The Centre for Stories in Northbridge Western Australia is holding a special event on Human Rights Day, Saturday 10 December, involving Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes, Mary Ann Kenny, Baden Offord, John Ryan and Yasue Arimitsu. You may not know their names, but all these people make a difference in our world. They will be sharing the stories and books that have influenced and impacted upon their human rights work.  Come along and listen. If you aren’t in WA – look for an event near you so you can take participate in International Human Rights Day.

Human Rights Day commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the Assembly passed a resolution inviting all States and interested organisations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.

The United Nations asks that on Human Rights Day we reaffirm our common humanity. In our current global environment I hope we can all take time to reflect on these issues more. Whoever we are and wherever we are, we can make a difference…. in the street, in school, at work, in public transport or at the voting booth. It’s up to all of us to understand the issues and the true stories so that we can defend the rights of a refugee or migrant, a person with disabilities, an LGBT person, a woman, a child, indigenous peoples, a minority group, or anyone else at risk of discrimination or violence.

Personally, I can’t think of a better way to mark Human Rights Day than to attend this Centre for Stories event. The speakers are all significant voices in the human rights movement and I’m sure this event will sell out very fast. If you are interested I urge you to reserve your place soon. I’ll look forward to seeing you there or hearing about your activities elsewhere in Australia and around the world.

It was a real pleasure to attend the first 2016 Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN) Forum in WA recently.

The Network is the peak body on multicultural youth issues, representing the needs and interests of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. It has offices in every State and Territory and the WA organisation is very active www.myan.org.au/wa/

It holds networking forums regularly for all agencies and groups who are concerned with multi-cultural youth issues. The theme for the first forum was refugees and asylum seekers. During my visit, I met representatives from so many groups and agencies doing outstanding work with our young people: the Red Cross, the Police Department, Princess Margaret Hospital, local Councils, agencies like Communicare as well as organisations like Beyond Blue.

I was invited to speak about my book. I also focused on the need to not just advocate, but to also share positive stories and to correct mis-information so we can engage in better conversations.

My talk was followed by moving and thoughtful presentations from a number of young people who attended a special youth summit about refugees and asylum seekers. Apart from sharing their own personal life stories as refugees, they also presented some suggestions for changing the dialogue about refugees. One of the many things this group has done is start a wonderful Facebook page called Young Refugees of Western Australia which regularly posts positive news stories about young people. Check it out!

I was also delighted to meet Jamila Jafri at the event and to hear her story of fleeing Afghanistan with her mother and her younger brother when she was five years old. She is now 20 and studying at university in Australia. You can read her story on http://behindthewire.org.au/