Blue Mountains News

Louise Redmond, President of RAR said “This is a wonderful opportunity for people in the Blue Mountains to connect with refugees and with refugee advocates from across Australia. I am so pleased that Angela Fredericks (#Home to Bilo campaign) will join us to share her advocacy knowledge and to celebrate the return of Priya Nadaraja, Nades Murugappan and their daughters Kopika, 7,and Tharnicaa, 4, to Biloela”

RAR members are made up of refugee groups from rural Australia and as refugee advocates we focus on the policies, frameworks and actions that will provide social justice for all refugees. The conference, which has been postponed twice during COVID, now provides the opportunity to the Blue Mountains community to meet leading advocates such as the Keynote speaker,Arif Hussein, Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) and human rights lawyer. Participants can select small group workshops that inspire and enable action. The Community R efugee Sponsorship Australia workshop is a very popular one and it will provide advice to enable community members to expand the refugee intake through an affordable community sponsorship program.

Rosemary Bishop, who has been working with the team of volunteers to make the conference a community success, said “I really like the way that the themes in the program bring together participants to learn from people with lived experience, consider the policy changes that we need and build RAR members connections so that they can increase their ability to act.”

The conference starts on Friday evening and Aunty Carol Cooper will welcome guests to Country (Gundungurra & Darug nations) followed by an inspiring panel discussing “How do we get traction in growing humanity and compassion in this country? What have we learnt from our experiences? “. Members of the panel include: Craig Foster ( #gameover), Angela Fredericks (#Home to Bilo campaign), Julie Macken (Justice & Peace Office) and Muzafar Ali (Cisarua Learning)

Mary Waterford, a key member of the organising committee, said “I’m looking forward to Blue Mountains people meeting the many RAR members from across Australia and I’m so pleased that we are being joined by young people from Coffs Harbour STARTTS who have developed a campaign to combat racism. They are also going to lead the entertainment on Saturday night with some Slam poetry so I hope they are joined by young people from across the Blue Mountains!”

More information and registration is available at the conference web site here