The New Beginnings Festival for Refugee Week brings together new and established communities for a program of visual arts, film, installations and workshops. The festival will include the Singular/Plural art exhibition, featuring established contemporary artists Lindy Lee, Aroha Groves, Alex Seton and Garry Trinh exhibiting alongside newly arrived artists from refugee backgrounds, including Sameer Dakhil — an expert engraver from Iraq.
It has been a full few days at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement in Geneva. SSI is one of a number of international NGOs attending, to discuss pressing issues in response to the global refugee crisis.
As a member of SSI’s team in the City2Surf and captain of a soccer team comprising members of western Sydney’s Rohingya community, Mohammad Younis knows well the benefits of participating in sporting activities.
Most of you are probably aware of the important work SSI does around refugee and asylum seeker assistance, but you may not know as much about our growing portfolio of work within the disability sector.
Journalists, comedians and writers will explore the blurry lines between freedom of expression and cultural appropriation at an event that will tip the traditional debate format on its head. Cultural appropriation controversies continue to dominate headlines, targeting everything from festival wear to the hairstyles of the Kardashians, but critics argue these continual outcries are stifling the creative expression. Should artists be restricted by cultural boundaries when creating their work?
A program run collaboratively by Illawarra Multicultural Services (IMS) and Anglicare is helping young refugee women think inside and outside the box.
SSI was recently delighted to have the opportunity to invite clients of all religions and backgrounds to participate in the five-week Shared Table Project, a grassroots peace-building initiative that aims to counteract prejudice and stereotypes and foster interfaith dialogue and friendship.
Rassul Zahrouni had a successful and happy life in Iran. He owned two jewellery shops and enjoyed peace and prosperity with his family and friends.
SSI representatives were among Sydney Alliance members who recently met with Minister for Planning Anthony Roberts to address the need for serious action to tackle the housing affordability crisis facing Sydney.
Moments of healing and friendship amidst uncertainty about the future are at the heart of a community art work that will debut during SSI's New Beginnings Festival for Refugee Week 2017.
Shazy Sahrulazizi, Ariff Bahar and Chen Hu are all final year students of the Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Wollongong. As do many of their peers, they juggle classes, study, group assignments and extra-curricular activities, trying to fit everything into their busy schedules.
Mina Furqan couldn’t understand what had happened to her. Back in her home country of Pakistan, she was very active, with a job she loved as a community worker and always involved in lots of projects.
Ladan Haghighat volunteers for SSI in the Friendship Garden at Auburn Centre for Community. That’s fitting because her name, Ladan, is Persian for the nasturtium flower.
His name is Clodoaldo Moroni but you can call him Al. Al, originally from Brazil, loves volunteering.
A classic red-brick house located in a quiet suburb on the Northern Beaches hosts the beginning of a beautiful bond between two families. Through SSI Housing and the generosity of its owner, the granny flat has become home to a newly-arrived refugee family of four from Syria.
When Zakia Housaini started working with SSI it changed her personality. “It made me more confident. And I kind of know the world better,” she said.
Basima Zahrah’s life has undergone huge change since she was forced to leave her native country of Iraq in 2015. She escaped alone to Jordan with her four young children, three of whom live with disability.