On the Frontline of Welcome - 10th December 2024

With 1 in 4 Australians born overseas, and over 300 languages spoken at home, cultural and linguistic diversity is mainstream in Australia. Each year Australia welcomes hundreds of thousands of overseas born migrants who arrive to start a new life here. Many government and non-government services, whether they realise it or not, are on the frontline of welcoming newcomers and play an important role in helping them to navigate services and build connections in their new communities. 

Optimising the benefits of migration and cultural diversity requires organisations and individuals to adapt and implement new ways of working with people that are inclusive and meet the changing needs of customers and communities. 

This course is for community and government workers who find themselves on the 'frontline of welcome'. Through building understanding of migration, cultural and linguistic diversity and settlement experiences this course equips frontline welcomers with knowledge of the barriers that newcomers may face, the assets they bring and the practical steps organisations can take to improve their engagement, increase access to their services and enhance newcomer inclusion.

Who should attend?

Community focussed professionals in the government and non-government sectors who want to learn more about the diverse communities they serve. This course is especially relevant for frontline services that may come into contact with newcomers soon after arrival (e.g. libraries, schools, employment services, health services, youth centres and other community based services).

What will you learn about? 

This training course explores the following topic areas:

•  The diversity of migration experiences and factors that contribute to positive settlement outcomes for migrants and refugees
• Using data to identify migration trends, demographic change and understand community diversity profiles 
• The impact of migration and cultural diversity at a community level and the role of frontline welcomers in helping newcomers navigate communities
• Overcoming barriers to communicate effectively, build trust, nurture relationships across cultures and enhance access to services 
• The impact of trauma at an individual and community level and the importance of working with a trauma informed lens
• Practical strategies that build a culture of welcome, enhance newcomer inclusion, equity, and empowerment

About the facilitators

Sarah Janali 

Facilitation of On the Frontline of Welcome is led by Janali & Co.  Founder and Principal Consultant Sarah Janali. 

Sarah has played a pivotal role in developing, delivering, and managing newcomer inclusion strategies, programs, and projects across various portfolio areas. Her work spans the NFP sector, where she worked with newly arrived refugees and multicultural communities, and 15 years leading newcomer inclusion programming and planning in two of WA's most culturally diverse local government areas. 

As a Churchill Fellow, Sarah brings international insights from her research on strategies that promote the participation and inclusion of newcomers. Sarah combines theory and practice to create fun, engaging learning experiences, practical tools, and frameworks. She has a reputation for fostering environments that enable practitioners to learn from each other.

Sarah has loves to work at the intersections of place, community and culture.  Over her fifteen years working in the local government sector, Sarah was involved in the design and delivery of many impactful place-based social impact initiatives including the Kaleidoscope Initiative, Hillview Intercultural Community Centre and the Canning Cultural Ambassadors program. Having worked in grass roots community development roles to senior management positions Sarah has a deep understanding of the local government context. Additionally, living and working in intercultural settings, gives Sarah significant expertise in working successfully with different cultures and helping organisations leverage cultural diversity for better outcomes.


Reza Sadiqi

On the Frontline of Welcome is co-facilitated with trainers who have lived experience of migration and settlement. This course will feature Reza Sadiqi.

Across his 15 years as an interpreter, Reza has been there with his clients in almost every situation you could imagine. From translating life-changing medical news to interpreting wedding vows, from working in the courts on extensive, intense cases to interpreting at major gatherings for crowds of people, there is very little of the essential exchange that happens when people talk that Reza hasn’t witnessed and facilitated.

Reza completed schooling and commenced his university studies in Perth. Discovering part-way through his Engineering course that he could make a difference as an interpreter, Reza changed career paths and has been working with migrants, new arrivals, and others from the Perth Afghan community ever since. Reza is a certified interpreter with NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters) and is fluent in English, Hazaragi, Dari, and Farsi.

Since accreditation, Reza has worked across a diverse and interesting range of situations and contexts. He has worked with refugees navigating the visa application system and spent a few years working in Detention Centres in Christmas Island, Darwin, Curtin, Nauru, and Manus Island in PNG to name a few as an interpreter. Reza has also worked for the Australian Federal Police and the Office of Public Prosecutions, interpreting for up to 50 witnesses in some cases. He’s also worked with doctors, surgeons, psychologists, and police officers, just to name a few of the professions he has supported.

Reza finds his role as an interpreter incredibly rewarding. Providing accurate, correct translation services for individuals needing to communicate is essential and Reza is well-known within the Perth Afghan community.

Methods of payment

We accept payment via credit card through this site.  If a purchase order is required please or your organisation prefers to pay via EFT please select this ticket type when booking and you will receive an invoice from us prior to the training.