Seminar highlights importance of listening to CALD children and young people

Close to 200 people attended a seminar yesterday on the findings from my consultation with children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

I was pleased to see such a strong level of interest in hearing the voices of the 296 children who participated in this important consultation, with attendees from both the government and not-for-profit sectors.

The audience heard from Golda, one of the outstanding peer leaders who worked on the project, who shared the findings and themes of the consultation.

Another outstanding young person, Bella Ndayikeze, spoke about work she does at Edmund Rice in Mirrabooka with CALD children and the connections formed through sports such as AFL.

Dr Sarah Cherian from Princess Margaret Hospital’s Refugee Health Service discussed how her service supports newly-arrived families and the issues facing many young children when they first arrive in Australia.

The seminar was also an opportunity for me to announce the appointment of a new Ambassador for Children and Young People, Dr Casta Tungaraza.

Dr Tungaraza has undertaken a wealth of work in the WA community supporting families, women and children and young people from African and other culturally diverse backgrounds. She is a strong advocate for our children and young people and I am very pleased she has agreed to work with this office as part of the Ambassador group.

Presentations from the seminar will be available on my website soon.

Colin Pettit
Commissioner for Children and Young People