Last week, I attended the farewell for Hakan Akyol PSM, Executive Senior Adviser at the Victorian Multicultural Commission, alongside Gabrielle Marchetti, our Deputy co-chair and Victoria Kyriakopoulos, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications.
It was a bittersweet occasion as many of us gathered to pay tribute to Hakan and the many contributions he's made to advance multicultural affairs. In addition to his two decades in the Victorian public service, Hakan also served a tremendous eight years at ECCV, where he was responsible for shaping multicultural policy at a vital juncture in Victoria's history. We thank Hakan for his passion, insight and expertise, and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
We were also deeply saddened last week to hear of the sudden passing of Stefan Romaniw OAM, who was a selfless leader dedicated to the Ukrainian community, multicultural Victoria and a diverse, vibrant Australia. A state funeral will be held next Friday, 12 July to honour Stefan's remarkable life. His decades-long contributions to multiculturalism and social cohesion will forever mark him as one of Victoria's most fearless champions for change.
As we embark on this new financial year, we are excited to begin recruitment for a new Chief Executive Officer. The CEO role is a unique opportunity for an inspiring and experienced leader to guide ECCV onto our next chapter of sustainability and growth. Our organisation has been the leading voice for multicultural Victoria since 1974, and we look forward to meeting candidates who have a vision for how ECCV can continue to support our members, partners and communities to shape a fairer, more inclusive society.
Eddie Micallef, Chairperson
Highlights
REPORTING | VCOSS CEO Juanita Pope at ECCV meeting
Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) CEO Juanita Pope delivered a presentation in June at ECCV's Statewide Disability Network. She provided an update on proposed changes to state regulation as well as the work VCOSS has been doing to advocate for the disability sector and people with disability, particularly through their submission on the Victorian Budget.
ADVISING | New report on emergency machine translations
ECCV was pleased to contribute to a new report produced by a team of researchers at the University of Melbourne on understanding and improving machine translations for use in emergency communications. Supported by the Victorian government, the report found that there are a range of risks associated with machine translations, and makes a suite of recommendations to improve their efficacy for emergencies.
MEETING | Victorian Access & Support Network
At last week's meeting of the Victorian Access & Support Network, the Department of Health and Aged Care updated members about the rollout of the Single Assessment Tool by the new temporary assessment workforce. The Network has been convened by ECCV for over a decade, and is a valuable platform for sector stakeholders to share their issues and ideas with each other and government.
RAISING | The voices of youth with disability
Thanks to support from Inner North Foundation, ECCV is pleased to launch our Raise Our Voices Youth Project. This builds on the Raise Our Voices project, which empowered people with disability from multicultural backgrounds to self-advocate. Focusing on youth, this new phase will be co-designed with young people with disability.
- To find out more, contact Partnerships & Engagement Lead Surmeli Yesilyurt.
REDUCING | Stigma around disability
ECCV is working in a consortium with the Migrant Resource Centre North West and VALID to deliver Power Through Knowledge, a new project to reduce stigma in multicultural communities and support people with disability from migrant and refugee backgrounds to improve their autonomy. Over the next three years, the project will set up support groups across Victoria, and host a self-advocacy workshop series.
PRESENTING | Positive ageing information session in Bendigo
ECCV travelled to Bendigo last week to host an information session for a local multicultural women's group, where they discussed seniors' rights as well as how to identify, respond to and prevent elder abuse. The session was attended by participants of all ages and backgrounds, including people from the local Chinese, Burmese, Sudanese, Nepalese and Indian communities.
Opportunities and Resources
HIRING | Are you ECCV's next CEO?
Are you experienced in community leadership, social policy and advocacy, and organisational management? We are currently seeking an experienced and inspirational CEO to build on ECCV's 50-year legacy in multicultural affairs and ensure we remain a leading voice for multicultural Victoria. This leadership opportunity is suited to an outcome-focused and purpose-driven leader.
HEARING | Diverse stories of people with disability
ECCV is excited to continue collaborating with the Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW in promoting the Speak My Language (Disability) podcast series. Featuring interviews in more than 20 languages, the series showcases the real stories of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds living well with disability, and highlights organisations and businesses advocating for disability inclusion.
PUBLISHING | Hot off the press: Read the new Golden Years
The latest edition of Golden Years, ECCV's eMagazine for the multicultural aged care sector, is out now! In this issue, we take an in-depth look at elder abuse in honour of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day last month. We also examine the contributions of older volunteers, how older people can reduce their risk of falls, and tips for supporting a culturally diverse aged care workforce.
PARTICIPATING | In our mental health workshops
Do you work in the mental health sector and want to learn more about providing culturally safe care? ECCV is running workshops to help practitioners deepen their understanding of the factors impacting poorer mental health outcomes for multicultural communities.
- To arrange a workshop, contact ECCV Partnerships & Engagement Lead Surmeli Yesilyurt on 0481 589 664 or at syesilyurt@eccv.org.au.
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Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria (ECCV)
Address: Suite 101, 398 Sydney Road, Coburg Vic 3058
Tel: (03) 9354 9555
ECCV acknowledges the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nations as the Traditional Owners of the Country on which we work. We pay respect to their Elders past and present, acknowledge their continuing connections to land, sea and community, and extend respect to Traditional Owners throughout Victoria.