Community Refugee Welcome Centre recognised

Settlement Services International (SSI) and Inner West Council’s Community Refugee Welcome Centre has won the inaugural 2021 Salvos Multicultural Welcome Project Award.

 The award was presented at the first Salvos Multicultural Gala, which marked the launch of their Multicultural Ambassador Program.

The Salvos Multicultural Ambassador program seeks to position a range of culturally and linguistically diverse leaders to create a two-way dialogue between The Salvos and Australia’s multicultural communities, and the Salvos Multicultural Gala was the first opportunity for them to do so.

SSI Community Refugee Welcome Centre Coordinator Moones Mansoubi said, “We are very grateful to receive this award.

“It would not have been possible without our partners, people from refugee backgrounds, people seeking asylum, and Inner West locals who have collectively created a place that people feel safe and sense of belonging.”

“This event and ongoing multicultural ambassador campaign is an initiative of the Diversity and Inclusion team that seeks to enable The Salvation Army in Australia to live out its values of Diversity, Collaboration, Respect, Integrity and Compassion in the context of multicultural Australia,” said Adrian Kistan, National General Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at The Salvation Army.

“We are committed to expanding The Salvos missional reach into multicultural Australia whilst building our capacity to be a culturally inclusive place of welcome and belonging.”

The Community Refugee Welcome Centre has been operating since March 2017, and was established as a partnership between SSI, Inner West Council and the Catholic Diocese of Sydney, and more recently TAFE NSW, and Inner West Local organisations have also partnered and contributed significantly to our programs.

Media enquiries: SSI Senior Communications Officer Rebeka Selmeczki; 0468 998 300 rselmeczki@ssi.org.au