Presenting at the Multicultural Summit 2009 in Queensland, Australia

With only 7 days to go, I will be heading flying to Brisbane, Australia to present at the Multicultural Summit '09 which is held on 26-27 October 2009 at the State Library of Queensland, Southbank, Brisbane.

Multicultural Summit ’09 will focus on the central theme of ‘from Reflection to Rejuvenation’ – Reflection of good practice, unmet needs, policy gaps, program sustainability, achievements; and Rejuvenation of spirit, of policy, of multiculturalism, of practice and programs, of emotion and passion, of identity.

Multicultural Summit ‘09 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting and important conferences ever held for Multicultural Queensland.

I can’t wait to meet the two keynote speakers – Jason Yat Sen Li coming in from Beijing and author, social commentator and radio host Phillip Adams coming up from Sydney.

And of course, representing Information & Cultural Exchange (ICE) and debating the controversial topic “Multiculturalism is dead – Long Live Social Inclusion.”

For further information email summit@eccq.com.au or contact Erika Lamichhane Bhandari at ECCQ on phone 07 3844 9166 or fax 07 3846 4453.

YOUTH DIGITAL CULTURES: EMPOWERING CULTURALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE DIGITAL AGE

This will showcase ICE’s various inspirational community and cultural development projects conducted in Western Sydney, Australia’s most culturally diverse region. ICE projects have been crossing borders and connecting with other areas of Australia and on a global scale. The Youth Digital Cultures program will show how a project coordinated by young people for young people has developed digital literacy and expanded creative capacity as a vehicle to express themselves and build campaigns.

Youth projects such as community film: ‘Maximum Choppage: Round 2’ (Asian- Australian); Pop Series: ‘Shorts that Speak Out!’ (culturally diverse); Fairfield Stories (Cambodian and African communities); Changing Lives (young Muslim women, Arabic speaking males); Digitales (UK and Australia exchange); Refugee Allstars (Pacific Islander and African communities); Chick Flicks (women’s project); Vietnamese Stories and Storycubes (intergenerational project for the Vietnamese community); will be showcased via video presentation as examples of projects run through ICE. Other Youth Digital Culture initiatives have engaged young people through filmmaking, urban music and graphic design and encouraged them to explore digitally creative means to communicate issues and ideas and use these forms to

participate in the public arena. The presentation will take a look at the possibilities for youth activation through digital arts and identifies online networking as growing dynamic pathways for youth grassroots advocacy and campaigns.

For the official program, click HERE.