Ethnic Communities Council of Western Australia (Inc.

ECCWA QUARTERLY BRIEF No.1-2014

It is now almost three months that the current Management Committee was elected and perhaps it is time to report as to what has been happening at ECCWA. Finances WA is the only State in Australia where the Ethnic Communities Council is not funded by the State. You all may have recalled from the Pre- Election Forum in 2013 that the Acting Premier Kim Hames assured us of his support. Unfortunately nothing has been done so far. At the last Annual general meeting the member organisations have unanimously shown their support towards ECCWA and have asked us to go in a fundraising mode if the State government is not responsive. I urge you to wait till March for further course of action. A. Strategic Plan Following on the finances we are working on the strategic plan. This is not something new for the members as Kim Luby, the outgoing President has already done a great deal of work in consultation with members and other stake holders including Office of Multicultural Interests. At this moment our priority is to see how practical is the implementation of the strategic plan and the priorities that our members identify as relevant to them. A three step process has been developed. a. We have launched a survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BCSW9Z5. It will take perhaps five minutes to complete and all members are requested to complete and in case of organisations we will request you to circulate the link to the members so ECCWA represents the key interests of the members within available resources. b. A sub-committee is formed chaired by Nick Agocs (Senior member), Aziz Khan (Chair, Youth sub-committee) and James Jegasothy (Secretary) who are happy to come to your organisation and speak to members. c. A consultation is also planned at ECCWA where you can come and provide your feedback on 24th January 2014 following morning tea at 11.00 am. d. You can also set another time to meet us on one on one basis if required.

B. Community Communication a. Email subscription: Every Friday you receive in your inbox e-news of whats happening and updates from the organisations, thanks to Rahim Ghauri the Senior Vice President who compiles all the information received throughout the week. As of today this will be sent fortnightly however as information is received we will post it on the other social media tools so you do not miss out. b. Our Twitter account @eccwa is also active and is the quickest way to get tweets on your mobile devices. As of today the news from community communication will also be available through twitter. So connect at @eccwa. c. Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ECCWA has now 100 members and allows you to be in touch with each other and to give comments and
20 View Street, North Perth 6006 Ph: 92275322 Fax: 92275460 eccwa.info@gmail.com www.eccwa.org.au

suggestions. d. We also have presence on Google+ and web www.eccwa.org.au

C. Office Hours As we do not have any paid staff at the moment, the office is manned by our volunteers and members of Management Committee and it is perhaps right time to thank Russell Raymond, Rahim Ghauri and Kathy Ursich. Still at times you may find the office unattended which is inevitable under the circumstances. If you want to meet me or any of the office bearers please drop us a line or contact us through phone. I am available every Friday from 1-2 pm however will appreciate if you can inform me beforehand. D. Events a. 24th January Australia Day at workplace. ECCWA will be hosting a morning tea at 10 am. This will be followed by Women sub-committee meeting chaired by Ms. Andrea Creado, (Chair, Women sub-committee) and a consultation on our strategic plan. RSVP your attendance at eccwa.info@gmail.com b. International Womens Day 2014: The theme for this years IWD is Inspiring change. A dinner is planned for 8th March 2014 at North Perth Town Hall to acknowledge the contribution of migrant and refugee women in WA. Tickets on sale soon. E. Grants a. Youth Week 2014: waiting for the outcome. b. Harmony Champions Grant: in progress c. Community Crime Prevention: Coordinated by Ms. Kim Luby, the development of DVD and web-resource in progress. The launch date soon to be announced. F. New Initiatives a. From February onwards ECCWA will produce an online research brief which will be a quarterly publication to disseminate research findings on relevant issues. Finally on behalf of the Management committee, I wish you all a very happy new year and a commitment that we will continue to work together with our member organisations and other relevant associations and departments.

Dr. Zarrin S Siddiqui President 170114