Community support will play a critical role in the successful settlement of an estimated 200 refugees in NSW regional hub Armidale, according to leading humanitarian settlement not-for-profit Settlement Services International (SSI). Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, announced on Friday that SSI had been contracted to provide on-the-ground settlement services to an estimated 200 refugees who will settle in Armidale in 2018 as part of the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP). SSI was recently successful in obtaining the contract for two of the 11 HSP contract regions: Sydney and NSW regional, which includes Newcastle, Coffs Harbour and the newly defined Armidale refugee settlement area.

Over 350 women from across Sydney and communities worldwide attended the second annual Women of Diversity Dinner in Bankstown on July 29 — over 50 of them having been in our community less than six months. 

Settlement Services International (SSI) will provide settlement services to refugees and humanitarian entrants under the new Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP), continuing its long-term work in this area. In Canberra today, the Australian Government announced SSI was successful in two of the 11 newly defined contract regions across Australia: Sydney and NSW Regional, which covers northern NSW.

Magda Szubanski is to be guest speaker at SSI’s inaugural Mosaic Gala, to be held at Merivale Ivy Ballroom on September 15.

We live in a world where nearly 20 people are forcibly displaced every minute as a result of conflict or persecution. A record number of people having to flee their homes and everything they know in search of safety cannot be the responsibility of a few countries, let alone the world’s poorest; it’s a global emergency that warrants global action. 

Hundreds of people showed their support for refugees and an inclusive arts community last month by taking part in NSW’s leading celebration of refugee arts and culture.

Volunteering with SSI means coming into contact with people who are still learning English, but Maegan Williams has quickly learned that you don’t need to speak the same language in order to communicate.

When Eleni Christou visited the Greek island of Kos in 2015, she had little idea that she would be heading into the epicentre of an unprecedented global refugee crisis.

SSI kicked off the New Beginnings Festival for Refugee Week with the opening of an art exhibition featuring the work of up-and-coming refugee artists alongside more established names such as Alex Seton, Garry Trinh, Aroha Groves and Lindy Lee.

When 28-year-old Afghan refugee Karim, who has an intellectual disability, contacted Ability Links NSW (ALNSW), he didn’t know what to expect. All he knew was that he needed support to "get better".

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.

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.

His name is Clodoaldo Moroni but you can call him Al. Al, originally from Brazil, loves volunteering.