On Thursday 6 November 2025, Victorian Transcultural Mental Health will hold its biennial forum at the Djerring Flemington Hub.
The theme of this year’s forum is “Practice and research innovations towards culturally responsive systems”.
Blossom Ahket, Nari Kim, and Susan Esmaili will present a panel on Language and Justice. Access to mental health care is not just about services, it is also about justice. If language is overlooked, unequal, or constrained, people are denied the right to fully participate in their own care. This panel will bring together interpreters to reflect on the realities of language injustice in mental health settings. It will consider what it means to work towards language justice that affirms dignity, trust, and cultural safety.
- Blossom Ah Ket has over six years of experience as a NAATI-certified Spanish interpreter and translator, and has worked in legal and community health settings. She is passionate about language justice and dedicated to enabling intercultural communication that strives for more just access to services for community members
- Nari Kim has worked as a Korean interpreter for more than twenty years. She is the co-facilitator of a mental health interpreters’ reflective group supported by VTMH, where interpreters come together monthly to share thoughts on ethical challenges encountered in their daily work.
- Susan Esmaili is a dedicated interpreter with over a decade of experience spanning the justice and legal system, healthcare, mental health services, and the broader public sector. She believes that interpreting is about more than transferring language, it's about building bridges between cultures, preserving meaning, and honoring the human stories behind words.
Spaces are limited. Reserve your spot now so you don’t miss out.
A limited number of complimentary tickets are available for people in the community with lived and living experiences, who are not currently employed. If you think you may be eligible, please email vtmh@svha.org.au for more information.
We will continue to announce the program over the coming weeks.
- Where: Djerring Flemington Hub, 25 Mt Alexander Road, Flemington
- Cost: $100 per person
- Bookings: online via VTMH
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Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH)
Address: St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Level 1, Bolte Wing, 14 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Address: St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Level 1, Bolte Wing, 14 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Tel: (03) 9231 3300
VTMH acknowledges it is located on the traditional lands of the Boon Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples of the Kulin Nation. We know this land has history, custodians and stories spanning tens of thousands of years. We celebrate and recognise the First Peoples’ continuing connection to the land and water, and pay our respects to their Ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging.
In a spirit of reconciliation, we commit to walking the journey of learning and healing together.