[Edited extract from public address]
Two members of our Multicultural Youth Network (MYN) attended the Victorian Youth Congress last week and advocated for culturally diverse youth by expressing their insights to critical policy-makers.
Congratulations to MYN members Rosie Thyer and Celil Kardaslar and our engagement officer Yusuf Liban for representing the VMC and yourselves so well.
The future is in good hands with these developing leaders.
Welcoming Australia Symposium inspired VMC staff
This two-day event explored the challenges, benefits and opportunities of migration, settlement, cultural diversity and inclusion. It was an excellent opportunity to be inspired by international, national and local practitioners, policy-makers and researchers making a difference in this space. It will inform our work for a long time to come.
Join the VMC database!
In the last couple of years, the VMC has played a significant role in supporting, engaging and informing the multicultural and multifaith communities during extremely tough circumstances, like the floods, fires and the pandemic.
In order to continue this effort we need a robust and up-to-date database to do it effectively.
Please help us by providing your organisation's contact details for our Multicultural Communities Database.
There are two questionnaires - please only fill out ONE.
You can complete a questionnaire on behalf of an organisation you represent OR as an individual.
You must complete the above questionnaire and consent to the VMC having information about your organisation to be among the first to know of relevant governmental or community resources, awards, grants, news, events, programs, and other opportunities, including VMC-hosted events such as the Multicultural Gala Dinner.
Mental Health and Wellbeing space now open in Brimbank
As part of our ongoing advocacy work in the mental health space, I will attend Brimbank's new walk-in mental health facility.
The local services act as a 'front door' to the mental health and wellbeing system, offering welcoming and inclusive spaces staffed by qualified mental health professionals, including peer support workers, to cater to all communities' diverse needs.
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals were a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System. They provide support and treatment for adults aged 26 and older experiencing mental illness or psychological distress in their community, including those with co-occurring substance use or addiction.
The first six local services opened last year in the Benalla-Wangaratta-Mansfield region, Brimbank, Frankston, Greater Geelong-Queenscliffe region, Latrobe, and Whittlesea.
Another seven local services in Dandenong, Shepparton, Melton, Mildura, Lilydale, Bendigo-Echuca and Orbost-Bairnsdale will open by the end of 2023.
With the remaining Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals to be operational by 2026.
Keep reading this EDM for more information on News and Events, mental health, family violence and gender equality.
Thank you
Viv Nguyen, Chairperson
News and Events
Help support community radio and elevate diverse voices
3CR’s annual Radiothon will run again this June under the theme ‘Stay Tuned, Stay Radical’.
The station is calling for help to ‘Stay Radical’ and provide a vital platform for the issues that get left behind and the voices that get silenced.
3CR needs the community to 'Stay Tuned' to diverse voices and alternative perspectives in order to create meaningful social change.
A new round of Live Local grants is now available
Under the fund, local councils and community organisations receive grants of up to $200,000 for infrastructure projects, while smaller grants of up to $20,000 support the purchase of equipment, minor upgrades, and maintenance to facilities to continue to serve their local communities well into the future.
Successful grants include a refurbished community hall for the Tamil Educational Cultural & Charitable Association in Deanside, a cool room for the Muslim Women’s Council community kitchen in Brunswick, and the creation of a migration trail to celebrate Victoria’s multi-cultural history in Port Melbourne
Mental Health
Have your say on the Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework
The Victorian Government wants your help to address the mental health and well-being needs of multicultural communities, LGBTIQ+ people and people with disability - as they create the Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework.
This framework aims to provide help accessing safe and responsive mental health services, reducing stigma and discrimination, promoting good mental health and well-being and preventing and responding to suicide.
To date, the Victorian Government has heard from nearly 400 people and 18 organisations to inform the Framework and has summarised this feedback in a new report titled
What we have heard so far.
Employment & Training
Do you have an international qualification that you’d like to be recognised in Australia?
The Victorian Government offers free and confidential assessment services through the Overseas Qualifications Unit.
You can have your international qualifications assessed to be recognised in Australia to enhance your career or find pathways to further education opportunities.
Vietnamese:
Bạn có muốn bằng cấp quốc tế của mình được công nhận miễn phí ở Úc không?
Đơn vị Chứng Nhận Bằng Cấp Nước Ngoài (OQU) cung cấp các dịch vụ đánh giá miễn phí và bảo mật thông tin để các bằng cấp quốc tế của bạn được công nhận tại Úc nhằm nâng cao cơ hội kiếm việc làm hoặc học tập cao hơn.
Nếu bạn có bất kỳ câu hỏi nào hãy gọi 1300 492 606
Chinese:您希望您的海外资历免费获得在澳洲官方认证吗？
海外资历认证组（OQU）提供免费评估服务，能够使您的海外学历在澳洲得到认可，帮助您找到工作，并可为教育机构包括专业机构或录取机构出具证明。
Farsi:دولت ویکتوریا به طور رایگان، ارزیابی و معادل سازی استرالیایی برای مدارک تحصیلی غیر استرالیایی را برای شما انجام می دهد تا بتوانید شانس استخدامی بیشتر یا موقعیت های ادامه تحصیل و ... داشته باشید. برای اطلاعات بیشتر می توانید با شماره تلفن یا ایمیل زیر تماس بگیرید یا مستقیماً به وبسایت رفته و تقاضانامه را پر کنید و مدارک خود را ارزیابی نمایید:
Young Victorians Get Their Move On For Education Week
Victoria is kicking off this Education Week with
Get Your Move On, an initiative designed to promote student health and physical activity.
Education Week runs from Sunday 14 May to Saturday 20 May and will this year celebrate students' participation in physical activity, hands-on learning and student voices in education.
Highlighting that just 15 minutes of activity, 4 times a day can have a lasting and positive impact on student wellbeing and learning engagement, the Get Your Move On initiative promotes a range of ideas to get students moving at home and at school – inspiring them to explore different activities to find something they love.
Better Outcomes For More Students With Tutor Program
The Victorian Government's Tutor Learning Initiative is celebrating a big milestone with 435,000 students having now participated in intensive small-group learning at school.
Launched in 2021 to manage the challenges of the pandemic, the Tutor Learning Initiative supported more than 185,000 students with over 8,000 tutors in that year alone, while in 2022, almost 160,000 students were supported by more than 7,000 tutors.
These figures are inclusive of more than 88,000 students in low-fee non-government schools who have been able to receive targeted small-group learning support in 2021 and 2022.
Gender Equality
Supporting Grassroots Gender Equality Work | applications close at 3pm on Friday 19 May 2023
A Victorian Government program aims to support community organisations to advance gender equality through community engagement events, leadership and training programs, community projects and advocacy efforts.
The
Investing in Women Grassroots Grant Program will provide $200,000 in grants designed to deliver projects that support women and girls from a diverse range of ages, backgrounds, identities and experiences, continuing to drive progress towards gender equality in Victoria.
Women, girls and gender-diverse people continue to face major barriers to equality, from gender stereotypes that limit their choices to unequal pay to violence and discrimination.
Funding To Stop Violence Against Women With Disabilities
Workers in the family violence prevention and disability sectors will be better equipped with the skills to prevent violence against women with disabilities thanks to a funding boost to
Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV).
The Victorian Government will invest $1.8 million to support the expanded delivery of its Gender and Disability Workforce Development Program, which gives workers the skills to prevent violence against women with disabilities.
Since it began in 2017, the program has offered training and professional development to more than 900 participants from disability, social services, local government, prevention and carer workforces.
MORE:
Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC)
Address: Level 3, 1 Macarthur Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9651 5901
