A forum in North Wollongong on June 20 will highlight the benefits for employers of being disability confident and ways to capitalise on untapped talent and skills in the local community.

SSI Youth Collective steering committee member and refugee advocate Arash Bordbar has been elected Chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN).

The ‘international’ in Settlement Services International is not an aspiration. It is a reflection of the critical work we do engaging with our peers to gain a global perspective on, and contribute to, international dialogue on refugee and migration issues.

Figures showing another record year for global displacement emphasise the important role Australia can play in helping the world’s most vulnerable, according to one of Australia’s leading refugee settlement experts.

When Dilnigar Alim arrived in Australia in 2009, she brought with her the unique skills that she gained studying and working as a professional Uyghur dancer and performer in far East-Turkestan.

In partnership with Settlement Services International (SSI), the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) is highlighting food during Refugee Week (June 16-22, 2019) and asking everyone to ‘Share a meal, share a story’.

Volunteering attracts people from diverse backgrounds with a broad range of experiences. This adds to the richness and impact that SSI’s volunteers have across a wide range of roles and programs that support vulnerable people.

Australia’s annual celebration of people who have found a safe haven on our shores — Refugee Week — is occurring at a time of heightened individualism.

Welcome2Sydney provided an opportunity for nine new arrivals and four volunteer Sydney ambassadors to join an SSI group attending a Sydney Writers' Festival event at Carriageworks last month.

On April 30, eleven men and women from the Ezidi community were involved in a traditional food night at the Café Patisserie on Taylor Street in Armidale.   The evening was the result of a beautiful relationship, which flourished as a local Ezidi family regularly dropped off bread to their local café, just as they would do for their neighbours back in their home country.

Sydney’s refugee communities are brimming with solutions for the challenges they face. With a helping hand from SSI, community leaders are being resourced to create projects that close gaps and capitalise on their communities’ strengths. 

Iraqi-born and award-winning filmmaker Ali Al Azeez is facilitating a series of filmmaking workshops for the general public in the lead-up to the SSI New Beginnings Winter Festival.

Reflecting on times of great pain, strength and resilience, Settlement Services International (SSI) staff and local community members gathered at SSI’s Community Hub at Colyton Public School, to walk down the long path of forgiveness in recognition of Sorry Day.

Serena Horton brought together two seemingly disjointed activities, mosaic and surfing, to unite a community of newly arrived refugees and people seeking asylum, around the creation of a unique piece of art - a surfboard adorned with mosaic.

The latest project, launched in Lidcombe last month, helps bring together and support young refugees and their carers through a weekly social soccer meet-up. 

For the second year running, Settlement Services International (SSI) is the official community partner for TEDxSydney.

Progressing towards a unified Australia — where inclusion and belonging are the rule, not the exception — requires us to create a space where we respect each other. Respect breeds acceptance, which in turn establishes trust. Only when all three elements are in place can we move forward and truly walk together.

There is an increasing need for carers from diverse cultural backgrounds to give stability in safe homes to children of all ages.

Hear from SSI foster carers as they speak about their experiences and learn about the support they receive from our staff.