Parliament Day - 215 Million Reasons to support Migrant Workers

215 Million Reasons... The Rights of Migrant Workers & their Families

Campaign for Australian Government to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants’ Workers Convention

The Australian Migrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AMaRWA) is partnering with other Human Rights networks and unions to ratify The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants Workers and Members of Their Families in supporting the 215 million migrant workers’ and their families (2009 United Nations International Migration Report) as each and every migrants’ rights needs to be protected.

On October 1 2011, a coalition of civil society groups (including NIRWA our lead agency and The Human Rights Council of Australia) and global groups launched a renewed call for Australia to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families ("the Migrant Workers Convention").

Chair, Vivi Germanos-Koutsounadis is showing her support for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families. Vivi opened the event at Parliament House.

On November 28th, NIRWA Inc together with the Australian Migrant and Refugee Women's Alliance (AMaRWA) and their partner organisation, Asian Women at Work and the Migrant Workers Task Force joined together in solidarity to support the ratification of the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families.

The Women arriving on the Lawns of Parliament House

200+ Migrant Women traveled from Sydney to stand together on the lawns outside of Parliament House to share their stories - it was a truly inspirational and moving day as they spoke of their exploitation, discrimination and the conditions they are working in.

Vivi Germanos-Koutsounadis opening the day and welcoming all the women who gave up a day of their pay to attend Parliament Day in Canberra.

We will continue working towards the ratification of the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families and will keep you informed of all upcoming events.  

The NIRWA Team 

The Inaugural International Day of the Girl Child

The Australian Migrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AMaRWA) congratulates the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard and the Australian Government for launching the United Nations Inaugural International Day of the Girl Child.

We are especially delighted with the Prime Minister reiterating that young girls must be encouraged to think for t

hemselves “to have choices and the freedom to exercise them”.

The Australian Migrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AMaRWA) applauds the Prime Minister’s emphasis that Education is the key where “Education makes an enormous difference to the health of women and their children, to their job opportunities, their wage levels”.

Choice and Education allows Girls and Young Women to see that there are alternative options aside from traditional cultural arrangements for example; forced marriage, child labour and children and women who are in detention centres.

“We express concerns for the wellbeing of the girl child, children and women and their families who are being held in immigration detention centres offshore in conditions that are detrimental to their physical and psychological health, inappropriate education facilities and options which will affect their lives and urge the government to adhere to their commitment announced in 2010, to move children and families from immigration detention centres to community based detention in the Australia” said Vivi Germanos-Koutsounadis, Chair Network of Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (NIRWA).

We believe that Gender Equality allows women to have a say in their lives. Gender Equity allows all Girl Child to be empowered to actively participate in a society that is inclusive of their issues. The launch of the Inaugural International Day of the Girl Child is a timely celebration and acknowledgement of the continuous importance of ensuring that all Girl Child and Women must be empowered to play a role in our communities.

AMaRWA will continue to work with the Australian Government and the other six National Women’s Alliances to ensure that Gender Equity allows all Girl Child and women, including immigrant and Refugee and Aboriginal to be empowered to actively participate in the Australian society.

Australian Migrant and Refugee Women's Alliance (AMaRWA) is the peak Alliance for CALD Gender.

You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter

The NIRWA Team

Capacity Building Training Hobart - October 2012

Over 3 days our National Council along with our Member Organisations came together in Hobart, Tasmanian to take part in some Capacity Building Training.

The training comprised of 3 core topics that were presented by Speakers & Facilitators who are experts in their fields.

On day 1, the morning commenced with a Welcome to Country by our Chair, Vivi Germanos-Koutsounadis followed by a Welcome to Hobart from the Australian Migrant and Refugee Women's Alliance, Executive Officer, Sela Taufa.  


We then moved into the first session of the day, Governance.  The Afternoon session covered Leadership training over 3 perspectives; Local, National and International Leadership.

NIRWA Chair, Vivi ~ AMaRWA Executive Officer, Sela ~
AMaRWA Office Admin, Tahlia ~ TAS Delegate, Salma &
NT Delegate, Silpi 

 Day 2 covered Lobby Training and learning the skills involved in putting together a campaign to Lobby not only Government but also your key stakeholders.

The Delegation at Elizabeth Street Wharf on Sunday afternoon

Thank you to everyone for an informative weekend where we all learnt new skills, upgraded our knowledge.  We would also like to thank the Australian Migrant and Refugee Women's Alliance (AMaRWA) team for organising such an inspiring program.

The NIRWA Team

Migrant Women Workers Forum - Sydney

Asian Women at Work and Immigrant Women's Speakout together with Unions NSW and Sydney Alliance are hosting a great event on Sunday, 14 Oct 12 

The Migrant Women Workers Forum will be held in Sydney at 1:00pm at Bankstown

This is a chance for migrant women workers and their supporters to come together and share their experiences, learn new skills, and speak out for change!

Hosted by Asian Women at Work, Unions NSW, Sydney Alliance, and Immigrant Women's Speakout.

Cost is free, but registration is essential!

Book your place now by calling us 9835 8022 or email women@speakout.org.au

The NIRWA Team 

UN figure praises Australia for leading way in empowering women

Official Photo of Michelle Bachelet via UN Women.org

Via:  Richard Willingham regional affairs correspondent | Sydney Morning Herald | August 24, 2012 |

FEMALE leaders have a priceless, long-term positive impact on improving gender equality, with Australia experiencing ''a very special situation'', says the executive director of United Nations Women, Michelle Bachelet.

Ms Bachelet visited Canberra yesterday to ''commend and thank'' the government's leadership and commitment to improving the lives of women throughout the world.

Ms Bachelet, whose family were political exiles in Australia in 1975, told the Herald: ''Seeing women in powerful positions, it opens the sky for young girls who thought they could never become a powerful person in the future.

''This country is living a very special situation. You have the first Prime Minister that is a woman, but also you have the Governor-General, the Attorney-General, you have a lot of important authorities that are women.

''I'm so convinced this will be a major step for what happens to girls and how they see their future in a different way to the way it was two decades ago.''

On a day when the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, took a stand against ''a very sexist smear campaign'', Ms Bachelet, Chile's first female prime minister, was reluctant to comment on domestic politics.

But she did say the attacks were probably fuelled because Australia was dealing with something ''new'' and there was still a lot of male-dominated culture about how to assess leaders.

She lamented the fact that only 31 countries, including Australia, had reached a goal of having 33 per cent female political representation. Rwanda, which has a quota system, has the highest percentage with 56 per cent.

Quotas can work, she said, but were best used as a temporary transitional tool to educate about the benefits of equality. ''Women can provide politics with leadership that can be relied on, as well as providing a different perspective,'' Ms Bachelet said.

She is attending the Pacific Islands forum in the Cook Islands next week, which has a very low level of female politicians. Of the 10 countries without any female politicians, at least six were in the Pacific.

Ms Bachelet said women could be at the forefront of climate change action because it was they who made important decisions. ''What really determines whether a poor rural boy or girl will become a journalist, or a lawyer, is the education of the mother,'' she said.

She said educated women made better decisions, which led to lower early marriage rates and lower HIV infections. ''We cannot think about improving rural women's lives unless we deal with family planning because we need them to have a comprehensive set of tools that will permit them to develop.''

The NIRWA Team

Multicultural Policy Interview ~ SBS

Image:  Children's Sanctuary Multicultural Festival ~ Canberra 2012

On Monday, the NIRWA Chair Ms Vivi Germanos-Koutsounadis spoke with SBS about the Multicultural Policy.


You can listen to the interview with Vivi along with other Community Leaders by clicking on the link below:



http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/220405/Hopes-for-new-direction-in-multicultural-policy

The NIRWA Team

The National Launch "215 Million Reasons Why"

The National Campaign Launch for the "215 Million Reasons Why ... The Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families" was held on Sunday 17th June in Bankstown, New South Wales.


The wonderful teams from Asian Women at Work along with Immigrants Women's Speakout hosted a fabulous event.


Some of the stories shared on the postcards were: 

"Being a migrant that came to Australia as a young child, I had to watch my parents be out of the workforce for a long time. When my Dad did finally get a job, he was treated unfairly, people laughed at him because of his poor language skills - it was terrible" Mustafa


" We need to remove the perception that it is ok to pay Migrant Workers less for the same job"  Malcolm


"As a worker in the refugee area for women and children escaping domestic violence, we support many women with no incomes and no other support" Anon


"Its not appropriate to run an economy based on exploitation and slavery" Mel


"Its vital that we continue to build a better future for all of us in this wonderful country and continue to protect individual rights of people from all ethnic backgrounds"  Sally


There was also some great coverage of the Campaign Launch of "215 Million Reasons Why ... The Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families" in the Local The Express.  You can click on the link below to read the story:

http://express.whereilive.com.au/news/story/plea-for-pm-to-sign-up/

Next stop for the campaign is Canberra in August!  So stay tuned to find out more


The next State Launch will be held in Victoria in July!!

We thank everyone involved for their support, hard work and passion in taking a stand to make a difference.

The NIRWA Team

215 Million Reasons Why ... The Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families

Campaign for Australian Ratification of the Migrant Workers Convention

The Network of Immigrant and Refugee Women Australia Inc. (NIRWA) is  working to ratify The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants Workers and Members of Their Families also referred to as the UN Migrant Workers Convention, to support 215 million migrant workers’ rights and their families.  (2009 United Nations International Migration Report) .

NIRWA  is organising events throughout the country, using the humble postcard, to send a message to the Prime Minister to support ‘215 Million Reasons... The Rights of Migrant Workers & their Families’.

The national launch will be in New South Wales on Sunday 17 June 2012 from 10.30am–11.30am at Bankstown Roundhouse jointly organised by Immigrant Women’s Speakout Association and Asian Women At Work, inviting families to come  to enjoy face-painting and balloon sculpturing for the kids, and lunch for the adults.

To add to the momentum, each NIRWA State member organisation will organise launches of the Postcard as part of the campaign. NIRWA is also producing an animation about the UN Migrant Workers Rights Convention, to be featured on the website after the national launch – so watch that space.

NIRWA is asking the Australian public to sign the postcard and share their voice, or just provide a name and signature, to support the ‘215 Million Reasons … The Rights of Migrant Workers & their Families’.

NIRWA is reinforcing the 215 million reasons to support the rights of Migrant Workers and their families, as each and every migrants’ rights deserves to be acknowledged as human rights.

On October 1 2011, a coalition of civil society groups (including NIRWA and The Human Rights Council of Australia) and global groups launched a renewed call for Australia to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of  their Families ("the Migrant Workers Convention").

“It is important for our Australian community to recognise that migrant workers are recognised as the most vulnerable category of workers throughout the world. The postcard campaign is a way we can have people talking about and supporting the Migrant Workers Convention,” says Vivi Germanos-Koutsounadis, Chair of NIRWA. [END]

For media enquiries: Vivi Germanos-Koutsounadis 02 9569 1288 and Jackie Leewai, Media Officer at 0408 462 756.  Also visit NIRWA on Facebook, Twitter, Website and our Blog.

The Network of Immigrant and Refugee Women of Australia Inc. (NIRWA) is an independent body that seeks to advocate for immigrant and refugee women at the national level by working to achieve cultural, social, economic, education and gender equality for immigrant and refugee women living in Australia.

Please meet Afifa ....

We'd love to introduce you to Afifa who joined our Team for Canberra Week and is the Young Women's Council Representative from QLD.

Afifa was born in Afghanistan and has a Hazara-Persian background.  She is fluent in English, Dari, Hazaragi and Persian.

Afifa has worked for Refugee Advocacy and Humanitarian affairs in both Australia and Afghanistan. Her main interest in taking part in Canberra Week is to gain first-hand knowledge and training that will allow her to further her passion and efforts in working more effectively as a Refugee Rights Activist.

Mental and physical health, domestic violence and education are the three issues that Afifa has identified as the main areas of concern facing young migrant and refugee women.

The creation of equality and fairness of rights for Migrant Workers are important, and Afifa feels strongly that the UN Convention should be ratified by Australia.


Welcome Afifa,

The NIRWA Team

Introducing Zita

We'd love you to meet Zita!

Zita joined us from South Australia for Canberra Week back in March 2012.

Adut Zita Deng Ngor is a young Australian South Sudanese lawyer.  She graduated with Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons) and a Bachelor of International Studies in 2003.  In that same year she was admitted as a legal practitioner in South Australia.  In 2009 she completed a Masters in Public and International Law at Melbourne University.  Adut Zita Deng Ngor is hoping to undertake doctorial studies in the near future.

Aside from her academic studies Adut Zita Deng Ngor has had an active interest in working with and advocating on behalf of disadvantaged groups within society.  She is a founding member of MYSA (Multicultural Youth SA), which is the peak representative body for young people form culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in South Australia.  In 2001 she received a Centenary Medal for service to the community due to her advocacy on behalf of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.  As a solicitor Adut Zita Deng Ngor continues to advocate on behalf of disadvantaged and marginalised women and children within our society.  She is currently the Director of Women’s Legal Service (SA) Inc. 

It was such a pleasure working with Zita during Canberra Week and we look forward to working with Zita as the Young Women's Council starts their work together in June this year.

The NIRWA Team 

215 Million Reasons Why ... The Rights of Migrant Workers & their Families

In March 2012 the Young Women's Council Representatives from around Australia joined the team for a week in Canberra where they took part in round table discussions surrounding the Australian Ratification of the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

Moving towards a future where all Migrants ... the 215 Million (plus) of us that live all over the world ... a voice  to share their stories, to be heard and to be recognised.

Each State and Territory will be hosting a Postcard Launch .... Details on each event will be available shortly!

The NIRWA Team

Introducing Amony ....

We'd love to introduce you to Amony who joined us for Canberra Week.  Amony is the Young Women's Advisory Council Representative from Tasmania.

Hi my name is Amony and I am 19 years old. 

I came to Australia in February 2008 as a refugee from Africa Uganda. Coming to Australia has given me a lot of opportunities which I appreciate, and I am currently based in Tasmania. 

Being involved in the lobbing training has given me confidence and it has changed my negative thoughts. 

I participated because I like giving everything a go. After doing the lobbying as part of Canberra Week I finally made my choice of what to do when I finish college.

In Hobart I have been involved in different youth group activities, Student Aganist Racism, My Voice and blossom. Student Aganist Racism is on face book if you would like to have a look. 

The NIRWA Team 

Use your Voice to Contribute to the Community

Below is a survey for ACT women with Disabilities, take some time to participate and share your views and go in the draw to win $250 Body Shop hamper.

The survey closes on 27 April.

Dear ACT Women,

If you’re a woman with a disability you are invited to participate in the survey Strong women, great city – a survey for ACT’s women with disabilities.

There are more than 31 000 women with disabilities in the ACT, representing a range of lifestyles, experiences and needs. This survey has been created especially for ACT’s women with disabilities so that we can form a picture of the amazing diversity within our community.

The survey is being conducted by Women with Disabilities ACT (WWDACT) and the Women's Centre for Health Matters(WCHM), ACT-based community organisations that work together to influence local policy and service delivery to meet women's needs better.

It is for ALL women with disabilities, including physical, sensory, intellectual and psycho-social disability.

By taking 15-20 minutes to complete this survey, you will be helping us to better understand and represent the needs of women with disabilities in the ACT.

When you complete the survey you will be able to go into the draw to win a beautiful hamper from The Body Shop, valued at $250. It includes lots of goodies to spoil yourself with or to share with friends!

You can complete the survey by visiting: www.surveymonkey.com/s/strongwomengreatcity. The survey will be open until Friday April 27.

If you have any questions or concerns about the survey you can call Angela Carnovale at the Women's Centre for Health Matters (WCHM) on 6290 2166 or email her on a.carnovale@wchm.org.au. You can also call to request a hard copy of the survey.

Your completed survey will be confidential but will add to the voice of our community

The NIRWA Team

Introducing Alex

We'd love to introduce you to Alex!

Alex joined the Team during Canberra Week and participated in the Round table discussions surrounding the The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers.


Alexandra Tindick has completed her bachelors degree studying policy and communications atthe University of Technology, Sydney. 


She is a member of the Philippine-Australia Women’s Association (PAWA) and completed an internship at Immigrant Women’sSpeakout Association (IWSA) NSW in her final year of study, where she worked on domestic violence policy submissions and connecting the organisation to social media. 


She is of Filipino background, participating in community aid whenever she returns to the Philippines and hopes to continue working with NGOs and aid organisations to affect government policy.




The NIRWA Team 

Reflections on Australian Society - Part 3

Celebrating IWD 2012 & Lobbying at Parliament

Sharing some of the pictures taken with the amazing 8 Young Women who spent the week here in Canberra at the start of March with the team ...

Young Women's Lobby Group celebrating IWD 2012

Lobby Day at Parliament House 2012

The Logistics HQ 

International Women's Day message from Ambassador Bleich

Happy International Women's Day

Celebrating International Women's Day by Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures ....

The NIRWA Team

The focus this week; The Convention & The Roundtable Discussions

Through meeting with the Politicians it is hoped that firstly that the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and their Families (the Convention) is placed on the political agenda, secondly that the Convention is ratified and finally it provides an opportunity to introduce the Australian Immigrant and Refugee Women`s Alliance (AIRWA) to the politicians.

Through holding a roundtable AIRWA hopes to introduce the young women to the political process, provide a platform for young women's migrant issues and enabling the politicians an opportunity to outline their party’s policy. Enabling the politicians a platform to discuss their policies will see if there is a gap between policy and reality, and in turn ratify that gap.

The AIRWA Team

Introducing Elizabeth

We'd love to introduce you to Elizabeth.  Elizabeth is joining us from Western Australia and is taking part in this week's training, lobbying and networking.


Elizabeth is originally from South Sudan. She migrated to Australia in 1998 at the age of ten after living in Egypt for four years.  After completing year 12 Higher School Certificate in Sydney, Elizabeth and her family migrated to Perth where she began and completed B Social Science at Edith Cowan University, with a double major in Community and Welfare and Women’s Studies. 


With a strong passion for human rights, Elizabeth began her studies in Master of Human Rights at Curtin University WA where she is now completing her last year of the course.


Elizabeth is involved in the community as the Chairperson of the Sudanese Australian Youth Association in WA (SAYAWA) Inc. SAYAWA Inc. is an association made of twelve volunteer youth. The aim of the association is to act as a uniting body among the various groups in the community, engage young people through music, art and sporting programs, while also being the voice for the youth in the community. 


Elizabeth has also been involved in a number of forums and conferences advocating for the rights of young people. In 2011, Elizabeth attended the 2011 Refugee Conference in Sydney where she advocated for the issues affecting young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as a participant and presenter at the Youth Forum and the Women’s Dialogue. Elizabeth has also been a part of the African Studies of Australasia and the Pacific where she attended the ‘Africa 2011’ conference, presenting her first independent research paper on the issues concerning peace and development in the newly formed nation of South Sudan.  


Elizabeth has always been involved in volunteering initiatives with organisations such as Amnesty International, particularly on the Stop Violence Against Women campaign, to learn more about human rights and to try and make a difference in the community. She hopes that the knowledge she gains from her studies and experience in working with the community would prepare her for the social justice work she hopes to do in the future in her home country of South Sudan. She believes that education is the channel from which to challenge inequalities and the entrenched cycle of poverty and so dreams of opening up schools, particularly for girls in South Sudan to bring about the change that is so needed in the newly formed nation.  


Welcome Elizabeth!


The NIRWA Team 

Introducing Rachael

Rachael is joining us from Victoria this week as one of the 8 young women taking part in the week of training, lobbying and networking.




Rachael is the Youth and Women’s Officer at the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council, the peak body for multicultural community broadcasting. 


Rachael has been involved in radio broadcasting since 2002 and has produced content for radio programs such as the multicultural women’s program and multicultural youth program on 3ZZZ FM Multicultural Community Radio, Alchemy and World View programs on SBS Radio and the Student Youth Network (SYN). 


Rachael holds an Honours Degree in Political Science and Migration Studies and a Diploma in Modern Languages from the University of Melbourne. She is also a board member of the Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women's Coalition.


Welcome Rachael,


The NIRWA Team

Introducing Nunia

We'd love you to meet Nunia, from the ACT.  Nunia is one of the 8 Young Women joining the AIRWA Team this week.  

My name is Nunia and I am 18 years old. I graduated college last year and I am currently studying at the Canberra institute of technology. I was born in Tonga and I migrated with my family to Australia in 2007.  


I am interested in participating in the lobby training because I have gained insight on the work AIRWA performs through my time as a summer intern. I want to develop my skills and knowledge in the national gender movement as I want to pursue a career in human rights.


Welcome Nunia!


The AIRWA Team

Welcoming the 8 Young Women joining the AIRWA Team this week

This week the AIRWA team will be joined by 8 young women from around Australia to take part in a week long program of training, lobbying and networking and we would like to Welcome them to Canberra and introduce them to you: 

•  ACT: Nunia Tuinukuafe, age 18, Tongan
•  VIC: Rachel Bongiorno, age 29, Italian/ English
•  WA: Elizabeth Lang, age 24, South Sudanese
•  NSW: Alexandra Tindick, age 21, Philippines
•  QLD: Afifa Sarwar, age 29, Afghanistan
• NT: Emcille Cada, age 27, Phillippines
• SA: Adut Zita Deng Ngor, age 32, Southern Sudanese
• TAS: Amony Elder, age 19, Sudanese

The Australian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AIRWA) sought one young women of immigrant and refugee background from each State and Territory to attend a week of lobbying alongside AIRWA board members and staff. 

Following 2 days of training the 8 young women will accompany AIRWA board members and staff to Federal Parliament, where they will get the opportunity to use their skills to directly lobby politicians on the ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, as well as in a round table with politicians to speak about issues of significance to young women of immigrant and refugee background. 

The 8 young women will also stay on in Canberra and celebrate International Women’s Day alongside AIRWA and the other 5 National Women’s Alliances providing an excellent networking opportunity for all delegates.

Welcome to Canberra!

The AIRWA Team 

Indu's In Her Shoe Story

Indu shares her In Her Shoe story with us ....

Indu's Shoes 

Here's one of my stories....

A. Why did you choose this shoe?

I have always had a pair of kolhapuri chappals in my cupboard - they are versatile, simple, and just beautiful.

B. Do you have anything in common with this shoe?

Its heritage is clear (much like me), and it is grounded.

C. Describe a rewarding or challenging moment you have had in Australia in this (or any) shoe.

I was on the ferry with my family last week, when a grandfather who taking his grandkids into the city asked if I was visiting Australia to watch the cricket. Sigh. Twenty five years and still explaining that this is my home.....


Thanks Indu, we appreciate you!

The AIRWA Team

Hannah's In Her Shoes story

Hannah shares her story with In Her Shoes ...  


"I moved to Australia for (among other things) better opportunities and am now following my passion of helping people lead fit & healthy lives.
. 
I'm not much of a shoe person, but these shoes are the best running shoes I've ever had, they go with almost anything, they glow when running at night(!), I workout and work in them and they're a great conversation starter :)"

Hannah's fabulous shoes!

We are loving all of the wonderful and inspiring stories that you are sharing with us at In Her Shoes! 

Thank you, 

The AIRWA Team 

In Her Shoes: What do your shoes say about you?

Three different attitudes towards shoes ...

Three amazing migration experiences ....

Introducing Zoe

We'd love you to meet our wonderful Intern Zoe!

I have almost completed my second week (I am completing a month internship for university) as an intern for the Australian Immigrant and Refugee Women`s Alliance (AIRWA). I have come at an exciting time for AIRWA, with a range of vastly different projects occurring within the organization. These projects range from the Children’s Sanctuary for the Canberra Multicultural Festival, to International Women’s Day to lobbying at Parliament House.  I have been lucky to be involved in all of these areas.

The launch of the social media campaign In Her Shoes has been the main focus of my internship. It is an innovative campaign that appeals to all generations. I encourage everyone to become involved in this great campaign. It has been a highlight to read the stories of women and men on the In Her Shoes Facebook page. It is a great way to gain an insight into others’ lives.

Finally to sum up my internship in a few words so far, challenging, exciting and educational. AIRWA has given me an insight into an NGO, and re-affirmed this is where I wish to head career wise.




Zoe is an amazing part of our team!

The AIRWA Team 

We LOVE Marie Claire!

Marie Claire Cover March 2012

In Her Shoes just got a shout out by Marie Claire Magazine Australia in its March Agenda mention .. 

We love you Marie Claire!


The AIRWA Team 

A little taste of In Her Shoes ....

Welcome

Good Morning!

We are so excited to have started our new blog for AIRWA and we are really looking forward to sharing some great stories with you along with some interesting articles and interviews.

We have so much planned over the next few months and we'd love you to share the journey with us.

Welcome and thank you for being here with us!

The AIRWA Team