A number of new directors were welcomed to the Settlement Services International Board Annual General Meeting, while three stepped down, including long-term Chair Kamalle Dabboussy.

Close to 1,000 Sydneysiders braved the rain to show their support for a more compassionate, inclusive and welcoming Australia at Walk Together 2016, in Sydney on Saturday.

This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the Federal Government’s announcement that Australia would resettle an additional 12,000 refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

They’ve run 14 kilometres, conquered Heartbreak Hill and braved a crowd of nearly 70,000, but SSI’s City2Surf team still needs your help to reach its fundraising goal.

Settlement Services International (SSI) is taking part in the iconic City2Surf running event, with dozens of staff, volunteers and supporters joining the cause to support refugees and people seeking asylum in NSW.

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.

Leading artists from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds will showcase their talents at NSW’s leading festival celebrating refugee arts and culture. Confirmed artists for the expanded 2016 New Beginnings: Refugee Arts & Culture Festival will impress audiences with performances and workshops that draw inspiration from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and more.

NSW’s premier festival celebrating the cultural heritage and artistic talents of people from refugee backgrounds will be bigger than ever in 2016. Following the stand out success of the inaugural New Beginnings: Refugee Arts & Culture Festival last year, the 2016 program has expanded to feature three separate events across Sydney both during and after Refugee Week.

Youth Collective will address some of the most complex issues facing multicultural youth in the year ahead, with education, language acquisition and youth homelessness to top the agenda in 2016.  Youth Collective is a collaborative initiative between SSI, MRCs and youth organisations.

SSI welcomed and thanked the Vietnamese Students Association (VSA) last month, whose members came along to personally donate $12,000 they raised for children supported by SSI’s Multicultural Foster Care Service (MFCS).

SSI’s Youth Collective program launched the 20 Voices project on October 2, with a dedicated employment forum to help multicultural youth develop skills for the workforce. Designed to promote discussion on employment issues affecting young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, the 20 Voices Youth Employment Symposium featured a series of presentations and skills workshops to help prepare young people for careers.

The Settlement Council of Australia* (SCOA) welcomes the Government’s announcement to increase Australia’s humanitarian intake by an additional 12,000 permanent places for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Settlement Services International (SSI) case worker Nedhal Amir has been recognised as a finalist in the 2015 Migration and Settlement Awards for her ongoing commitment to supporting new migrants and refugees living in Australia.

Settlement Services International CEO Violet Roumeliotis has been named in Pro Bono Australia’s Impact 25 list of the most influential people working in the not-for-profit sector in 2014. Ms Roumeliotis was chosen in the top 25 from 200 people working in the sector, by more than 3,600 Pro Bono Australia readers who voted.

Following the success of the SSI client art exhibition at Verge Gallery, “Art is Our Voice” has been invited to feature in Holroyd City Council’s event program during Refugee Week with a selection of works on display at the council’s Foyer Exhibition Space from today, June 18 to June 30, 2014, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4pm.  The show opens today at  10am and light refreshments will be provided.  For more information please contact Council on (02) 9840 9840. Holroyd City Council Foyer Exhibition Space, 16 Memorial Avenue, Merrylands  Another selection of works from the “Art is Our Voice” exhibition will be also on show at Sydney TAFE's Limelight Gallery from June 14 to June 30, Monday to Friday 10:30am-6:30pm, Saturday 11:00am-3:00pm. For more information contact: Limelight Gallery on (02) 9217 5173. Limelight Gallery, Sydney TAFE, Building W - Basement, 827-837 George St, Sydney

The Power of Storytelling is the second event of SSI’s Speaker Series Refugee Week 2014 event will discuss the role of storytelling in creating awareness about the refugee and asylum seeker experience.  Speakers include award-winning writer Rosie Scott, Sri Lankan-born playwright and theatre director Dhananjaya Karunarathne and SSI client Saleh Khani.  Many refugees and asylum seekers have compelling stories to tell and crave to be listened.  However many have reasons for wanting to remain quiet, fearing further persecution to their families or in the case of asylum seekers,  negative impact on their applications for refugee status.

Preparations are under way for the launch of Refugee Week which will this year be held in Western Sydney for the first time. Refugee Week, Australia’s peak annual activity to inform the public about refugees and celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees, will be launched at the Granville Town Hall at 10.30am, Saturday 14 June. The launch is being coordinated by the Refugee C­ouncil of Australia (RCOA), the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) and Settlement Services International (SSI). The keynote speech will be delivered by Merrylands local Ali Ali, a former refugee who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan and arrived in Australia in 2001 as a 17-year-old asylum seeker with no English. Ali’s speech will expand on the Refugee Week theme “Restoring Hope”, recounting how his journey for safety began with danger as well as hope for a better future.