Unity Summit 2026

Imam Alaa Elzokm OAM is a respected community leader and recipient of the Premier's Award for Community Harmony in 2020 as part of the Victorian Multicultural Awards for Excellence and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2023.

Robert Martin is an Australian journalist, activist and Palestinian advocate who documents his journey in occupied Gaza, surviving detention while aboard the Handala with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and in an Israeli maximum-security prison.

Jamal Howell is an active member of a vibrant multicultural community, serving as a community worker, teacher, and youth leader for an emerging Muslim youth group. Recognised for his leadership and dedication, Jamal was selected as Youth MP for 2022. He is currently studying Law.

Hineātea Alexander served as the Youth MP for 2025, viewing the role as a platform to create real impact and ensure that youth voices are not only heard but genuinely respected.

Melissa Hanses is a Senior Lecturer Above the Bar at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC). She has over 25 years' of both clinical and teaching experience as a nurse practitioner

Sarah Whitcombe-Dobbs is a senior lecturer and psychologist at UC and the Programme Director for the child and family psychology postgraduate training programme. Her enduring interests are child maltreatment and the intergenerational transmission of trauma.

Daniel Youssif-Hay is a registered social worker who recently completed a PhD in Social Work at UC researching the experiences of social workers who practiced through both the Canterbury earthquakes and March 15 attacks.