A new initiative is promising to give refugees a leg up into to the world of small business. The scheme, called Thrive, will give refugees microloans to start their own businesses. The Westpac Bank is providing an interest-free loan facility…

Iraqi refugee Mustafa Alsaffar’s 26 years on earth have coincided with the most turbulent and tragic period in his nation’s history. Born in 1990 at the height of the first Gulf War, he grew up amid a backdrop of conflict…

A Buddhist temple in western Sydney is taking the teachings of compassion, acceptance and inner peace out into the real world by helping the unemployed find work and thus independence and improved self-esteem. The Vien Giac Temple in Cabramatta has…

Italian migration to Melbourne is being celebrated in a striking new mural on a wall in the inner city. World renowned street artist Alice Pasquini is currently in Melbourne painting Per L’Australia on a 10x7m wall on Faraday Street in Carlton.…

A new book explores the use of publicity photos and posters to attract migrants and refugees to Australia in the aftermath of WWII. Titled Picturing and Re-picturing Bonegilla, the book by Albury-based historian Dr Bruce Pennay analyses the themes behind…

It’s called ‘digital humanitarianism’ and it’s a new phenomenon in which technology is emerging as a key tool being used to help by migrants and refugees worldwide. Software developers and computer engineers are increasingly developing digital solutions to some of…

An unprecedented population boom in Africa is fuelling the global migration crisis with fertility rates in some parts of the continent soaring as high as almost eight children born to each woman. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel toured three African…

Amer Gerges’ final decision to leave behind his home and his life behind came when artillery shells slammed into buildings near his home during fighting between ISIS and the Syrian army and leaving much of his neighbourhood in ruins. Mr…

An innovative new financing instrument to address refugee crises in middle income countries worldwide was announced by US President Barack Obama at his Leaders’ Summit on Refugees in New York last week. In all, 86 per cent of the refugees…

As more businesses extend their corporate social responsibility agendas, opportunities for employees to volunteer are becoming more frequent and diversified. There is a myriad of ways organisations can now support newly arrived migrants and refugees to settle into the community…

There is mounting evidence that more diverse organisations achieve better performance. In 2015, members of the business and academic community joined Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommasane in developing Leading for Change: A blueprint for cultural diversity and inclusive…

As a single mum with two children, Syrian refugee Collette Hannah made the bravest decision of her life leaving behind her job, her home and everything she had known when she fled her homeland to find safety for herself and…