1. First, ensuring a coordinated, whole-of-community approach to settling people well such that they have equal and supported opportunities to find value and belonging; and, 
2. Secondly, to grapple with and actively address the reality of continuing to settle people on the unceded lands of First Nations. 

Both statements seemed obvious.

In hindsight, I should have anticipated the response I would receive: akin to dropping a match in a pile of dry kindling.

I needed to have understood how disjointed and competitive settlement processes could be. And the migration and settlement sectors’ engagement with First Nations and Peoples, at least in a formal capacity, had been minimal.

Consequently, coordinated approaches continue to drive our work. First Nations engagement also underpins what we do at Welcoming Australia.

I am deeply grateful to Uncle Andrew Gardiner for sharing his local knowledge and to Professor Chelsea Watego for her fierce and intelligent research, discourse and resistance.

More than acknowledgement of country and reconciliation — we actively support and encourage the coming together of Traditional Custodians, local Elders and recently arrived migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum. We actively support the process of voice, treaty and truth. And we encourage our members to actively support localised responses to those processes, addressing past and ongoing injustices, learning to walk behind and take the lead from First Peoples to move forward as a community.

Time and again, and Chelsea spoke to this, we witness the generosity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities as one of the strongest supporters of refugee and asylum seeker rights because they understand and daily live with the reality and impacts of dispossession.

Their ongoing struggle for sovereignty is aligned with and tied to the rights of people seeking safety and belonging.

Last week, I was in San José, California, to deliver the keynote address to 660 people at Welcoming America’s conference, Welcoming Interactive.

I joined that trip with representatives from four of Welcoming Cities’ member Councils participating in a rural exchange.

We were there to share, learn and explore international perspectives of welcoming and inclusion work and how to continue advancing communities where everyone can belong.

Seven years ago, we couldn’t have conceived this opportunity. Let alone that a contingent of Australians would share leading settlement practices with our American colleagues and peers. Just between us, we’re ahead of the curve.

Over the past seven years, we’ve had the opportunity to witness, learn from and be challenged by exceptional practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and community leaders.

Some have suggested that part of the power of the Symposium is that we platform voices such that they can speak truth to power.

I used to agree.

The phrase, speaking truth to power, is grounded in a history of activism and civil rights. However, it has become something of a cliché. It also implies that people speaking the truth, the truth holders, have no (or less) power.

If the past seven years have taught me anything, speaking truth IS power.

We have witnessed first-hand, and engaged with, some of that power today.

Over the past seven years, we have also learnt that the people closest to the challenges, the people at the so-called grassroots, are also closest to the solutions. Hence, we position and support our members – local councils, sporting codes and clubs, and universities – as facilitators and brokers in their community rather than experts.

The work of welcoming, inclusion and belonging for all requires us to recognise that:

• there is ongoing injustice;
• there are a diversity of migrant stories and experiences; and,
• this work is not just about the story or how you tell it, but whose story it is to tell.

To understand, dismantle and reconstruct who is inviting who to the table and who owns the table to begin with.

In seven years, we have come a long way.

Welcoming Cities now has 74 members representing over 40% of the Australian population.
Welcoming Clubs works with over 100 clubs and 24 sport & recreation-related codes and bodies.
Only soft launched and still very much in its infancy, Welcoming Universities is working with six major Australian Universities representing approximately 181,000 domestic students and 80,000 overseas students (16% of all University students in Australia).

In seven years, Welcoming Australia has grown from an idea and grassroots movement into an organisation that leads and activates the most extensive network for advancing social cohesion nationwide.

Thank you. You are part of this.

This is what we have achieved together.

But we still have much more work to do and cannot afford complacency.

In the face of geopolitical violence, climate change and the visible rise of xenophobia in parts of Europe and the global north – our collective efforts have never been more critical.

Our ‘why’ — communities where everyone can belong — has never been more critical.

The work requires whole-of-community, evidence- and strengths-based approaches.

The work requires: 

• knowledge to be shared of leading policy & practice
• relationships to be built
• case studies and resources to be written
• standards & accreditation, and assessment & certification to be advanced.

Consequently, we produce Stories of Welcome – only made available from today – now, up to volume 4. Beautiful and powerful stories of place-based work in communities across this country.

Consequently, we continue to review and improve and are also launching today for public consultation the next iteration of the Welcoming Cities Standard. (You can collect a copy, if you wish, on your way out this afternoon from the registration desk)

This is the work.

The work requires data, frameworks, benchmarks, and networks

You know this work, live it, breathe it, and are represented in it.

But the work is not the ‘why’.

The why is taking people on a journey from fearful to tolerant to welcoming and inclusive.
The why is ensuring that people with lived experience have a say and direct control over the decision-making processes about their lives.
The why are communities where everyone can belong.

And amid the work, the most significant risk is losing sight of the why.

Losing sight of the why means we are distracted from the goal.
Losing sight of the why can lead to working in competition and silos
Losing sight of the why can lead to complacency.
Losing sight of the why profoundly impacts our communities most vulnerable and resilient people – the people closest to the challenges and solutions.

Realising communities where everyone is welcome, included and has a sense of value and belonging is why we do the work.

I want to especially acknowledge and thank my team, who work tirelessly for the ‘why’: Maia, Sebastian, Kate, Loretta, Alexandra, Cate, Turkan, Jude, Bel, Jessica, and Olga. You are all superstars.

This work and why we do it matters.

Your actions matter.
The people you have in mind, the faces you see if I ask who you are working with and for – why you get out of bed to pursue this work – they matter.
Your perseverance matters.
Your leadership matters.
Your words matter.

My challenge to myself, my team and each of you is that we continue to raise and platform the people and stories most impacted by the local and global challenges we face.

My challenge to myself and you is to keep reminding ourselves of the ‘why’ and the ‘who’ and that we actively work together.

If we collectively accept that challenge, imagine what we might achieve in the next seven years and beyond.

We’re officially halfway through the 2023 Welcoming Australia Symposium.

Thank you for your participation, energy and focus.
Thank you for listening, sharing and learning.
See you tomorrow morning, before 9 am, for another challenging and inspiring day.

Thank you.

Delivered by Aleem Ali, CEO of Welcoming Australia, to close Day One of the 2023 Welcoming Australia Symposium.

Panda Wong is a poet who uses humour to dissect the emotional fallout of life and loss. Her poetry is informed by the performance of online life, found poetry (think Gumtree ads, Lana Del Rey posts and her mum’s Facebook posts) and the absurd that can be seen in the direst of situations.

Achut Thuc is a Sudanese/South Sudanese writer and storyteller. Her work has been featured in the Fringe, the Melbourne Spoken Word Festival and at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival. She writes on a range of issues such as identity, racism, mental illness, relationships and healing.

Sammaneh Poursh is a Queer, genderfluid Muslim who arrived in Australia as a refugee after the Iranian Revolution. Sammaneh’s work plays with identity, ritual, the body, diaspora, Middle Eastern and Western histories, and comedy as a way to address trauma.

This conversation is based on Welcoming Australia’s Campfire Stories event series, funded by the Victorian Government through the Department of Premier and Cabinet. 

Supported by:

The selflessness of so many people has been heartening. Everyday Australians demonstrate their true colours in a crisis – warmth, empathy and a hand of friendship. And many of the newest arrivals to our shores – refugees and people seeking asylum – have been overwhelmingly generous in their response.

There have been numerous acts of kindness, many we’ll never learn of, but the recent $150,000 donation from the Hazara community in Victoria is just one beautiful example.

Such an act is not a surprise to us or our supporters. People who have faced so much hardship are often the most resilient and frequently the most giving and compassionate. 

As our nation grapples with the increasing impact of climate change, we will need to continue to extend a practical hand of welcome.

In addition to our existing work and initiatives, there are several activities Welcoming Australia is undertaking to ensure we improve:

• We are about to launch our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).RAPs are primarily about addressing continuing acts of injustice against First Peoples, and becoming better allies, as First Nations strive for self-determination. Our RAP is underpinned by the Uluru Statement from the Heart and we look forward to sharing it in the near future. We’d also invite you to participate in Survival Day events on 26 January.
• We are continuing to develop an ethical procurement policy. While we remain a relatively small charity, we are mindful that where (and how) we expend our budget can have a positive (or negative) impact. Our policy considers social, cultural and environmental effects – ensuring ‘we put our money where our mouth is’.
• Revising our travel and carbon footprint policy. Australia is a vast continent, and through initiatives such as Welcoming Cities, we are now working with communities that are representative of 25 per cent of the population. While travel is necessary we try to minimise and choose the most sustainable option. We also actively offset our carbon footprint.
• Maintaining a commitment to community and future focussed banking and superannuation. Where our money (and your generous donations) reside is vital to us and we support ethical and climate-friendly banking and superannuation providers.

The real test of character is what you do when no-one is looking. And the Australian character has been subject to increasing scrutiny. We can, and we need, to do better.

As we strive to play our part, thank you for playing yours. Join us in 2020 to help us build our movement; cultivating an Australia where all people have the opportunity to belong and to thrive.

“Are we winning?”

It’s a question someone posed to me recently, and I had to take pause to consider what ‘winning’ might mean. For me, it spoke to whether we’re making any difference, or improvement in the lives of people seeking safety, opportunity and belonging.

As an organisation and movement, our vision is of an Australia where people of all backgrounds have equal opportunity to belong, contribute and thrive. Some days we seem to be advancing toward that vision (i.e. ‘winning’) and other days it seems to be disappearing over the horizon.

We recently brought our small team together in Adelaide to consider what’s working, where we can do better and what we might need to change as we strive for a welcoming Australia.

What was evident from our time together is that our greatest strength is in human connection.

When hope seems hopeless, it can still be found when we are willing to genuinely engage each other in our humanity.

Hope is found in the stories of people seeking asylum starting small businesses and funding a better life for their family.

Hope is found in the faces of the children and young people from refugee backgrounds discovering what it means to belong to a sporting team.

Hope is found in the coming together of Local Councils across an entire State who are committed to creating welcoming communities.

Hope is found in the laughter and conversation at community dinners between new and established Australians.

What we seek is not to ‘win’ but to open our arms and embrace. To remind and encourage Australians that we are generous neighbours, and that we are better and stronger together.

This work is as important as it’s ever been – and the invitation to lead and be part of that work continues.

Once again, we have an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to generosity and compassion through the numerous calls from Doctors, peak medical bodies, advocates, politicians, sporting stars, and everyday Australians to #SaveMedevac.* A community who recognise the basic right for Doctors to treat people who need it.

Thank you for being part of that community. We are better and stronger because you are part of it, and herein lies our hope.

* Even though the Medevac legislation has since been repealed the opportunity, to advocate for change, remains.

I’ve long been a fan of Nick Cave and a recent article in The Guardian only served to further my admiration. The article outlines the musician’s response to a fan letter that included a bigoted and hateful question. Cave’s response is vastly more gracious than the fan deserved. He writes:

“The opportunity to act in a better way is one that is continuously afforded to us – to try to make the next thing we do the best thing, rather than the worst thing, the destructive thing.”

What do we do in the face of increasing polarisation, divisive ideologies and fear saturated media? The tendency can be to fight fire with fire, but that doesn’t always (or often) advance the cause of welcoming and inclusion.

The article’s author, Eleni Stefanou, contends that:

“Outrage is a necessary force when a line has been crossed, especially by those with influence and power. Without it, we give destructive ideas oxygen and a free pass to become the new normal. But there is also something powerful about meeting hate with generosity – provided it’s safe to do so.”

The idea of meeting hate, or intolerance, with generosity is one of the founding principles of Welcoming Australia. Our organisation began by engaging Australians in practical acts of welcome. Welcome dinners, supporting young people from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds to play sport, engaging civic leaders as ambassadors, and walking together to celebrate who are and who we can be – all lie at the heart of our movement.

The invitation to lead and be part of that work continues.

From 26 October to 2 November, National Unity Week 2019 will take place. You’re invited to celebrate with us by hosting or attending an inter-faith or intercultural event in your community. National Unity Week is built around four themes – walk together, learn together, eat together and play together. It’s an opportunity to meet people of other cultures and faiths, learn from one another and celebrate the fact that unity builds a better future than division ever could.

How will you participate in National Unity Week? We’d love as many people involved as possible – as we join together around conversation, community and a commitment to one another’s right to flourish and prosper.

That’s what we were doing before the election; that’s what we’ll be doing now that it’s over – and we need you to be a part of it.

The number of overtly racist political parties on the ballot paper was easily the most I have seen in more than 25 years of voting. Thankfully, in the words of ABC election analyst Antony Green, at least one of them “has gone back to where he came from… and won’t be in Parliament.”

However, the Australian people have returned a government that has sought to pit us against each other, and divide rather than unite. In the face of fear and division (and the absence of unifying leadership) Australians have resorted to self-preservation and tribalism and ignored the needs and aspirations of vulnerable people.

I’m disappointed and I’m nervous. I’m particularly concerned for the people in our community who are most impacted by political values and approaches that continually remind them they are barely welcome here. People seeking asylum have endured great uncertainty and punitive measures. Our refugee and asylum seeking friends are resigned to another three years of soul-destroying limbo.

In this moment, our name (Welcoming Australia) seems vastly more aspirational than achievable.

But now is neither the time to despair or retreat. Now is the time to rally. Now is the time to remind ourselves that the people who will be most disadvantaged by this election result, matter. First Peoples, refugees, people seeking asylum, the frequently overlooked and unheard need a legitimate voice and opportunities to inform Australia’s future.

We remain focussed on:

• building a national network of local councils and communities committed to the work of welcome and inclusion;
• supporting new arrivals and people abandoned by government support to access emergency relief, community connection and employment pathways;
• sports inclusion initiatives for young people from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds;
• mentoring young and emerging leaders from diverse backgrounds; and,
• encouraging ‘everyday Australians’ to celebrate the diversity and richness of our cultural heritage and welcome new neighbours.

We also renew our invitation for you to join us in this work – whether that’s encouraging people to join our mailing list, volunteering, or making a financial contribution.

We believe that we are stronger together and we strengthen our resolve to continue to strive for a fairer, more inclusive, more sustainable and just society for all people. Now, more than ever, we need you to stand with us.

Yours in the hope of a more welcoming and inclusive Australia,

Aleem Ali, CEO
(on behalf of the Welcoming Australia team)

• Nazis and ‘white’ nationalists on a Melbourne beach;
• cuts to income and support for people seeking asylum;
• the pending deportation of a family who’ve made a life for themselves in a regional town and whose children were born in Australia;
• the murder of a young woman and international student;
• electioneering in which ‘immigrants’ are the scapegoats for all our social ills; and,
• hostility towards Australia’s First Peoples for daring to confront our nation’s history and proposing a better way forward.

In the face of these events, and as we’ve considered what 2019 might hold for Welcome, we’ve looked back on our past and imagined a better future.

As a movement and organisation, Welcome to Australia was conceived and named amid a political climate in which civility and our international responsibilities as good neighbours were being traded for expediency and populism. That the brand, and sentiment behind, Welcome to Australia even needed to exist indicates the culture of division and toxic response to humanitarian settlement, migration and visible minorities. As a name, Welcome to Australia, highlights the principle of the receiving community embracing newcomers. The name has served the movement and organisation well. 

Over the past seven years, Welcome to Australia has grown and evolved.Our approach is less about ‘us’ and ‘them’, and far more about a collective approach. And in a country where sovereignty was never ceded, and First Nations still strive for self-determination, the initial welcome TO Australia should be led by First Peoples and Traditional Custodians.

As a movement and organisation, Welcome to Australia is maturing and with it, the time is right for us to mark that change.

We have begun a process of changing our name to Welcoming Australia. We believe this is a subtle but significant shift that is both aspirational and inclusive. 

Welcoming Australia promotes a nation in which everyone can belong, participate and thrive in social, cultural, economic and civic life. Welcoming Australia suggests, and requires, a coordinated whole-of-community approach to migration, settlement, cultural diversity and inclusion.

Welcoming Australia is both who we are and who we strive to be.

What will change?
The organisation’s name and branding related elements will change such as our logo, social media handles, and website. We will also endeavour to communicate more clearly and directly about who we are, where we are heading and how you can get involved.

What won’t change?
Our vision, purpose and abiding commitment to the work of welcoming and inclusion both in this country and with our partners across the world – will unquestionably remain the same.

As one of the people who support, and the advance the cause of, Welcome – we wanted you to be among the first to know about this exciting development. We look forward to your continued involvement and to sharing the journey with you.

2018 has been a massive year for many people. For Welcome to Australia, it’s meant thousands of refugees, people seeking asylum and recently arrived migrants have been able to find a sense of belonging and participate in Australian life.

English classes, campfire stories, emergency relief, community dinners, sports and recreation opportunities, employment, mentoring, media events, national campaigns, research projects and forums have marked a busy year.

Our program reach and impact extended by more than 200 percent, into a further 15 cities and regions. The members (Local Councils) of Welcoming Cities now represent 15 percent of the Australian population (more than 3.5 million people) and our advice has been sought, from all levels of government, in relation to how we can create a welcoming and inclusive Australia.

For our partners, members, supporters and the amazing people we work with, and are inspired by every day, we trust that it has brought some sense of hope and advanced welcoming and inclusion in their own lives and the life of their communities.

For us, the single word that has defined the people we work with, iscourage.

Striving for positive and meaningful change, requires courage.

The courage to be welcoming and inclusive, in the face of strategies from the playbook of fear.
The courage to advance research and evidence-based policy and practice, in the absence of principled leadership. 
The courage to engage in partnership and invite everyone to the table, when division and self-interest offers an expedient route. 
The courage to endure the consequences of unreasonable ideology, where the concept of hope seems fanciful and dangerous.

Thank you for your courage and support in 2018. Thank you for demonstrating the best of who we can be.

Whatever 2018 has held for you, I hope that we can continue to work together in the new year. And that we would continue to have the courage to imagine and pursue what it might require for everyone to belong, contribute and thrive in a welcoming Australia.