Community people
Welcome to our new look magazine. I am delighted to introduce our People section, because without the support and dedication of community-minded people our work would not be possible.
Each edition we'll profile eight people whose energy and vision is helping us deliver services to some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals, families and communities living in Queensland. Some of these people will be our partners from non-government organisations and government agencies, while others will be individuals from the community who are simply making a difference to the quality of people's lives.
In this first edition we focus on people who are working with the multicultural community to bring about a more socially cohesive and culturally vibrant society.
Collaboration is the key, and we are currently working with the community services sector to identify a common vision, goals, principles and commitments to guide how we can work together to improve services for Queenslanders.
I hope you are as inspired as I am by the people you'll meet in these profiles.
Linda Apelt
Director General
Adele Rice - Educator
Students have successfully integrated into Queensland schools thanks to Adele Rice who has been named this year's Queensland Multicultural Achiever for Education and Technology.
As founding principal of Milpera State High School she has been providing English language and settlement services to prepare newly arrived immigrant and refugee students for participation in secondary schools in Brisbane since 1984.
Adele, who was born in India and immigrated to Australia in 1948, has established a thriving volunteer community at Milpera and has partnered with dozens of community agencies to support students and their parents.
She also established a teacher training program in 1984 which has equipped a generation of specialist teachers in Queensland. Adele says she enjoys being a leader and a learner in this rich, culturally diverse context.
Milpera State High School
Telephone: (07) 3379 5588.
Fez Faanana - Festival curator
"One big thing Aussie and Islander cultures have in common is humour," says Efeso 'Fez' Faanana, a New Zealand born Samoan who grew up in Ipswich. As curator of the 2008 Pasifika Festival, Fez gave Queenslanders a chance to laugh "to see, to taste and to hear what Pacific Islanders can produce" by showcasing the talents of local and international performers.
"Quite a lot of Islanders are in the sporting world," says Fez. "We want people to see there is much more to our culture."
Educating and entertaining is a role Fez embraces every day as a founding member of the Polytoxic dance company which fuses traditional Samoan dance with contemporary styles.
Fez believes that performance is a great way to promote multiculturalism. "Entertainment is a universal thing," he says. "It's a bilingual form that can transcend languages and demographics."
Deburah Debu - Cultural worker
Settling into a new life in Australia can be a daunting experience, but with the help of people like Deburah Debu, the transition between cultures is a little easier.
Deburah was born in Sudan and came to Australia via Uganda in 2004. Now living in Gatton, she brings experience and empathy to her role as a cultural worker with the Families in Cultural Transition program run by the Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT).
Providing support to deal with immigration issues and trauma is one of the aims of the program, but Deburah also facilitates sessions to assist refugees to understand the values and ideas that underpin Australian society and institutions.
She believes her role is to build a connection between communities and says, "The best thing is that people have an opportunity to come together each week to support each other."
Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT)
Telephone: (07) 3391 6677
Jenna Holmes - Photographer
A passion for reflecting Queensland's communities through photography came about by accident for Jenna Holmes, who only first picked up a camera when she ended up in the wrong class at school in Toowoomba.
Winner in the secondary school category of the Premier's Multicultural Photographic Awards, Jenna believes that photography is a great way to communicate clearly with people. "We are a visual society and we respond to things better with our eyes because sometimes words can be confusing and be two-sided," she says.
This young student hopes to one day tell the stories of people around the world through photography, and promote multiculturalism through the strong yet simple message that an image can invoke.
Tich Mashawa - Musician
As a musician who has travelled extensively in Africa and Australia, Tich Mashawa knows from experience that music can open doors and build bridges between people and cultures. Tich, a recent migrant from Zimbabwe who has married an Australian, is working with young migrant and refugee performers to help them develop an audience.
Tich has organised a series of performances in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall to showcase the artists. This Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre project, Engage!, is supported by funding from Multicultural Affairs Queensland.
Tich, a traditional Mbiro (thumb piano) player says music is often the first thing people relate to with another culture. "It makes you want to find out about the person because you want to understand their music."
The next Engage Concert is at the Queen Street Mall on 18 October.
Binary Reupena - Youth worker
A Samoan-born Queenslander is making a difference to the lives of young people in detention by bringing their culture to them. Binary Reupena runs cultural programs for young people from a Samoan background who she says are often lost and searching for their identity. "Most of these kids are born outside Samoa so it is important for them to understand their culture and appreciate their heritage," Binary says.
The cultural program at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre (BYDC) also encourages young people from all backgrounds to learn about Samoan history, language, art, dance and music. "It can be hard for young people to express themselves with adults so I bring young people into the centre to facilitate the sessions. The young people really open up with their peers." Binary says sharing her culture helps to promote understanding between the young people at the centre.
Brisbane Youth Detention Centre
Telephone: (07) 3271 0777
Steve Ackerie - Business leader
The son of a son of a hairdresser, Steve Ackerie came from North Lebanon over 35 years ago to ply the family trade. By day he worked cutting hair, by night he took English classes. Then in 1964 he had enough money to open his first salon in Longreach and as they say the rest is history.
Today, 55 salons and 500 staff later, he runs the largest hairdressing organisation in Australia and a restaurant that caters for over 1.5 million people a year. His company is one of the largest private employers of apprentices in Queensland and in 1995 he joined forces with South Bank TAFE to create a unique training environment that is used as a model for other industries and training providers.
Steve's contribution to the Queensland community has been recognised with a 2008 Queensland Multicultural Award for Business Achievement.
Sally Strobridge - Parent
To Sally Strobridge, inclusion means more than embracing the cultures of many different countries. It also means learning about the cultures of the Deaf community.
Sally works to increase awareness about Deaf culture and improve services for Deaf children.
As the mother of three hearing children, Sally also understands some of the challenges faced by the children of Deaf adults (CODA). She has worked as a language assistant at Toowong State School where students are taught both Auslan and English. Sally says, "The teachers have been wonderful. They teach them visually because they know that if a CODA is not watching the teacher, it usually means they are not listening at all."
Sally hopes that as awareness grows about the Deaf community, so too will understanding. "The Deaf community has a strong cultural identity."
Deaf Services Qld
Telephone: 1300 789 439