Speakers

Amir Taghinia is a human rights activist, writer and is currently studying law at college. Amir is a former detainee of Manus Island. Amir fled Iran on his own when he was 15…

Born in a refugee camp in Kenya, Apajok arrived in Australia with her family as a curious 2-year-old toddler. At 23 years of age now she is already living a…

Arash is a 24 year-old formal refugee from Iran living in Australia. He travelled to Malaysia at the age of 17 and registered with UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur. He spent…

Aung Soe Naing, Habiburahman, well known as Habib, is the founder and spokesperson for Australian Burmese Rohingya Organization (ABRO) based in Melbourne, and Secretary for Arakan Rohingya National Assembly an international Rohingya…

Bwe Thay is a Burmese refugee who arrived in Australia in 2009. He is known both within Australia and internationally as a passionate advocate for the empowerment of fellow refugee…

Carolina is a lawyer and economist who has worked on human rights issues for more than 20 years in different countries and contexts. Carolina's areas of specialization are gender, asylum…

David Manne is a human rights lawyer and Executive Director of Refugee Legal (previously the Refugee & Immigration Legal Centre (RILC)). He has worked in various capacities assisting refugees and…

Davina Wadley is the Coordinator of the Statelessness Network Asia Pacific (SNAP), a civil society coalition that aims to promote collaboration and information sharing on addressing statelessness in Asia and…

Deena is a refugee advocate who utilises her personal experience of surviving and thriving as a refugee in her work as an educator, practitioner and inspiration. Having being directly involved…

Deepa is the founding director of Asylum Access Malaysia (AAM), a non-profit dedicated specifically to advancing the human rights of refugees. In her role, she oversees all operations and programs…

Doug is the founder and director at Our Race, a social enterprise which delivers cultural diversity and anti-racism conversations to corporates, universities, sporting clubs and schools.  He has a passion…

Dung is of  Vietnamese heritage having arrived in Australia 35 years ago as a refugee. She is the Assistant Director of the Multicultural Training Team in the Multicultural Services Branch…

Dr Elisha Riggs is a Senior Research Fellow and co-leader of the Refugee and Migrant Research Program in the Healthy Mothers Healthy Families research group at the Murdoch Children Research…

From 2005 to April 2013 Ms Feller held the post of Assistant High Commissioner (Protection), one of the four top management positions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.…

Esther Nima Sung is from Myanmar and of Zotung Chin ethnicity.  Esther spent five years in Malaysia (from 2008 t0 2013) and was then resettled in Melbourne, Australia in 2013.…

Fadak is a community lawyer and a refugee. Her community legal work upholds human rights and ensures access to legal services for those marginalised. Before her current work in community development, Fadak worked…

Professor Bates is Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Engagement at Swinburne University whose unit focuses on enhancing the student experience.  He has over 30 years’ experience as an academic and a…

Greg Hanson is a Law Institute of Victoria Accredited Specialist in immigration law with over 14 years of professional experience practising in refugee/protection and immigration law. Prior to joining Refugee…

Jana has worked for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) for 7 years, where she is currently the Director of Advocacy and Campaigns. Jana’s varied career path has included communication…

John is a Karen national from Burma. In the 60’s John came to Australia to study education at Sydney University under the Colombo Plan. When Burma came under military dictatorship…

Jo is Manager, Policy and Research at the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture. He previously worked in a number of social policy and human rights positions in Australia and…

Khalid Hussain is a human rights lawyer and the Founder and Chief Executive of the Council of Minorities, a minority rights based organization in Bangladesh.  Khalid belongs to the Bihari Urdu-speaking…

Linda Cusworth is from the Geelong region in Victoria and has a background in community services and community development work.  She was one of the founders of The Welcome Place,…

Louise Olliff has worked for the Refugee Council of Australia since 2009, where her current role is Senior Advisor – International and Community Engagement. Louise is due to complete here…

Mahammed Junite, is currently completing a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, majoring in Structural Engineering. Mahammed lived in Malaysia for 6 years as a refugee and completed his high school education there. Mahammed has been…

Marama Kufi fled the Oromia region, Ethiopia, in the 1980s as a refugee. After more than 10 years of refugee life, Marama migrated to Australia in 1999. Since arriving in…

Mariam Issa arrived in Melbourne from her Somali homeland in 1998 with her husband, four children and a fifth on the way, and little knowledge of Australian life. Today she…

Matthew Kirwan has been a local Councillor at the City of Greater Dandenong since 2012.  He was one of the driving forces behind the development of the Greater Dandenong Asylum…

Iranian political blogger and social media activist. I left Iran in 2012 after the Iran cyber police called FATA become aware of my activism and blogging against the Islamic regime. They…

Mezhgan Alizadah is employed as a bi-cultural worker at Primary Care Connect in Shepparton. Her primary role is to engage with female clients from an Afghan background (not exclusively). This…

Michelle Foster is a Professor, Director of the International Refugee Law Research Program in the Institute for International Law and the Humanities and the inaugural Director of the Peter McMullin Centre…

Miriam Pellicano is the Executive Manager at the House of Welcome (HOW). She has over 15 years’ experience working in the community, humanitarian and education sectors and has worked in…

Muhammad Majid is an Afghan refugee living in Australia. He belongs to the Hazara ethnic minority of Afghanistan. While living as a refugee in his previous country of asylum –…

Muzafar Ali is a former refugee from Afghanistan. He is currently living with his family in Adelaide, Australia, where he is a student at the University of South Australia and…

Since arriving in Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan Najeeba Wazefadost has graduated from a Bachelor of Medical Science at the University of Western Sydney and is now studying a second degree…

Olivia is an Associate in Russell Kennedy’s Pro Bono Practice and Public Law Litigation and Aged Care (PLLAC) Practice.  Olivia has experience representing Victorian Government departments in both personal injury…

Om Dhungel, formerly a refugee from Bhutan is now a consultant and a practitioner of Strength-Based Approach to refugee settlement and community development. He also operates as a Strategic Connector assisting corporations to develop meaningful…

Osama Salem is a refugee protection and a humanitarian worker. Osama started his career in refugee protection team with UNHCR. He has long years of experience in the field as…

Our Race is a cultural diversity training and consultancy social enterprise founded in November 2017 to create more cohesive and welcoming communities by sharing stories and engaging people in conversations…

Parsu Sharma-Luital JP is a former refugee, arrived to Australia in 2002 from Bhutan. After obtaining Master degree in Horticulture from the University of Melbourne in 2004, Parsu have worked…

Patrick Gifford is an aspiring political scientist and social researcher, currently working on his Honours in Political Science at the University of New South Wales. Having a deep interest in…

Paul Power has been Chief Executive Officer of the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA), the national umbrella body for 200 agencies working with refugees and asylum seekers, since 2006. Paul…

Phil Glendenning is the Director of the Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education and was recently appointed President of the Refugee Council of Australia. He was one of…

Sally is a teacher and project officer at St Joseph’s Flexible Learning Centre in North Melbourne. She is an experienced teacher, who has worked with a large number of young…

Sarvenaz Almasi known by Naz is a 24 years old Iranian-Kurdish asylum seeker, who fled her home 5 years ago for the fear of her life from the government and…

Shabnam grew up as an Afghan refugee in Pakistan before she called Australia home at the age of 15. Since then she has persistently worked to positively shift the way…

For the last 12 years Stephanie has been working in a variety of policy and project management roles related to refugee and humanitarian entrant communities. This work has encompassed local…

Stephanie Hemelryk Donald FASSA FRSA is outgoing Future Fellow at UNSW and incoming distinguished professor of film (University of Lincoln) where she will head a new school in international and…

As a person of a refugee background, Susan is especially passionate about creating change on the issues that affect the daily lives of people seeking asylum. Her personal experience has informed her…

Tanya Jackson-Vaughan is the Executive Director of RACS. Since 2001, Tanya has been working to improve the lives of asylum seekers and migrants. Prior to joining RACS, Tanya was an…

Tim O'Connor is the Communications Director at the Refugee Council of Australia. Tim O’Connor has worked in the arenas of human rights, international aid and development for over 15 years.…

Tina Dixson has worked in the area of LGBTIQ, refugee and women’s rights both in Australia and overseas. Tina has a solid experience working at the level of United Nations…

Yarrie Bangura is a writer, performer, musician, visual artist, textile designer and public speaker. In 2015-16, she was a performer and writer in The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe which toured Australia…

Yiombi Thona is the current Chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and a Professor at Gwangju University where he is teaching Human Rights, Forced Migration, Diaspora, NGO, African Studies…