Navigating access to services through a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) youth perspective

Organised by:

Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare

Speakers:

Mohamed Semra – The Co-Founder at Endeavour Youth Australia and the 2020 AMAA Youth of the Year; Mohamed is a social entrepreneur and award-winning advocate working to shatter the stigma and misconceptions of CALD communities.

Julia Coscolluela – Youth Worker at Brimbank City Council; Julia was a young Filipino migrant who came to Australia in 2015 when she was 15. Her current role as a young worker allows and inspires her to support other young people and amplify their voices.

Martha Metuisela – Youth Ambassador for the Le Mana Pasifika Project and 2017 winner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission Youth Award; Martha has a Tongan background. The program she managed tries to highlight CALD young people’s potential and inspire them to participate in the local communities.

Danielle Farah – Youth Facilitator at the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (Panel moderator)

Key Messages

• The forum was powerful and thought provoking as the speakers brought forth discussions around social justice and equitable access to opportunities in Australia.
• They emphasised the need to recognise biases, structural inequalities, and racial discrimination. All of these play out in different ways for different people and contexts.
• Furthermore, they informed the sector about strategies to facilitate and increase accessibility to services for CALD young people, and particularly for those who have recently arrived.
• Finally, they reflected on the importance of cultural engagement and discussed opportunities for young people to stay connected and have a sense of belonging.

Watch the video here –

If you want to look at some of the resources that were shared at the forum, please follow the links below:

• Opening the Digital School Gate: Engaging migrant and refugee families
• Community Conversations: Talking about finding work in Australia
• Responding together: Multicultural young people and their mental health
• The impact of COVID-19 on employment for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in Victoria
• Forging futures: How young people settling in Victoria are faring

Related Resources on OPEN

• Check out the OPEN Rapid Case Study: Youth Leadership Program Area – Centre for Multicultural Youth
• Supporting Refugee Families in Australia – this paper explores the challenges faced by refugee families living in Australia and the formal supports that are available to them.