Spring into September with MFO at the Iconic Gold Coast Multicultural Festival over the school holidays in September at the popular Broadwater Parklands on the Great Lawn stage overlooking the beautiful surf and sands of Southport. Family friendly event starting at 11am till 3pm with community and cultural stalls with lots of world flavoured and inspired food choices to enjoy, 20 cultural performances on stage will keep you entertained. Bring sunscreen, shade and meet the local community. FREE ENTRY. FREE ENTRY. FREE ENTRY.

Throughout this celebratory event, MFO will be acknowledging the legacy of one of the pillars of multiculturalism on the Gold Coast, the late Cornelia Babbage OAM. Thank you to everyone for the kind words and support from communities near and far. MFO invites you to please come along and join us on this very special event.

It's a long weekend of fun and festivities with the annual Gold Coast Show in full swing from 9am, lots of awesome activities for the whole family to enjoy. Fireworks in the evening. FREE ENTRY | Broadwater Parklands | 30 Aug - 1 Sep 2024 | Ditch the car and take the G: to the Gold Coast Show. MFO office will be closed Friday 30 Aug.

MFO have partnered with Griffith University on their research into Mobile Phone usage within relationships. Click on link below for more info.

SARA attended the launch of the podcast addressing coercive control by Immigrant Women’s Support Service. Podcast can be accessed via the link available here: https://iwss.org.au/audio/

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, and needs support, please call SARA via phone 0405 065 544 (during business hours), DVConnect on 1800 811 811 or 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

Please call 000 if it is an emergency.

#domesticviolence

#stopdomesticviolence

#getsupport

#callsara

#saraProgram

MFO out and about

Here are some very creative Japanese and Korean artistic displays made for 2024 Multicultural Day at Southport Primary State school in August. MFO Youth team thanks all involved and wishes everyone a wonderful Qld Multicultural month.

CONNECT, LEARN & SHARE

Beautiful and very impressive "Birthday Flowers" drawings from the MFO Parent's Hub. This parent driven initiative is supported by MFO, Southport Primary State school and P & C Association.

“Hungary National Day, also known as St. Stephen’s Day or Foundation Day, is celebrated on August 20th each year. This public holiday commemorates the founding of the Hungarian state and serves as a celebration of Hungarian culture and traditions. Named after St. Stephen, a key figure in Hungary’s history nearly a millennium ago, the holiday is marked by parades, fireworks, and the enjoyment of traditional Hungarian cuisine and beverages. It serves as a time for Hungarians to unite, reflect on their heritage, and honor their past.

MFO was invited by the Gold Coast Hungarian Seniors Citizens to participate in their celebration and commemoration. It was a real honour to see many citizens to sing and share some freshly baked bread on the day.”

CONGRATULATIONS!

Rahma came to Australia from Somalia in 2017 with her mother and six siblings as refugees. Her family's story is featured in our book 'Finding Home'. Shortly after our book was published, Rahma's mother tragically passed away, after which Rahma's eldest siblings and aunty raised the youngest siblings until their father could arrive from overseas. Rahma is now in Grade 12, graduating later this year. Last week Rahma received an early offer to study a law degree at Southern Cross University, an amazing achievement! Read their amazing story of resilience in FINDING HOME Journeys of Hope booklet available from MFO.

Gold Coast Youth Hubs - September School Holiday Programs

(16th-20th & 23rd to 27th September 2024) 

• Upper Coomera

• Thrower House

• Runaway Bay

• Pimpama

• Nerang

• Coomera

• Pacific Pines

Got to meet Australia's youngest ever gold medal winner from the Paris 2024 Olympics Games, Arias Trew back on the Gold Coast. Thanks to hosts Westfield Coomera, Gold Coast Youth Service, TMC and QLD Police Service - PCYC. After securing a gold medal in the Women's Park Skateboarding with an iconic score at 93.18, Arisa became Australia's youngest athlete to secure a gold medal at just 14 years of age.

Check out the weekly Thursday afternoon youth engagement at the Westfield Coomera basketball court with bbq and local services.

Over the past month the Women’s Group has continued to travel around the world with our cooking adventures. Ana-Lucia took us to Brazil with her delicious dish Baiao De Dois and Dawn shared her love with us by making her special “Show u My love” dish, a fishy Chinese broth with veggies and noodles.

The group also had a lovely walk and picnic at the Broadwater Parklands, enjoyed a fascinating talk by Surf Lifesaving Queensland about water safety. For more information about MFO’s women’s programs please contact rana@mfo.org.au.

MFO team pictured with Minister for Child Safety, Minister for Seniors and Disability Services and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Hon Charis Mullen MP and winner of the “Outstanding Contribution by New Queenslander” Founder and President of the Australian National Chinese Women's Federation, ANCWF, Lei Wenbi Hua.

#MQA24

MFO was honoured to be present at the 2024 Multicultural Queensland Awards, recognising individual and organisations achievements and milestones from all over Queensland. Congratulations to all award nominees and winners.

“Igniting passion, building connected communities”

This Networking event celebrated the existing and emerging Gold Coast multicultural community leaders at HOTA - Lakeside Room hosted by City of Gold Coast during August QLD Multicultural month. Welcome to Country with original song opened the gathering, icebreakers included finding your “SALT & PEPPER” word match and Lantern making with Jake (TMC) and Candice (MCCGC) - promoting the weekend inaugural Luminous lantern parade near HOTA Lakeside area organised by MCCGC, GC Multicultural Arts and Multicultural Australia supported by GC groups.

Engaging and thoughtful Panel discussion facilitated by Master of Ceremonies Kevin D with four passionate CALD community leaders · Alana Gray, Founder/ President - Te RangiAroha Incorporated

· Manish Saini, President – Indian Community of Gold Coast

· Venus Yuleth – President Latin Community Hub

· Kibrom Gebremedhin - Secretary, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church

Wonderful to see new faces join in, huge thanks to all attendees taking the time out. Thank you Mayor Tom Tate for speech and Multicultural officer Savita from City of Gold Coast and Community Connect team along with collaborative partners TMC - Thriving Multicultural Communities, Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast - MCCGC, Multicultural Families Organisation Inc.

2024 National SETSCop Forum was recently held in Canberra with Multicultural Families Organisation Inc. represented by Director and SETS program manager Renata Jones, pictured here with Queensland attendees. SETSCoP is a community of practice (CoP) bringing together service providers who support refugees and vulnerable migrants under the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS) program.

https://setscop.org.au

Thank you to the Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli MP for hosting a fabulous celebration of Queensland multiculturalism at Parliament House. The MFO team enjoyed catching up with colleagues and friends and meeting so many amazing community leaders.

Culture - Community – Connection

Celebrating Queensland Multicultural Month, Kevin D and Kevin M from MFO were accompanied by local musician Lyle K, Gold Coast Thai Cultural group, Columbian dancer Natalia and Shannon from GC Titans NRLW for a cultural sharing with Year 7-10 students and teachers about the different forms of "Resilience".

Talking to someone you trust about issues, sharing cultural dance and song, taking a break, listening respectfully to others, having a diary/notebook to record life experiences and having a good support system in place. The PREVAYL program by MFO is supported by Department of Youth Justice. Thank you Keebra students and teachers for having us.

The Culture and Community Club at Saint Stephen's College hosted the Multicultural Families Organisation. The Culture and Community Club members learned about the cultural aspects of the Cook Islands, participated in a dance workshop with ORANA dance group, and spoke with Kevin Dando, a representative of the Multicultural Families Organisation, about his cultural heritage and dreams for the future.

The afternoon session concluded with a commitment to connecting with diverse cultures, embracing new experiences, and deepening our understanding of one another, regardless of where our heritage lies.

Post from Saint Stephen's College.

More Fantastic Opportunities

SQW is preparing for the following upcoming courses:

• Certificate II in Business – Starts 9 September

• Certificate III in Individual Support – Starts 16 September

• Paid Traineeship - Certificate I in Construction – Starts 16 September

Our students from the March intake have completed their theoretical part and have successfully been placed in their vocational placements. We wish them the best of luck with the final part of their studies, and we can’t wait to celebrate their achievements!

Congratulations to all MFO's Certificate 3 in Individual Support students on completing their last day of theory and preparing for their work placements. If you are interested in enrolling in our next free course please contact our friendly staff Nicole and Yuliia on 5571 0381.

After School Soccer Program on Mondays

The Team at MFO’s Youth At Promise program have been excited to see the development of the free After School Soccer Program on Mondays during School Term. The program is run collaboratively by MFO, MCCGC & Ashmore PCYC with young people between 12 to 18 years of age from 3 different schools come along and play soccer between 3.30 & 5pm on Monday afternoons. For more information scan the QR code on the attached flyer.

MFO would like to extend thanks and best wishes to Steve Hackett in his future endeavours, we appreciate your expertise and life experiences in the Mental Health & Wellbeing space, setting up Youth At Promise, collaborative Soccer program with MCCGC & PCYC and facilitator for SONSHINE Multicultural Men's group to name a few MFO projects he was involved with.

MFO wishes a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all Dad's everywhere.

For more information about SONSHINE please contact Kevin D

kevin@mfo.org.au.

Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) Conference is returning, and will be taking place on 16 -17 October at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year, in collaboration with the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland (ECCQ), the event promises to be an unmissable event.

This year's conference will be centred around "Our Experiences. Our Future." which highlights the strengths and challenges faced by culturally and linguistically diverse communities across Australia.

Click above for info.

Thanks Stacey Waaka for sharing your GOLD MEDAL from the 2024 Olympics, huge congrats to all, all the best to Paralympians competing!

Great to see the power of sports bringing people together.

FEAR establishes the boundaries of our FREEDOM