, testing for COVID-19 in Victoria, telehealth, home care during COVID-19, industry code for visiting residential aged care homes during COVID-19, diabetes and more.
Multicultural Media Grants Program
The 2020 Multicultural Media Grants Program provides $500,000 through grants to enable multicultural and multilingual media outlets operating in Victoria to purchase or upgrade their equipment. Applications are open now and close 5 July 2020.
Coronavirus hotline
- Coronavirus hotline: If you are concerned, call the coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398 (24 Hours).
- Interpreting service: If you need an interpreter, call TIS National on 131 450.
- Triple Zero: Please keep Triple Zero (000) for emergencies only.
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Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC)
Address: Level 3, 1 Macarthur Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9651 5901
Email: contact@vmc.vic.gov.au