Welcoming Australia, SEQ Summit - Brisbane
Description
Join local leaders from across Brisbane and Southeast Queensland for the first event in the Welcoming Australia Summit series. This full-day event "By Design: Inclusive Cities, Shared Belonging" is focused on designing and delivering inclusion work in times of change.
Featuring keynote speakers and panels exploring inclusion, systems, and lived experiences, this Summit is a must for anyone working to strengthen belonging and cohesion in corporate, government, small business, and community organisations.
Agenda
- 9:30 am - 10:00 am
Networking Morning Tea
- 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Welcome To Country and Overview of Day
- 10:45 am - 11:30 am
The Case for Civic Optimism. Presented by Dr John van Kooy, Scanlon Foundation Research Institute
- 11:40 am - 12:15 pm
Welcoming by Design. Presented by Aleem Ali, CEO Welcoming Australia
- 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm
Lunch
- 12:45 pm - 1:45 pm
What does Active Inclusion feel like in our public sports facilities and civic places? A panel with lived experience, facilitated by Welcoming Clubs Lead, Maia Tua-Davidson
- 1:45 pm - 2:00 pm
Afternoon Tea
- 2:00 pm - 2:40 pm
Community Storytelling: Voices of Brisbane.
In this Brisbane City Council spotlight session, Radio 4EB will share the impact of Council's funding partnership and the important role 4EB plays in fostering connection, belonging, and community engagement across Brisbane's multicultural communities. This will be presented by community members who will share their migration journeys, experiences of belonging, and how hearing their language, culture, and stories represented through community media has helped them feel connected to Brisbane and its diverse communities.
- 2:50 pm - 3:30 pm
Facilitated Group Presentations
Brisbane Greeters who will share their personal stories of becoming Brisbane Greeters, what it means to call Brisbane home, and how leading tours of the city connects with their own identity, culture, and sense of belonging. A representative from Griffith University will share how the student refugee program RISE is setting students up for success, using a model which is both student-led and co-designed.
- 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Reflections and closing remarks
Lineup
Meet your Event Co-Host, Huda Akhlaki
Huda Akhlaki is a multi-passionate youth advocate, published author (Stories of Our Sisters – Poetry Book 2026), artist, and professional actor for screen and stage. Alongside her creative practice, Huda is passionate about youth leadership, community advocacy, representation, and social impact, serving as Vice-President of the Future Leaders Advocacy Group and as a member of QPASTT Youth Voice Group and Multicultural Youth Queensland. She has contributed to initiatives including the 2024 Trauma Awareness Conference, Queensland Family and Child Commission Youth Summit, Girls Run The World Young Diplomats Program, and the 2026 Youth Matters Conference. Huda currently works across youth and student support through the Gold Coast Student Hub and Multicultural Australia, supporting young people and international students from diverse backgrounds. She also serves as a Project Officer for the OCCA Project with the Brisbane Shapers Hub. Through her creative practice, advocacy, and leadership, Huda is passionate about using storytelling and her voice to empower young people, champion representation, and create meaningful social impact.
Meet your Event Co-Host - Shavin Vel
Shavin recently completed the Art of Hosting training designed for young leaders from multicultural backgrounds and he joins us as our co-host, emceeing the Welcoming Australia Summit. He is a PhD researcher at QUT, exploring bullying and workplace experiences in elite sport. A former national-level swimmer, he brings together research, sport and practical experience, with a passion for creating meaningful conversations and empowering people to thrive.
Welcome to Country
The case for Civic Optimism
Author of Insights Paper on Cohesion in troubled times, John van Kooy of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute will present how civic and community resources may help Australia protect its social cohesion. Speaker Bio Dr John van Kooy is a researcher and policy analyst with 20 years of international experience in academia, government, and community organisations. He has held positions with World Vision International, Monash University, Welcoming Australia, and the Australian Institute of Family Studies. His PhD, awarded in 2022, focused on the neighbourhood conditions for refugee resettlement in Australia. He has published numerous reports and articles on the settlement, integration, and inclusion of migrants and refugees. In his current role as Senior Manager, Social Research with the Scanlon Institute, he leads strategic projects drawing on the Institute’s data assets and community connections.
Welcoming by Design
Drawing on Welcoming Australia's national work with local councils, sports clubs, universities and workplaces, Aleem will explore why inclusive communities don't happen by accident and what leaders and organisations can do to build them deliberately. Speaker Bio Aleem Ali has spent more than two decades seeding and mentoring leading initiatives and social enterprises that advance inclusion, belonging and justice for diverse communities. He is Deputy Chair of Oxfam Australia and a mentor and advisor to startups, community enterprises and government agencies. As CEO of Welcoming Australia, Aleem works with leaders and organisations across the country to cultivate a culture of welcome and advance communities where everyone belongs, thrives and shapes our shared future.
What does Active Inclusion feel like in our public sports facilities and civic places?
A panel of people with Lived Experience sharing what Active Inclusion means to them, facilitated by Maia Tua-Davidson, Welcoming Clubs Lead. Facilitator Bio Maia Tua‑Davidson brings deep expertise in building welcoming, inclusive environments across sport and community organisations, alongside hands‑on leadership as a coach, volunteer and small business owner.
Active Inclusion panel member - Thereze Miburo
Thereze Miburo is a passionate mother of five boys, educator, interpreter and dedicated community leader. Having lived in a refugee camp, she brings resilience, compassion and lived experience to her work supporting migrant and refugee communities. She is a High School Mathematics teacher, Kirundi and Swahili interpreter, NAATI examiner and role player. Thereze also promotes water safety through Aqua English Project teaching migrants and refugees swimming and essential water-safety skills. She is active in cultural dance, helping preserve and pass traditions to younger generations. Creative and community-minded, she enjoys photography, knitting, sewing and well-known for stand-up comedy. Above all, Therese advocates for families, harmony, strong relationships and community connection.
Active Inclusion panel member - Hamida Sadaqat
Hamida Sadaqat was born as a refugee in Iran and moved to Afghanistan as a teenager, where she completed her education and graduated as a dentist from Kabul Medical University. Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Hamida and her family were forced to leave Afghanistan and resettle in Logan, Queensland. Arriving in Australia with limited English and little understanding of Australia’s aquatic culture, Hamida began studying English at TAFE and was introduced to swimming through the Aqua English program. What began as an opportunity to learn how to swim safely became a new passion and purpose. She went on to become a bicultural aquatic assistant, swimming teacher and lifeguard, supporting people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to feel safer and more confident around water. Drawing on her own experience of starting again in a new country, Hamida is passionate about helping newly arrived communities overcome barriers, build confidence and feel a greater sense of belonging in Australia.
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