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Bright new beginnings in 2017!
This year is already shaping up to be busy for those working alongside young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, with the first ever Federal inquiry focused on the settlement outcomes of young people.
Also very pressing is the National Inquiry into the Racial Discrimination Act, which was tabled in parliament last week.
In lighter news, Harmony Week will soon be upon us (March 15-21), and we encourage everyone to dive into Australia’s wealth of cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic diversity! Find out ways to get involved here.
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Check out this video made by MYAN WA's Shout Out speakers for Harmony Week.
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Federal Inquiry into Migrant Settlement Outcomes
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On November 17 last year, the Joint Standing Committee on Migration was asked to inquire into and report on migrant settlement outcomes, with a focus on youth, and in particular the “involvement of youth migrants in anti-social behaviour such as gang activity.”
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The inquiry is an important opportunity to identify what is working well and how we can better meet the needs of young people while they settle in Australia.
“While we are concerned about the portrayal of young migrants and refugees in the public narrative around youth justice, this inquiry allows us to focus on how we better support young people and their families to settle well - to feel like they belong and can succeed in Australia," said National Coordinator Nadine Liddy. "This includes ensuring that our broader service system is well equipped to provide targeted support”.
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After a three month review, the Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights handed down its report last week, with no particular mandate on whether major changes should be made to the section of the Act that covers freedom of speech.
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Victoria YAN member Celia Tran said the inquiry had “saddened” her: “ to see our leaders’ energies and resources used to fight in attempts to change what has protected millions of Australians from being subjected to racism.
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“Look around you, and listen to your people,” Celia said. “We live in a time where interfaith, multicultural and indigenous communities are working well together on matters of importance to the entire Australian community. I hope the PM makes the right decisions going forward and ends any further attempts to water down section 18C.”
Read MYAN's statement to the joint committee on our website here.
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You're the Voice
It has been brilliant to see so many young people of refugee and migrant backgrounds speaking out over the past few months.
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Omar Al Kassab speaks out on Q & A
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Shout Out speaker Omar Al Kassab is passionate about promoting an understanding and awareness of the situation facing his fellow citizens living in and fleeing the war in Syria.
This passion drove him to taking the mic as an audience member on ABC's Q & A last month. When conversation turned to Donald Trump’s travel ban on Syrians, Omar and his brother Saad received an overwhelmingly positive show of support from the general public for their courage and eloquence.
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Also making waves on Q & A was Queensland author, engineer, advocate and media identity Yassmin Abdel-Magied, who shared a fiery exchange with Jacqui Lambie and spoke out about Islam and migration law.
"I spent most of my teens ... in the public space deeply, desperately avoiding being the Muslim girl," Yassmin told The Canberra Times.
"I guess the battle came to me. I don't really have any other choice but to accept it and to roll my sleeves up.”
It is fantastic to see Yassmin emerging as a much-needed role model for migrant and refugee young people.
Watch her explaining Sharia law on Junkee here:
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FUSE 2016 delegate and CMY intern Nyayoud Jice was interviewed on Channel 10 News as an ambassador for Melbourne’s south Sudanese community, speaking out about the ‘wave of violent crime’ and how these negative stereotypes effect African young people.
Watch the news segment here:
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"It (stereotyping) hinders all our job opportunities, our educational opportunities, and also our community engagement".
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Queensland’s Grace Edward and South Australia’s Cece Hylton-Dei attended the RCOA and UNSW Refugee Alternatives Conference in late February to speak on a panel for “Telling it how it is: youth perspectives on good practice”. Grace, a FUSE 2016 delegate, said it made her feel “hopeful”.
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“As advocates, I think that we often concentrate solely on the task at hand and not the greater impact our voices are making,” Grace said (pictured left).
“This conference was a wonderful experience that showed me the impact being made globally by service providers, organizations and how the youth fit into the equation.
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“However, it also showed me what a long way we still have to go and how working together as one is the key to achieving future success. Together we cannot be silenced."
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State of affairs
MYAN WA has developed a slick new website – check it out here. And that's not all that's happening in WA:
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MYAN WA Project Support Officer Sara Shengeb won the Young Citizen of the Year Award in the City of Kwinana, and was a finalist at the Human Rights Awards in Sydney at the end of last year.
And Wahida Samim (pictured right) - one of the Shout Out speakers and co-organiser of the last Catalyst Youth Summit - was selected for the New Colombo Plan.
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This government-funded scholarship program allows her to spend six months in Hong Kong during the final year of her commerce degree.
"Coming to university is kind of a big achievement because my mum never went to school and my dad couldn't finish his degree,” Wahida, a Hazara refugee, told SBS News. “So me being able to get the scholarship to go and study overseas is really, really big and I'm really privileged and really lucky."
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CMY (VIC) was asked to appear at a Migrant Settlement Outcomes inquiry hearing in February in Dandenong, inviting several young people to speak alongside CEO Carmel Guerra.
The young people – who had been or are involved in CMY leadership and social inclusions programs – spoke about settlement systems and the effect that suggested changes could potentially have on them and their peers, as well as racism, stereotyping, fear and misinformation.
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MYAN Australia is now on Instagram!
Please follow us at @myanaustralia
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National Multicultural Youth Conference
SAVE THE DATE - November 23-24, 2017
In partnership with the University of Melbourne, MYAN is delighted to be hosting Australia's first national multicultural youth conference in Melbourne. Combining research, policy and practice, this is a unique opportunity to hear from academics, policy makers and practitioners from across Australia and internationally, in relation to children and young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
To register your interest email us.
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Webinar Invitation
In light of the recently launched National Youth Settlement Framework, Nadine Liddy (MYAN), Heather Stewart (CMY) and John De Maio (Australian Institute of Family Studies) will provide examples of community-based initiatives and practical strategies for supporting young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
Register here.
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