Dear Reader,

Welcome to the latest exciting edition of the ECCV eBulletin!

October at ECCV has been another month of Firsts!

We proudly celebrated the success of the inaugural Intercultural Young Advocacy Leaders (IYAL) Forum “Why We Matter…”, which explored opportunities and challenges faced by young people from a range of multicultural backgrounds.

Our IYALS also presented their debut ‘Young Leaders’ presentation at the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) Conference held in Hobart.

At the FECCA AGM, I am pleased to be elected Deputy Chair and join with two other women, the re-elected Chairperson Mary Patetsos and Women’s Deputy Chairperson Hina Durrani.

Among a range of important activities and events, ECCV had input into the Victorian Multicultural Commission’s Strategic Roundtable discussion, which explored a range of important topics and issues.

We were also pleased to attend the Harmony Alliance Reconciliation Action Plan launch, which is an exciting initiative that has a focus on recognising and honouring our First Nations Peoples.

It was inspiring to present evidence to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Early Childhood Engagement of CALD communities and successfully lobby Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt to expand the Moving Pictures Program to include the Greek, Italian, Spanish and Vietnamese languages and continue our work advocating for the iconic and highly important role of Victoria’s Immigration Museum.

I encourage you to attend the forthcoming ECCV Community Forum on 25 November, after a highly successful, informative and well-attended inaugural event last month.

In my role as ECCV Chair, I was delighted to attend many exciting cultural events including the Anniversary 550th Sikh Guru; the 200th B’Hai; and Greek OHI Independence celebrations on 28 October.

Warm Regards

Cr Kris Pavlidis

ECCV Chairperson