The SSI Ability Links sponsored Yuin Ducks A Grade rugby league girls team was runner up in 2016 Nations of Origin carnival held in Port Stephens, recently.

Children, volunteers, church groups and families from the Ku-ring-gai community have welcomed newly arrived refugees with open arms, showing their support with a welcome event, donation appeal and more.

A state-wide discussion about refugee-related arts practice will take centre stage at a forum SSI is co-hosting later this month.

SSI’s Community Kitchen was the scene of a colourful celebration in July, as people from all faiths and backgrounds celebrated Eid al-Fitr over a meal.

Nader Sameer and Nawar Hanna are unlikely friends, but bricks and mortar have brought the two former refugees from Iraq together as they start their bricklaying careers in Australia.

SSI and the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) are seeking expressions of interest for the Young Refugee Women Scholarship Program to attend, and actively participate in, the National Multicultural Women’s Conference 2016—Influencing Change: Vision and Impact.

The past fortnight has brought heartening news for the refugee community, with the NSW Government’s announcement of a new round of funding to support refugee resettlement.

The New Beginnings: Refugee Arts & Culture Festival 2016 was a standout success, with more than three thousand people coming together to celebrate the talents and skills of artists who were refugees and asylum seekers.

Khaledah Alrubaie is a highly skilled engineer with two university degrees and a masters. She also happens to be a refugee.

Record-breaking numbers of forcibly displaced people worldwide have increased the importance of this week’s Refugee Week celebrations, according to Settlement Services International (SSI) CEO Violet Roumeliotis. The annual celebration of the courage and contribution of refugees would be a particularly poignant occasion this year in light of the staggering number of refugees and other forcibly displaced people around the world, she said.

While many places in the world are experiencing turbulent times due to the unprecedented displacement of people, it is always useful to stop and ponder what makes Australia such a peaceful corner of the globe and a wonderful place to live.

Refugee Week is a chance to celebrate the positive contributions refugees make to Australian society. As part of the national celebration this month, Settlement Services International (SSI) is involved with a number of free events, including our very own festival.

Over a delicious chicken curry at the recent Indian inspired Community Kitchen lunch, Ashwin Patel shared his migration story and how he came to be a cook.

The shared experience of motherhood transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries, as demonstrated by a special group of women who celebrated Mother’s Day with Settlement Services International (SSI) this month.

From the outside, Aroos Hair and Beauty looks like any other business trading on Pitt Street, outside Merrylands train station. However, inside, a determined mother and daughter are working tirelessly towards a shared dream: having their own business, and their lives, firmly set up in Australia. SSI’s Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative is supporting them on this journey.

Renowned performers from one of Sydney’s leading world music groups will showcase the talents of multicultural artists and help to shift negative perceptions about multiculturalism in Australia at NSW’s leading festival celebrating refugee arts and culture.

Rosanna Barbero has just hung up from a frustrating phone call with a customer service representative for a large electrical retailer, trying to sort out an issue with a faulty device. She is exasperated.

Spanish people are known for loving parties, and when they involve food there is generally one common element in all of them: Paella.

SWITCH is a photography exhibition about gender and sexual identity across two diverse cultures — Australian and Iranian.

Settlement, citizenship and policy topped the agenda at the annual Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) conference in Melbourne today, as dozens of settlement professionals, academics and community leaders shared their views on the major issues facing settlement globally.