“Welcome to our March 2023 newsletter!”

It’s been a busy start to 2023 for the MYAN team! And we are looking forward to sharing all the exciting things that have kept us busy these past months.

Read on to find out more about our new research report, read our latest data snapshot, and to find out how you can join our Youth Alumni Network and much more!

As always – thank you for your support.
The MYAN team.

POLICY AND ADVOCACY UPDATES

MYAN releases latest research report “Counting us in: MYAN report of the settlement experiences of LGBTQI+ refugee & asylum seeker young adults”

With generous support from the Sidney Myer Fund and Pride Foundation Australia, MYAN recently undertook national research in an effort to capture the settlement experiences of young LGBTQI+ asylum seekers and refugees living in Australia. The report on our findings is intended to provide insights into how LGBTQI+ refugee and asylum seeker young adults (18-30) arriving in Australia are faring in their settlement journey, including good practice and gaps in support. It provides a summary of key findings from a national sector consultation and individual interviews with LGBTQI+ refugee and asylum seeker young adults and service providers.

The report is further informed by available literature on LGBTQI+ young adults settling in Australia and identifies several measures for MYAN, the federal government and the youth, LGBTQI+ and settlement sectors to consider in improving responses that address the complex needs of LGBTQI+ refugee and asylum seeker young adults, to improve their overall wellbeing and settlement experiences.

MYAN Chair, Carmel Guerra OAM: “As the Australian peak body for migrant and refugee youth, an important part of our work involves capturing the diverse settlement experiences of young people arriving in Australia, and making recommendations for service improvements and more responsive program design”.

“We hope this report is useful for fellow researchers, policy makers (including the Department of Home Affairs) and LGBTQI+ and youth organisations across Australia, and we are committed to working alongside young people and our colleagues in these spaces to continue this important work,” adds Rana Ebrahimi, MYAN’s National Manager.

MYAN National Manager speaks at Queer Displacement Conference

MYAN’s National Manager Rana Ebrahimi spoke at the Queer Displacements Conference hosted by the Forcibly Displaced People’s Network (FDPN) which took place in Sydney during World Pride. Rana spoke on a panel entitled Partnerships and Best Practices Gender and sexuality diversity inclusion in the multicultural context alongside speakers from Settlement Services International and Multicultural Australia. Rana spoke about the social, cultural, and settlement experiences of LGBTQI+ young people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds in Australia.

Also in attendance at the conference were Nayonika Bhattachary, who is one of MYAN’s current NSW Youth Ambassadors (YAN) and Grace Edward, who is the co-founder and co-chair of the Youth CALD Disability Collective (YCDC). Nayonika presented an engaging and interactive session called Understanding the cultural context: How to communicate with dignity? while Grace was one of the Masters of Ceremonies for the conference and also performed some of her incredible spoken word poetry at the conference reception.

Queer Displacements is the first and only conference in the Asia Pacific designed to comprehensively foreground protection and settlement challenges of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) forcibly displaced people.

For more information about FDNP, to access support, or to sign up for updates for the next Queer Displacements Conference, click here.

MYAN’s work recognised internationally

MYAN is thrilled that our work has been highlighted as an example of global good practice by youth-oriented organisations and networks in youth engagement and leadership during the COVID-19 response. MYAN’s ‘A day in the life series’ that was created during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has been selected as an example of global good practice by youth-oriented organisations and networks in youth engagement and leadership during the COVID-19 response

MYAN’s work was one of just 7 case studies selected worldwide! Very proud of MYAN’s network of young leaders and advocates, and our amazing National team.

The case studies provide useful operational guidance for organisations supporting meaningful youth engagement and leadership in response to future public health and humanitarian emergencies. The case studies provide useful operational guidance for organisations supporting meaningful youth engagement and leadership in response to future public health and humanitarian emergencies.

The team who selected the case studies is a partnership between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), and as well as key stakeholders from the public health and humanitarian sectors.

This publication is an outcome of the months-long effort of the organisations submitting good practices and the YES! Coordination team, with the support of the Collective Helpdesk, UNAIDS, UN WOMEN and the Global Compact for Youth in Humanitarian Action. For any further information, do not hesitate to reach out to the contacts at the end of each case study, as well as the YES!Coordination and supporting team (CC).

You can see the case study here published in English, French and Spanish.

Youth Settlement Trends Data Snapshot

MYAN has once again developed a national snapshot on the number of young people aged 12-24 who arrived in Australia via the Family, Skilled and Humanitarian program streams in the 2021/22 financial year. Using the latest data from the Department of Home Affairs, the snapshot includes information on a range of demographic data, including age, gender, religion, language and settlement location.

MYAN submission to Senate Inquiry into the Extent and Nature of Poverty in Australia

MYAN recently prepared a submission on the extent and nature of poverty in Australia.

Economic shocks and structural barriers to economic participation impair healthy adolescent development, disrupts settlement, and risks individual long-term financial exclusion and disadvantage.

We call on the government to address long standing inequalities and pre-existing barriers for young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds that contribute to experiences of poverty and financial hardship to ensure that all of Australia’s young people can thrive and access meaningful and equitable opportunities for social, economic and civic participation. We believe that failing to invest in young people will result in substantial economic, social, and political costs.

MYAN YOUTH UPDATES

MYAN Podcast Launch: Multicultural Youth Voice

So excited to finally share this little secret of ours, the Multicultural Youth Voice (MY Voice) Podcast! Brought to you by the young leaders at MYAN Australia.

This podcast showcases young multicultural leaders as they address pressing issues in contemporary Australia. Through in-depth discussions with special guests, each episode offers a unique perspective on a topic of interest. Join the conversation and explore the experiences of MYAN’s Youth Ambassadors navigating the challenges of modern Australia.

Join Hashwina, MYAN’s VIC Youth Ambassador (YAN) who speaks to Alicia Johnson (AJ), a First Nations woman, PhD scholar, activist and podcaster! In this episode, they discuss Close the Gap day, First Nations Justice, health disparity and allyship between multicultural and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities.

Building our Alumni Network: An Interview with Joseph

“Don’t be afraid to take risks, and to speak up. You never know where an opportunity might lead you” – Joseph Kolapudi

As part of our work in establishing our MYAN Young People Alumni Network, we have reconnected with Joseph who was active within the MYAN network between 2018 and 2020.

Based in Brisbane, Joseph first got involved with MYAN after returning from the United States where he was studying International Development. He felt like the opportunities to get involved in advocacy at that time were limited but saw a lot of potential to get involved at MYAN’s Queensland partner organisation Multicultural Youth Queensland, (also known as MyQ).

As part of the Youth Advisory Group at MyQ, Joseph saw MyQ’s influence in the youth advocacy space grow exponentially. He speaks fondly of his time at MyQ, including the planning and organisation process of the Youth Matters Forum in 2019 in which he played a key role in naming!

The forum provided a platform for multicultural young people, aged between 15-30 years to meet with stakeholders from the greater Brisbane area to share their knowledge, ideas and insights about issues facing them and their peers.

Joseph is now Creative Director at SolveSquad, a social enterprise which aims to address social challenges facing disengaged youth by creating online and in-person opportunities. He speaks passionately of how this organisation fosters digital opportunities for youth leadership through virtual internships and partnerships, and how they are looking forward to having further grassroots community engagement coming out of the pandemic.

When asked how he would describe his experience in youth leadership, he says “Catalysing change – the experience was rich in unique perspective and stories, I learnt a lot from other young people and felt empowered and confident to take up opportunities”

If you have been involved with MYAN or our partner agencies in the past and would like to join our growing Alumni Network please contact us

SECTOR NEWS

“Inhabiting Two Worlds At Once”: Stage One Report on the Experiences of LGBTIQA+ Settlement in Australia released by the Forcibly Displaced People’s Network (FDPN)

FDPN launched the first Australia-wide survey to comprehensively capture the experiences of displacement and settlement of LGBTIQ+ forcibly displaced people.

The aim of this survey is to collect information about the experiences and barriers of LGBTIQA+ forcibly displaced people in Australia so we can advocate for more welcoming and inclusive support.

About the stage one report
The stage first describes the demographics of the participants to contextualise who has decided to participate in the survey. Then it focuses on main themes that emerged during the analysis:

– Access to support services
– Discrimination in Australia
– Violence experienced within Australia
– Community support and connection
– Experiences during the COVID pandemic

Read the report here.

OPPORTUNITIES

National Multiculturalism Survey: FECCA

The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) has launched a national survey that seeks to understand the everyday reality of multiculturalism in Australia from the perspective of multicultural people who live here.

By listening to people from multicultural backgrounds FECCA wishes to understand challenges, barriers to participation and how people connect to their communities and neighbourhoods.

The survey will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. It is available in a wide range of languages, and we encourage you to complete it in your language if you can. You can participate in this survey if you are over 18 years of age.

Write to your MP: Support for CRISP Australia

In the run up to May’s federal budget, the Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA) urges you to write to your federal MP showing support for the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) becoming additional to Australia’s existing humanitarian intake.

For more resources and a letter template, follow the link below

RESOURCES

COVID-19 Vaccine Information Pack for Multicultural Communities

Translated information in this information pack includes:

– Benefits of COVID-19 vaccination
– Third and fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccines
– Children and COVID-19 vaccines
– Pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccines
– Getting vaccinated after testing positive for COVID-19

Monitoring your COVID-19 Symptoms

For more translated information on:

– How to monitor your COVID-19 symptoms,
– Accessing expert health advice in your language,
– COVID-19 Symptom and Antiviral Eligibility Checker,
– Deciding whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Latest Advice on COVID-19 Boosters and Vaccinations

Find out how to protect your community against COVID-19 and more information about vaccines and booster for children.

Follow us on the MYAN Health Facebook page for more updates!

What more would you like to hear from MYAN?

Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network Australia (MYAN)

304 Drummond Street, 3053, Carlton

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