Queensland Multicultural Awards winners 2013
Multicultural Ambassador (Regional)
Award recipient: Mrs Gitie House
Gitie House has made significant and sustained contributions to developing and increasing cross‑cultural understanding in the Toowoomba region.
Gitie has been a founding member of a number of not‑for‑profit organisations dedicated to creating an inclusive community through social, cultural and educational activities.
Gitie’s work crosses all age groups, faiths and cultures, recognising the rich multiculturalism of the region.
Gitie is currently President of the Toowoomba International Multicultural Society. Under her leadership, the organisation provides a broad range of cultural projects throughout south-west Queensland that aim to promote peace and harmony.
Multicultural Ambassador (Greater Brisbane)
Award recipient: Mr Bobby Whitfield
Bobby Whitfield’s passion for supporting diversity within the community has positively affected people in Brisbane, Queensland and across Australia.
A refugee from Liberia who was eventually resettled along with his siblings in Australia in 2003, Bobby has since built an impressive career in the field of community development.
Bobby also demonstrates an outstanding volunteer commitment. He was instrumental in the formation of the Queensland African Communities Council and was the organisation’s inaugural president.
Bobby was one of two people representing Queensland at a national level when he was elected to the Board of the Refugee Council of Australia in 2008, 2010 and 2013. Bobby is a true community champion and advocate of the benefits multiculturalism brings to Queensland.
Australian South Sea Islander
Award recipient: Blackbird International
Blackbird International is an organisation that has delivered a number of outcomes across Queensland of great value to the Australian South Sea Islander community.
Established in 2003 in Mackay as a small community project, and now based in Cairns, the organisation was founded to reunite families of the descendants of those who were sent to Queensland through the labour recruiting era called Blackbirding.
All of the organisation’s work is voluntary, including family research work, delivery of Finding Family Workshops and assisting families with unanswered questions.
Blackbird International fills a need within the Australian South Sea Islander community for reconnection with ancestral knowledge and community development as well as promoting awareness, recognition and support for Australian South Sea Islanders.
Award recipient: Ms Imelda Miller
Imelda Miller is an Australian South Sea Islander who has made significant contributions to awareness about the Australian South Sea Islander community through initiatives focusing on the arts and heritage. Imelda is currently the Assistant Curator for Torres Strait Islander and Pacific Indigenous Studies at the Queensland Museum.
Imelda has been involved in numerous initiatives promoting greater awareness of Australian South Sea Islander culture and recognising Australian South Sea Islander contributions to Queensland during the past 20 years.
Imelda has been a key contributor to the commemorative program of acknowledgement in the 150th anniversary year in 2013.
Award recipient: Mr Matthew Nagas
Matthew Nagas has an extensive record of promoting awareness, recognition and support for Australian South Sea Islanders in the Bundaberg district. Matthew is currently President of the Bundaberg and District South Sea Islander Action Group and has been a committed member for the past 25 years.
In his role with Bundaberg and District South Sea Islander Action Group, Matthew played a central part in assisting the action group to host the Wantok Conference in 2012, bringing together Australian South Sea Islanders from across Australia as well as chiefs and family members from the ancestral islands of Australian South Sea Islanders. Matthew also played a pivotal role in 2013 uniting representative groups from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Noumea with Australian South Sea Islanders for the 150th Anniversary of Blackbirding Blong Bundaberg on Multicultural Day in Bundaberg.
This award recognises the many years Matthew has spent working in support of Australian South Sea Islanders in Queensland to address the needs and challenges faced by the community.
Award recipient: Mrs Rowena Trieve OAM
Rowena Trieve is a member of the Australian South Sea Islander community in the north Queensland region of Mackay. Rowena is a volunteer with many years of commitment and contribution to achieving equality and recognition for Australian South Sea Islanders.
Rowena’s work in assisting the community to connect with their heritage includes arranging visits of cultural tutors from the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to conduct cultural workshops for the community. Extensive advocacy and community development activities have made her a highly regarded and respected community leader.
Rowena’s actions have helped to increase recognition of Australian South Sea Islanders’ culture and place in Queensland’s history and present.
Public Sector
Award recipient: Nutrition Promotion Unit, Metro South Health, Queensland Health
The Nutrition Promotion Unit, in partnership with the Logan Samoan community, has developed and now delivers a nutrition program that encourages healthy lifestyles within the Samoan community in Logan. By working collaboratively with members of the Samoan community, the project delivery model goes beyond simple service delivery and includes real community and cultural engagement.
Successes of the project include the development of a suite of culturally appropriate healthy eating resources relevant to the local community, incorporating culturally appropriate practices into frontline clinical health services, improving the cultural competency of local health staff and bringing community leaders and health professionals together.
The Nutrition Promotion Unit is supporting diverse communities by increasing the capacity of Samoan organisations to implement healthy lifestyles in their own community, addressing a challenging health area in a culturally sensitive way.
Highly commended
- Charleville and Western Areas Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Community Health, Queensland Police Service and Murweh Shire Council for the Outback World Soccer Tournament.
Education
Award recipient: Tropical North Queensland TAFE
Tropical North Queensland TAFE demonstrates and values the differences that a multicultural workplace brings.
Located in Cairns, Tropical North Queensland TAFE delivers a range of initiatives that support people from multicultural backgrounds and promote multiculturalism.
The organisation demonstrates an educational environment with multiculturalism at the centre of its culture and practices, embedding cultural awareness competencies in a number of student courses and in training available to staff.
Highly commended
- Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE for their language, community relations and vocational programs supporting multicultural students in the community.
- Griffith University Student Equity Services for the Leadership, Education, Achievement, Dream (LEAD) project which promotes education pathways to students from Pacific Islander backgrounds.
Media
Award recipient: Ms Leanne Edmistone
As a senior writer with News Queensland, Leanne Edmistone has contributed significantly to the positive media portrayal of Queenslanders from diverse backgrounds, with her work appearing regularly in news sources including The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail.
Leanne’s journalism highlights the depth, talent, colour and richness of our state’s multiculturalism. Leanne’s journalism is about the whole community—it not only broadens the range of voices and perspectives in Queensland’s media increasing cross-cultural awareness, but also shows how much we all share in common.
Highly commended
- Ms Sarah Lio-Willie for her work as a community broadcaster promoting community cohesion and appreciation of multiculturalism.
Outstanding Regional Volunteer
Award recipient: Mrs Maria Starr
Maria Starr has championed the values of multiculturalism with significant impact in the far north Queensland region as a community volunteer. Maria’s volunteer efforts have promoted a greater sense of belonging for the refugees and migrants she has helped in the region.
Maria is a founding member of the Cairns and Region Multicultural Association. She has helped implement programs that improve access to services and also helped source employment and training for newly arrived refugees in rural and remote areas in far north Queensland. Maria has also worked to deliver the successful Cairns Multicultural Festival.
Highly commended
- Ms Erlinda Esguerra for her volunteering activities, including supporting newly-arrived members of the community through her work with the Central Queensland Filipino Australian Association.
- Mrs Moira Boyle for supporting the emerging needs of Toowoomba’s multicultural residents through her volunteer work with Toowoomba Refugee and Migrant Support (TRAMS).
Outstanding Volunteer (Greater Brisbane)
Award recipient: Mr Henry O’Donoghue
Henry O’Donoghue is a full-time volunteer with Access Community Services Ltd where he has volunteered for more than 18 years assisting newly arrived refugees to settle into their homes.
Henry is on call 24 hours a day and has often been found assembling household furniture for refugee families late into the night. Henry is also treasurer of The Helping Hands volunteer group in Logan.
Henry’s sustained volunteer contribution continues to make a direct and immediate difference to the lives of those he assists in the Logan community.
Highly commended
- Mr Elijah Buol for his extensive commitment to volunteering activities supporting multicultural Queenslanders.
- Mr Chaminda Ranasinghe for championing the values of multiculturalism through volunteering at Queensland University of Technology and in the wider community.
- Professor Prasad Yarlagadda for his commitment to promoting multiculturalism and assisting migrants and international students to find employment in Queensland.
Regional Community Organisation
Award recipient: Toowoomba International Multicultural Society
Toowoomba International Multicultural Society has successfully promoted the benefits of cultural diversity within south-west Queensland, delivering an impressive range of community development initiatives for a small, volunteer, not-for-profit organisation.
Notable achievements include the Toowoomba Language and Cultures Festival, cultural awareness programs and advocacy services for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The organisation has employed members’ skills and experience to support multicultural communities to make positive connections with the wider community.
Highly commended
- The Migrant Centre Organisation Inc for innovative initiatives responding to the needs of people from multicultural backgrounds in the region.
- Nerang Neighbourhood Centre for delivering a range of initiatives that build employment, social and life skills for people from multicultural backgrounds.
Community Organisation (Greater Brisbane)
Award recipient: Queensland African Communities Council
The Queensland African Communities Council is a not-for-profit, non-political and non-religious organisation that works towards uniting African communities, irrespective of their cultural or religious backgrounds.
The organisation has come a very long way in a relatively short period. It works to build united African communities that are active, vibrant and connected to each other and the wider community.
Run completely by volunteers, the organisation has established initiatives that continue to provide timely responses to the needs of changing and emerging African communities in Queensland, including communities in regional areas.
Highly commended
- Diversicare (a division of Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland) for providing culturally appropriate care services for people from multicultural backgrounds.
- Soifua Maloloina Project Team for Voice of Samoan People Inc. for promoting positive community partnerships and participating in a range of activities that support people from multicultural backgrounds.
Minister’s Enterprise Awards
Regional award recipient: Teys Australia Rockhampton
Teys’ commitment to valuing diversity has advanced inclusion in the workplace and delivered real outcomes in Rockhampton’s multicultural community. As Rockhampton’s largest single employer, employing more than 1000 people of 29 different nationalities, Teys is a key employer of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the local community.
Teys employs a significant number of humanitarian refugees and supports induction and training practices that contribute to the success of its workforce as well as the successful settlement of new workers in the region. Teys has recognised the business opportunities Queensland's cultural diversity presents and has successfully leveraged these opportunities to the mutual benefit of its diverse workforce and the organisation’s meat processing operations.
Teys has also delivered significant benefits to the region through innovative approaches to addressing a worker shortage and its effective partnerships with settlement service providers and other groups in the community.
Greater Brisbane award recipient: Mu’ooz Eritrean Restaurant and Catering
Mu’ooz Eritrean Restaurant and Catering is a not‑for‑profit restaurant and catering social enterprise, established in 2008, that provides great opportunities in hospitality for people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
Mu’ooz promotes the development of multicultural workers by providing employment, work experience and training opportunities for refugee African women and their families.
The enterprise builds cross‑cultural understanding within the local community, helping to build a connected, positive, multicultural community, with profits directed back into the community via the Eritrean Women and Family Support Network Inc.
Like many small businesses, Mu’ooz has successfully overcome many challenges to get where it is. Through sustained hard work and consistency, Mu’ooz’s unique journey provides a long-term example of a model for real social enterprise.
Photographer credits for all winners’ images: Leanne Butterley.