North East Multicultural Association

CULTURAL CONVERSATIONS

Late s t f rom

THE OF F I C E

Words from the P R ES I D ENT

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I would like to welcome everyone to the NEMA

Newsletter, our first for 2014. There have been very

exciting developments at NEMA over the past 12 months

and the revamping of our newsletter is but one of them.

Firstly I would like to thank the Board and staff for

all their dedication to NEMA and with the partnerships

that we are all now building to ensure that our Culturally

and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities are best

supported by the overall service system.

We have finalised some major projects over the

past 12 months including the Migrant Journey which has

captured the stories of 35 people who migrated to

Australia following WW11 and this will provide a rich

history for not only the North East but Australia generally.

The NEMA Aged Care Connections project is

progressing well with over 80 ageing CALD people being

engaged in an effort to maintain their independence

through preventative health programs or direct service

provision, which they previously were unaware existed.

The further development of our ‘NEMA Skills

Register’ will be an exciting opportunity to expand our

activities, which you will be able to read about through

this and future newsletters.

It was an honour to host the visit of Minister

Matthew Guy in July at the NEMA office with the

Executive Board and Staff; this provided us with the

opportunity to showcase our facilities and services.

I would also like to thank our wonderful volunteers

for their contribution and encourage more volunteers to

get involved in our activities and events as we celebrate

the benefits of cultural diversity.

Going from an organisation with

very limited resources which saw

only 2 part time staff employed,

to now having 7 part time and 1

full time person, has taken

NEMA to a new level.

I have been extremely pleased

with the support that I have

received from the Board and

volunteers and in particular, the

quality of the staff that we have

been able to recruit to

complement the great work

done previously by NEMA.

I hope that through our

newsletter we can provide you

with some insight to the exciting

projects and activities that we

are involved in and how you

can also become involved if

you would like.

Please drop in to say hello at

any stage and, even though

many of us are part time,

whoever is in the office will do

their very best to make you feel

welcome and at home.

I trust you enjoy this

publication and the

story of NEMA as it

progresses into the

future.

Best regards,

John Joyce

Acting Manager

Ciao

Rozi Parisotto

President

North

East

Multicultural

Association

NEMA

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Visit by Minister Matthew Guy

On 23rd July, NEMA staff were delighted to host a visit from the state

Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, the Hon Matthew Guy MLC.

The Minister, along with Senior Adviser Peter Lemonis, visited the NEMA

office as part of a fact-finding tour of Victoria’s peak multicultural agencies.

NEMA President Rozi Parisotto gave the Minister an enthusiastic welcome,

followed by an equally enthusiastic overview of NEMA’s most notable

activities and achievements. Rozi also presented the Minister with a

‘showbag’ of gifts.

Manager John Joyce briefed the

Minister on recent projects delivered by

NEMA, which included a summary of

state and federally funded projects,

including the North East Multicultural

Aged Care Connections (NEMACC)

project, and featured a presentation by

Tania Magennis on the Migrant

Journeys project. Minister Guy was

genuinely captivated by the

presentation given by Tania, NEMA’s

Special Projects Officer, which featured

one of our Board Member’s stories. Also

mentioned to the Minister were NEMA’s

plans for future projects that would

require government support in the

changing face of migration.

- Sue

Minister Guy has passed on to the

NEMA Board, Staff and volunteers, his

pleasure in meeting us all and wishes to

thank us for our hospitality.

- Maria

The Hon Matthew Guy MLC

Minister for Planning

Minister for Multicultural Affairs and

Citizenship

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016 NEMA

Tania Magennis

Special Projects Officer

I have a background in Special

Education and Primary Teaching.

It is an exciting and new adventure for

me working in the Community Service

sector and I am loving my new role at

NEMA. I came on board with NEMA at

the end of March this year. I am the

Special Projects Officer and it was a real

highlight for me to coordinate the

Migrant Life Journey Reflections Project.

I have a keen interest in the arts, music

and learning about new cultures. I am

half Sri-Lankan myself. I enjoy travelling

and camping in my time off and

regularly do trips to visit family down in

Melbourne. I live in Beechworth with my

husband and very spoilt white, fluffy

dog!

Joy Izard

Volunteer Administration Officer

I came to NEMA as a

casual administration

assistant soon after the

organisation formed and

have continued to watch it

grow. I have enjoyed

working with both the

volunteers and the various

NEMA projects they have

assisted with. Born and

reared in Australia, I've

learnt so much from our

multicultural migrants. My

favourite pastime is cooking

and learning many different

dishes from other countries.

NEMA

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This project is a collection of 90+ digital stories that capture the stories of post

WWII migrants that settled in the North East of Victoria during the 1950s and

60s. The project can be seen on the NEMA website: http://www.nema.org.au

The project involved editing 35 interviews of a variety of storytellers across the

Shires of Indigo, Alpine, Benalla, Mansfield and Wangaratta. Storytellers

reflected on their experiences when first arriving in Australia and were a

variety of ages, some as young as 6 or 7, others arrived as married couples

with a young family in tow. Some came through the Bonegilla Migrant camp

and others didn’t …… all the stories have been organised into 6 theme areas:

1. Settling in the North East,

2. Making a Living,

3. Family Life,

4. Sport and Recreation,

5. Schooling and Childhood Experiences,

6. Food, Culture and Community Involvement.

A pool of dedicated NEMA volunteers and volunteers recruited through The

Centre in Wangaratta, assisted with interviewing, editing and movie making.

We were guided by staff at Springboard Training Solutions in Wangaratta and

we were funded by The Australian Government, Department of the

Environment – Your Community Heritage grant to pull the project together. It

has been a privilege and a delight to have been involved.

Tania

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016 NEMA

Sue Wheildon Grants Officer

Prior to joining NEMA in March 2014, my most

noteworthy job was 14 years in Victorian State

Government economic development agencies in

Wangaratta. I joined Business Victoria in 1998,

which became Regional Development Victoria

(RDV) in 2002. I was with RDV until 2012, where I

had responsibilities in business, community, and

council grants administration; office management,

including process development and improvement;

on the job training, where I supervised and trained

short term staff and a succession of Youth

Employment Scheme (YES) trainees; and

executive support, where I assisted directors and

managers with day to day matters, and Ministerial

level briefings and events.

Working at NEMA has given me the opportunity to

bring this state and regionally based experience

into a sub-regionally focused community

organisation, whose staff and volunteers are

among the most dedicated I have had the

pleasure to work with. Being half Italian on my

mother’s side, I was also delighted to contribute to

NEMA’s Migrant Life Journey Reflections Project,

by telling my mother’s story on her behalf.

Ben Flanigan Volunteer Coordinator/

Project Officer

I am an accredited pharmacist and

have worked in various community

pharmacies, hospitals and a

community health organisation. I

currently own and operate my own

business, which provides

comprehensive medication reviews

and educative sessions.

My previous role as Coordinator Early

Intervention Chronic Disease

Management (within a community

health organisation) provided me

with an excellent insight regarding

the inequalities faced by Cultural

and Linguistically Diverse community

members. I am a passionate

supporter of multiculturalism and was

ecstatic to commence employment

with NEMA as Volunteer Coordinator

and Project Officer. I truly believe

that volunteers are a key facet in

NEMA’s longevity and I look forward

to working further with our

dedicated volunteers and staff!

NEMA

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LA UN C H OF N . E .M .A .C .C .

GUESTS INCLUDED:

On left - Nikolaus Rittinghausen (E.C.C.V.)

and Joe Caputo (F.E.C.C.A.) who

travelled from Melbourne

On the right -

Peter Balmer (F.E.C.C.A.) from Canberra

NEMACC

Staff: L-R

Karen Knox

John Joyce

Janny Bollard

Maria Aivaliotis

November 28, 2013 saw the Launch of NEMACC – North East

Multicultural Aged Care Connections. NEMACC i s a project that

developed from funding by the Australian Government of Social

Services (previously - Commonwealth Department of Health and

Ageing). The NEMACC staff work in partnership with service

providers, to advocate for the elderly Australian migrants and to

assist them to meet their individual needs. The Launch took place at

the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, with guests in attendance

including Uncle Wally, Nikolaus Rittinghausen, Joe Caputo and Peter

Balmer. The President of NEMA, Rozi Parisotto, spoke at the launch

and the children’s choir from Wangaratta Primary School sang the

“National Anthem” and “I am, you are, we are Australian”.

- Maria

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016 NEMA

Janny Bollard Cultural Support Facilitator

I was born and educated in The

Netherlands. My work there was in

the Social Welfare Sector, supervising

adults with varying degrees of disability

and nationality. Prior to migrating to

Australia in 2000, I held the position of

section manager at Sneek in Friesland.

During my annual leave, I travelled many

times to Kenya and Uganda, where I was

involved in local projects that promoted a

better life for street kids. I believe that my

background and personal experience as

a new migrant has given me the

necessary insight and understanding to

communicate with Elderly Australian

Migrants, living in a country in which we

were not born. I am excited by the

multicultural aspect of the NEMACC

project to bring awareness to Elderly

Migrants of the service providers available,

and the possibility of allowing them a long

and healthy life in their own home.

John Joyce Acting Manager

After many years in

senior management in

the Victorian Public

Service and more recently

running my own businesses, I

have been really pleased with

the opportunity to work with

NEMA to assist many

potentially disadvantaged

ageing migrant people to live

a better quality of life. My

background is in the

community services area

culminating in managing the

Child Protection and broader

community services programs

in the Hume region from 2002

until 2005. More recently I had

been the Regional Director for

Regional Development

Victoria which is the economic

development arm of the

Victorian Government until

setting up my own businesses

associated with professional

development and strategic

planning. Underpinning this is

also the development of a

cattle-breeding interest, which

started in 1998 and is still

continuing. I see a great

opportunity to bring the

various experiences from my

former working areas to assist

in this really worthwhile project.

NEMA

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E n d o f Y e a r D i n n e r

W i t h a S o u t h A m e r i c a n T h e m e .

NEMA MULTICULTURAL DINNER & SHOW

The end of year Multicultural Dinner & Show was held at the Club Savoy on

Saturday 30th November 2013. The theme was South American with

performances from Natalie, the Flamenco dancer and the band ‘TUNARI’. Over

100 people enjoyed a South American dinner menu, danced to a variety of

tunes and enjoyed the entertainment. This year the Dinner will be held in

Wangaratta at the Da Vinci Social Club on Saturday 6th December. - Maria

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016 NEMA

Maria Aival iot is

Admin is t rat ion Of f icer

Yiasou. I was born in Australia to

Multicultural parents who

became Australian citizens very

early on. Having this

background gives me a head

start with the work I’m involve d

with here. I enjoy my role as

Administration Officer because

I’m working with a great team

of people. My favourite

pastime is having a challenging

game of Scrabble – but don’t

ask me to play it with the Greek

alphabet!

Karen Knox

Cultural Support Facilitator

I am the Cultural Support Facilitator for the

North East Multicultural Aged Care

Connections Project (NEMACC). I have

previously worked as a nurse and more

recently completed a Diploma in

Community Services to transition my

professional path into the community

setting.

My role involves identifying isolated aged

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)

members from the LGA’s (Local

Government Area’s) of Wangaratta and

the Indigo. I then work to support

connections between clients and service

providers that function to positively

maximise an individual’s capacity to live

independently, if they choose. I feel

privileged to work in this role.

NEMA

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THE BOARD: From Left - Teresa Seymour (NEMA Treasurer), Evangeline Sacco (NEMA

Secretary), Rozi Parisotto (NEMA President), Jill Allen, Lucie Van Aken (NEMA Social

Coordinator), Kevin Rickard (NEMA Editor), Nino Mautone (NEMA Vice President)

NEMACC Staff

NEMA Staff

Antonella Smith – on extended Leave

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016 NEMA

C om e in a n d m ee t th e te am !

Our friendly team is located in the NEMA office –

47B Reid Street, Wangaratta 3677

(Behind the NAB Bank).

Feel free to drop in, meet the new staff and

share a coffee with us!

Visitors are always welcome!

Volunteers Update

NEMA wishes to acknowledge the

ongoing generosity and

contributions of our volunteers. It is

their dedication, passion and

support that will enable our

organisation to thrive into the future.

Our volunteers support NEMA in any

activities or projects that may be

undertaken and we endeavour to

match volunteers with tasks suitable

to their skill set.

NEMA always welcomes new

volunteers and strives to support

their involvement and contributions.

Volunteering with NEMA offers an

opportunity to improve your skillset,

increase your social activity, help

the community and enhance your

self-esteem.

If you are interested in becoming a

volunteer, or would like to know

more, please contact the Volunteer

Coordinator (Ben Flanigan) on:

5721 2090.

Date Event

9th October Aged Homelessness Forum

31st October Annual Report *

10th November Annual General Meeting*

* November Launch -Migrant Journey*

23rd November Sinterklaas

6th December End of Year Function

* To Be Confirmed

Calendar of Upcoming Events

Newsletter Editor Volunteer

Chris Magennis