Communities and Justice

DCJ Multicultural Community Engagement Conference: Building a Better tomorrow, together

Time

Agenda

Location

8:20am – 9:15am

Registration and exhibition stalls open

Please move to the plenary room from 9:10am  (doors open at 9:10am and please be seated by 9:25am).

Level 1

Grand Pavillion

9:20am – 9:30am

Multicultural performance - African Beat

 

Level 2

Plenary Room

9:30am – 9:40am

Welcome to Country

Traditional Knowledge Holder – Julie Bukari Webb

Level 2

Plenary Room

9:40am – 9:45am

Conference MC introduction

Tom Nance

Level 2

Plenary Room

9:45am – 10:00am

Official welcome

The Hon. Jihad Dib MP, Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, Minister for Emergency Services, and Minister for Youth Justice

Level 2

Plenary Room

Official welcome

Michael Tidball, Secretary, NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)

Level 2

Plenary Room

10:00am – 10:40am

Keynote Session 1

Panel discussion: Leveraging the strength and wisdom of multicultural communities in policy and program design (a lived experience perspective)

Moderator: Joseph La Posta, Chief Executive Officer, Multicultural NSW

Panellists

  • Peter Shergold, NSW Coordinator General for Settlement, Multicultural NSW
  • Mary Karras, Chief Executive Officer, Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW
  • Daniel Barakate, Director, Commissioning and Planning Western Sydney Nepean Blue Mountains, Strategy, Policy and Commissioning, DCJ
  • Mia Zahra, Acting Director, Anti-Discrimination NSW

Level 2

Plenary Room

 

10:40am – 11:10am

Keynote Session 2

The power of a whole of community approach to domestic, family and sexual violence
Dr Hannah Tonkin, NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner, DCJ

Level 2

Plenary Room

 

11:10am – 11:35am

Morning tea, exhibition stalls and

multicultural performance - Minh Ha Viet band

 

Level 1

11:35am – 11:45am

Move to Breakout Session 1 – Choose one session to attend

 

11:45am – 12:30pm

Five concurrent breakout sessions

Breakout Session 1a

Empowering people with disability

  1. Empowering CALD communities through immersive virtual reality: Enhancing NDIS understanding and accessibility
    Rea Singh, Cultural Perspectives

Level 2

Plenary Room/ Room 1

 

Breakout Session 1b

Youth and the criminal justice system 

  1. Insights from the New Way Forward program: A juvenile justice initiative for CALD young people in Blacktown
    Clement Meru and Bronwyn O’Brien, SydWest
  2. Reintegrating CALD sentenced offenders into community by connecting through culture, community, and faith: Transitions programs of Odyssey House NSW
    Benjamin Ondu and Tommy Trinh, Odyssey House NSW

Level 2

Room 2

 

 

Breakout Session 1c

Empowering communities

  1. When CARM Women RISE, Everyone Wins: Aim high, be an inspiration, overcome culture load - and everyone Wins!
    Juliana Nkrumah and Dr. Astrid Perry, Settlement Services International (SSI)
  2. “Everyone should be heard no matter your race, culture, religion…no matter what”: The experiences of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in NSW
    Betty Nguyen and Freija Brandie, Office of the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People

Level 2

Room 3

 

 

Breakout Session 1d

Domestic and family violence

  1. Empowering emerging communities: A holistic approach to addressing domestic and family violence in multicultural settings
    Jasmine Mguizra, Metro Assist
  2. Unlocking Doors: A program to build capacity of front-line workers to actively engage, respond and sustain connection to CALD women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia
    Danielle Habib and Nellie Srisurapon, CatholicCare Dioceses of Broken Bay

Level 2

Room 4

 

 

Breakout Session 1e

Government collaboration

  1. Connecting communities: Strengthening engagement through inclusive networks
    Debbie Nguyen, NSW Fair Trading, NSW Department of Customer Service
  2. Bridging the gaps: Strategies for effective engagement between the NSW government and multicultural communities
    Bala Nirmanusan and Tabitha Chepkwony, Multicultural NSW

Level 2

Room 5

 

12:30pm – 12:40pm

Move to Breakout Session 2 – Choose one session to attend

 

12:40pm – 1:25pm

Five concurrent breakout sessions

Breakout Session 2a

Supporting multicultural young people to thrive.

  1. Supporting young people in an age of crises: Climate, culture and conflict
    Annukina Warda and Angela Dela Cruz, MYAN NSW (Multicultural Youth Affairs Network)

Level 2

Plenary Room/ Room 1 

 

 

Breakout Session 2b

Fostering inclusion for social cohesion

  1.    Conversion practices ban: A case study by Anti-Discrimination NSW on multicultural community engagement
    Claire Williams and Gillian Stokie, Anti-Discrimination NSW

Level 2

Room 2

 

 

Breakout Session 2c

Policy and lived experience

  1.    Centring lived experience to inform policy development
    Jessica Singh, Anti-Racism Unit, Transforming Aboriginal Outcomes, DCJ
  2.  Leading with culture in person centred practice
    Melissa Tonga and Pamela Zamorano, Commissioning and Planning, South Western Sydney District, DCJ

Level 2

Room 3

 

 

Breakout Session 2d

Community engagement and social cohesion initiatives

  1. Hitting the mark: Specialised responses in services and initiatives for a multicultural Australia
    Tadgh McMahon and Dr. Astrid Perry, SSI
  2. Co-designing communication on sensitive topics: Handing over power to faith groups to find common ground on Swastika education and awareness
    Jessica Billimoria, CultureVerse

Level 2

Room 4

 

 

Breakout Session 2e

Culturally responsive approach to sensitive engagements

  1.   Switching on, off and in-between: Engaging with the Australian Lebanese Shia community
    Dr. Widyan Fares, Premier’s Department, NSW

Level 2

Room 5

 

1:25pm – 2:15pm

Lunch, exhibition stalls, and multicultural performance- Dom Diaz -Flavours of the world

Level 1

2:15pm – 2:25pm

Move to Breakout Session 3 – Choose one session to attend

 

2:25pm – 3:10pm

Four concurrent breakout sessions

Breakout Session 3a

Culturally and linguistically diverse tailored programs 

  1.  Fairfield Social Prescribing Project: An integrated model of care
    Rana Qummouh and Maxine Goodwin, NSW Health
  2.  From "monocultural" to multicultural to intercultural: Lessons from Northern Beaches’ journey towards cultural inclusion
    Dr. Jinwen Chen and Jessie Moore, Northern Beaches Council

Level 2

Plenary Room / Room 1

 

 

Breakout session 3b

Working with children

  1.  'My Toddler and Me': A video series to promote toddler mental health and wellbeing among multicultural families
    Lee Bratel and Erin Brandtman, Karitane 
  2.  The custodian model and unattached humanitarian minors (UHM) in life story work (LSW)
    Ghassan Noujaim and Zena Almouiee, SSI

Level 2

Room 2

 

 

Breakout Session 3c

Working with families

  1. Navigating the system: How the Community Restorative Centre's Family Casework Service assists multicultural families impacted by incarceration
    Reylene Galloway, Community Restorative Centre
  2. Culturally responsive connections: Bridging parenting challenges through community collaboration
    Erin Beard and Tegan Barry, Family Support Newcastle 

Level 2

Room 3

 

 

Breakout Session 3d

Social cohesion through education

  1.  Assisted self-governance for immigrant social inclusion: A CASS Care Model
    Professor Bingqin Li, University of NSW and Ivan Wong, CASS Care
  2.  At TAFE NSW, Everyone Belongs
    Zachary Ekandi and Dr. Paula Abood, TAFE NSW

Level 2

Room 4

 

3:10pm – 3:20pm

Move back to the Plenary room

 

3:20pm – 3:50pm

Keynote Session 3

In conversation with Craig Foster

Moderator: Tom Nance

Level 2

Plenary Room  

3:50pm – 4:00pm

Conference highlights

Wrap up

Level 2

Plenary Room

4:00pm

Close

 

Last updated:

22 Apr 2025