In observance of Mental Health Week, Shepparton Interfaith Network in collaboration with Voices for Harmony conducted a forum, Religion and Mental Health at GOTAFE on Friday, 9th October. In this account, local president of the St Vincent de Paul North-East conference, Dr Frank Purcell, examines how religion was a bulwark, a support for those experiencing stress years past. Dr Purcell takes a look at migration to Shepparton by Italian, Greek and Albanian communities, and the challenges faced by those migrating from the Middle East in this day and age.
... Read more...1,460 total views
Multicultural Arts Victoria will present the 4th Piers Festival on Sunday 25th January 2015 (over the Australia Day weekend) at the Port Melbourne piers precinct, featuring a diverse range of music, dance, food, forums and historical exhibitions that celebrate and reflect on the collective migration stories at this significant entry point where almost half of the 180,000 post World War II refugees to Australia arrived. The Piers Festival brings to life the Port Melbourne piers precinct, celebrating the pivotal role it played from 1915 to 1969 in Victoria’s growth and as a gateway to the diversity of cultures that enrich our community.
... 
Meji Singh did not grow up in the Sikh diaspora but in the religion’s homeland, India’s Punjab, in a family spiritually grounded in daily Sikh practice. But he has spent more than two-thirds of his life in the United States preoccupied with children and young adults, learning, and how to create mentally healthy communities. In this article, Meji Singh talks about Growing Up Sikh.
... 
The separation of Church and State is the basis on which Australia builds its relationship between religion and politics. This doesn’t mean that our religious beliefs and practices are not allowed to have influence and impact in the public life of our country. This article sets out how religion and politics relate in a country which accepts that there should be a separation of Church and State.
... 
Mohsen Mohammed's entire family was made to pay for the sins of two of his brothers; after experiencing prison and exile from his home, Mohsen Mohammed migrated to Shepparton with his family, where he works as a Community Development Officer.
...