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 - 2:50 pm
"People gather round" - Collective Community Storytelling, facilitated by Nick Takavadii, Art of Hosting Practitioner
Voices of Brisbane: Stories of Connection Through Community Radio Community leaders from Radio 4EB will share the impact of Council's partnership in supporting community broadcasting and fostering social connection across Brisbane's diverse multicultural communities. Featuring producers from the Cantonese, Indonesian, and Māori language groups, this session highlights personal migration journeys, experiences of building a sense of belonging, and the important role community radio plays in ensuring people can hear their languages, cultures, and stories reflected in the city they call home. 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. RISE was formerly known as the Refugee Background Student Success Program (RBSSP). Following feedback from members, they voted to change the program to this new name in May of this year.
- 2:50 pm - 3:05 pm
Afternoon Break
- 3:05 pm - 3:45 pm
Facilitated Group Conversations - Part 2
- 3:45 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 - Therese Miburo
Therese 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.
Community Storyteller - Allison Van Der Lei
Allie van der Lei is a proud Māori woman from Aotearoa New Zealand who has called Brisbane home since 2008. She is a community broadcaster with Radio 4EB’s Māori Language Group, Te Karanga o Te Kōwhai, and is passionate about celebrating culture, language and community connection. Allie is proud to have become an Australian citizen and is deeply grateful for the many opportunities afforded to her—first through her career in the mining industry, which took her to some of the most remote parts of this vast country, and now through her newfound profession in the disability sector. She feels especially proud and fortunate to call two countries home—Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Guided by the values of manaakitanga and whakawhanaungatanga, Allie is honoured to have been invited to participate in Welcoming Australia's Summit.
Community Storyteller - Yesika Ocktarani
Yesika Ocktarani is an Indonesian student who is always keen to learn something new and happy to share her volunteering experience with others. She is now in the final year of her PhD study at the School of Education, Queensland University of Technology. Her research is about community participation in supporting young children with language challenges. Her volunteering experience began when she joined the Scouts at 10 years old. Now she continues the spirit of volunteering with 4EB radio as part of an Indonesian group, helping maintain the sustainability of Indonesian programs on the radio. She also remains in Scouting as a national commissioner for Gerakan Pramuka (the Indonesian Scouts) and a member of the Plan Monitoring Task Force for the Asia Pacific Region Scouts Committee. Through her spiritual beliefs and volunteer experience, she lives by the motto ‘the more you give, the more you get’. She will always respect others’ perspectives and embrace diversity as a source of strength for a better life in this uncertain yet beautiful world.
Community Storyteller - Dzunuwanus Ghulam Manar "Ghulam"
Dzunuwanus Ghulam Manar, better known as Ghulam, is a doctoral student at the School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, with over 20 years of experience specialising in community development, local government innovation, and scouting since he was 8 years old. Born and raised in Indonesia as a Javanese under moderate Islamic teachings, and later working across the country through the UNICEF program to ensure quality basic education for all and as an academic at Universitas Diponegoro. Ghulam currently serves as the convenor of the Indonesian Group at 4EB Radio, as well as the President of the Indonesian Students Association of Griffith University (ISAGU) and the religious leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Indonesian traditionalist Sunni Islamic organisation, in the international special branch of Queensland, where he focuses on bridging cultural gaps and driving inclusive innovation.
Community Storyteller - Shirley Mak
Shirley Mak migrated to Brisbane with her family in 1991 and graduated from Griffith University with a major in Marketing. After spending 20 years working in Hong Kong, she returned to Brisbane in 2018 and began a new chapter in community and aged care services. In 2022, Shirley joined Radio 4EB’s Chinese Group as a volunteer broadcaster, combining her lifelong passion for radio with her extensive MC experience. She became Convenor in 2024 and now coordinates three subgroups delivering 11 hours of Chinese-language programming each week, connecting Brisbane’s Chinese community with people and organisations across Australia and internationally. Shirley is also Vice President of the Griffith University Hong Kong Alumni Association and an Advisor to the Federation of Australian Alumni Associations of Hong Kong. She is passionate about using technology, media and community networks to connect people, exchange information and experiences, and strengthen relationships between local and global communities.
"People Gather Round" Art of Hosting Practitioner - Nick Takavadii
Nick is an Art of Hosting practitioner, community organiser and Change Management Consultant who loves creating spaces where people can connect, participate and work together in more meaningful ways. He works with individuals, teams, community groups and organisations that are ready to move beyond good intentions and explore new ways of doing better work together - bringing curiosity, creativity and shared leadership into the mix. Much of Nick’s work sits at the intersection of community, workplace culture and participation. He enjoys working across generations and cultures, and creating opportunities for young people and diverse communities to find their voice, build connections and contribute to shaping the future together. Nick currently serves as a Board Member and Intercultural Advisor with Percolab Coop
Community Storyteller - Mehmet Doktan
Mehmet was born in Izmir Turkiye, completed mining Engineering in Ankara and then PhD in Newcastle upon Tyne in England. He returned to work in Turkiye for ten years, where he married they became parents to two children, immigrating to Australia in 1992. His worked with some of the world's biggest mining companies and at the University of Queensland as a senior lecturer. He is recently retired from this work and has set up his own consultancy and works as a Volunteer Greeter with the Brisbane City Council.
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