In collaboration with the Adult Migrant Education Program at GOTAFE, Shepparton Interfaith Network will present the “Challenges of Settlement” seminar as part of Cultural Diversity Week 2018. Cultural Diversity Week is Victoria’s largest multicultural celebration, featuring a week-long program of festivals and events in metropolitan and regional areas.
The Australian Story:
Settlement in Australia begins with the First Fleet, a series of vessels filled with soldiers and convicts. A few days after arrival at Botany Bay the fleet moved to the more suitable Port Jackson where a settlement was established at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788. This date later became Australia’s national day, Australia Day. The colony was formally proclaimed by Governor Phillip on 7 February 1788 at Sydney.
Cultural Diversity Week
Cultural Diversity Week is held annually in March to coincide with the United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and Harmony on March 21.
Held annually in March to coincide with the United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and Harmony on 21 March, the Week is not only a time for celebration, it is also a time for reflection on our region’s history as a multicultural society and the role we all play in helping to ensure our communities are welcoming and inclusive.
This year our theme, ‘Proud to belong’, focuses on the everyday diversity of people living in this state and in our region of the Goulburn Valley and asks us to share our stories with one another.
Challenges of Settling in Australia.
Everyone who migrates to Australia or who is granted settlement under various programs faces the challenges of settlement. Help with the English language is needed, and is critical for most employers. Education and Training are essential, as is recognition of prior learning overseas.
Employment and working in Australia produces its own challenges for those coming to Australia. The Skilled Worker program brings people to Australia where there are opportunities for full time employment, and in some cases, seasonal employment. Else, employment depends on communication skills, self-presentation and acquiring the appropriate skills to present for employment.
Housing – finding a place to live near one’s workplace is most important, as is settlement in an area where others from one’s native location have settled. For example, the construction of the Sikh temple attracts many from the Punjab who come with their professional skills; they need homes to live in, and in many cases, where an extended family exists, a large home.
Having your own Transport and getting about are important for those who settle. Public transport – train, bus and community buses help. Acquiring a licence to drive a motor vehicle – and getting a suitable car are matters requiring immediate attention. Health and Wellbeing are also extremely important matters, finding medical practitioners who are fluent in various languages is important, as is having lady medical practitioners where necessary. Access to medical insurance services provides much needed financial security and relief.
One of the most satisfactory elements of settlement is Civic Participation – in sports and recreation, in volunteer groups and attending Community Houses and engaging in non-formal learning and making new friends.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis
On 9 September 2015, the Australian Government announced that a total of 12,000 additional Humanitarian Program places would be made available for those who have been displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Priority for the additional 12,000 Humanitarian Program places is being given to people who are assessed as being the most vulnerable – women, children and families with the least prospect of ever returning safely to their homes.
All families have now arrived in Australia after the final visas under the additional intake were granted in March 2017.
The 12,000 permanent places were in addition to the13,750 places available under Australia’s 2016–17 Humanitarian Program. Australia’s Humanitarian Program has risen to 16,250 places in 2017-18 and will rise to 18,750 places from 2018-19 onwards.
Australia continues to settle Syrian and Iraqis displaced by the conflicts under the 16,250 places available in the 2017-18 Humanitarian Program. In Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley, 186 Syrian families were settled during 2017.
In collaboration with the Adult Migrant Education Program at GOTAFE, Shepparton Interfaith Network will present the “Challenges of Settlement” seminar as part of Cultural Diversity Week 2018. Cultural Diversity Week is Victoria’s largest multicultural celebration, featuring a week-long program of festivals and events in metropolitan and regional areas.
Program
Program: The Challenges of Settlement
Date: Tuesday, 20 March 12018
Time: 9:45 – 11:45
Location: Harder Auditorium, GOTAFE, Fryers St, Shepparton
Cost: Free
More information: Chris Parnell, 5821 3483
