On Tuesday, February 24, 10 Migrant Resource Centres and Multicultural Services across NSW will host free events for the local community to come together in a show of solidarity. A united voice will be on display through activities such as forums, discussions, soccer games, sausage sizzles and performances by local musicians.

NSW Minister for Citizenship and Communities, Victor Dominello, donned an apron to cook up a free lunch for up a group of asylum seekers at the SSI Community Kitchen in Auburn. Mr Dominello, whose grandparents migrated to Australia from Italy, said he was honoured to meet with asylum seekers, SSI employees and volunteers, and to have the opportunity to share his love of cooking with them.

This Speakers’ Series will explore how and why young Muslims might be feeling disenfranchised within the Australian community and attracted to an extreme religious ideology. What has been done? What can be done? Join us for an evening of engaging discussion that will explore these current and complicated issues.

This year marks 40 years since the Racial Discrimination Act was passed and SSI will be supporting the Australian Human Rights Commission’s conference convened to reflect on the Act’s significance. At SSI we work with culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including people from refugee backgrounds and asylum seekers. We consider the Act an important piece of the social framework that provides rights to all Australians.

Thank you Premier Mike Baird. Your comments at a recent Australia Day function in support of refugees and asylum seekers were positive reinforcement for all of us who work to help these people make the most of their lives in Australia. I had the pleasure of hearing Mr Baird say emphatically that NSW was in a position to support more refugees and asylum seekers and that the state would welcome them.

SSI was busy throughout December–January celebrating the achievements of Ability Links NSW and introducing the program to local communities. Ability Links NSW (ALNSW) supports people with a disability, their families and carers to live the life they want, as valued members of their community.

Newington Gunners team mates arrived at the Asian Cup final between Australia and South Korea short of breath and sweating, having run from the station so as to not miss a minute. The team had just finished playing its own soccer game on Saturday, January 31, in the South Asia Cup final and had to scramble to make the big event at Stadium Australia.

Asylum seeker Abiat is originally from Iran but he and his Iranian friends threw their support behind Qatar during the Iran v Qatar match of the Asian Cup. “We knew Iran would have many supporters, so we went along to cheer for Qatar,” Abiat said. “Iranian people have the same roots as Qatari people, and people from other countries surrounding Iran. We are happy to show support for all our neighbours.”

With the AFC Asian Cup capturing the imagination of all soccer fans, some of SSI’s young refugee and asylum seeker clients will celebrate the sport at a “football festival”. To coincide with the Asian Cup, social development organisation Football United is co-hosting the Dream Asia Unity Football Festival  for youth at Sydney Olympic Park’s Hockey Centre, with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

News that the distinguished demographer Professor Graeme Hugo lost his battle with cancer this week has saddened many staff at Settlement Services International (SSI). SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said Professor Hugo was considered one of Australia’s most respected and valued researchers of population, international migration and discrimination of migrants.

Multicultural NSW gifted Settlement Services International (SSI) 200 tickets to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup for our refugee and asylum seeker clients, who have so far enjoyed the tournament immensley.  A large majority of SSI’s clients are from soccer-loving nations, and this will be a great opportunity for people who feel far away from their families and old friends to watch a live game between world-class players.

SSI donated a pharmacy vaccine refrigerator to the Asylum Seeker Centre (ASC), so that the centre can provide free vaccines to those asylum seekers who are not covered by Medicare. During a meeting convened by Refugee Health and attended by David Keegan, SSI Manager Humanitarian Services, it was revealed that some groups of asylum seekers did not have access to important vaccinations, such as immunisations for children.

Opal Dental, Toongabbie, is a great friend of SSI that provides significant care to people from refugee backgrounds and people seeking asylum. Clinic manager Sinna Sathiakumar, or Sathia as he prefers, and his wife and principal dentist Dr Chelvi Sathiakumar, visited SSI offices in the lead up to Christmas to “put faces to the names” of SSI staff they had been in close contact with.

Students of Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School (SCEGGS) Darlinghurst, and their families have dug deep and raised more than $4,000 for SSI’s refugee and asylum seeker clients, as well as food packages. SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said the generous donation was a boost that would benefit many people.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis has added her voice to a call by NSW Police and the Premier for calm and vigilance in the aftermath of today’s sad events at Martin Place. “The tragic outcome of the hostage situation in Martin Place has shaken everyone in our community.

‘Tis the season for giving and membersof Hillsong Church have continued their generous support for SSI’s asylum seeker clients with donations of food and gifts for children and families. The church has supplied Christmas presents for about 100 children in Sydney who are seeking asylum, as well as food hampers for families.

A partnership between Legal Aid NSW and settlement services provider Settlement Services International (SSI) has been effective in providing free legal assistance to recent arrivals and migrants, especially in Sydney’s west, an independent review has found. Almost 2,200 services were provided to clients in the first year of the project and the partners today signed an undertaking to continue the successful collaboration.

Campbelltown-based SSI staff partnered with MacArthur Diversity Services Initiative (MDSI) in November, to take a group refugee and asylum seeker clients on a day trip to beautiful Fitzroy Falls in the Southern Highlands. The excursion was a chance for SSI and MDSI case managers to engage with the men outside the office environment, to give them an opportunity to meet others in similar situations, and to enhance their wellbeing through a fun and novel experience.

SSI’s Chair Kamalle Dabboussy and I had the opportunity to present at the International Metropolis Conference in Milan in November, and we left with a membership invitation and the beginnings of a bid to host the conference in Sydney. The Milan conference theme, “Migration: energy for the planet, feeding cultures,” looked at a global migration context.

Jenny Yang and Joseph Cheung are an impressive couple, sharing their knowledge and experience with other people with disability in the community. Their energy, enthusiasm and drive are inspiring, and on this International Day of People of Disability they acknowledge and celebrate the many other inspiring people they have met in the community.