AMES clients in the Whittlesea area will get bicycles under a ground breaking new initiative. In partnership with the Salvation Army’s Plenty Valley Community Support Services and the City of Whittlesea, AMES has helped create a ‘Men’s Bike Shed’. The…

NOBEL Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says justice must be tempered by mercy when dealing with Australia’s asylum seeker policy to separate children from their parents. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/aung-san-suu-kyi-calls-on-australia-to-be-merciful-to-refugees/story-e6frg6so-1226770015331

AMES will feature prominently at the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) 2013 conference, to be held on the 7th and 8th of November in Queensland. AMES CEO Cath Scarth is presenting a keynote address entitled ‘Barriers to employment’ examining…

A series of ‘Mother and Baby Group’ sessions at Flagstaff aimed at helping newly arrived asylum seeker client families with babies under a year old are planned to begin on November 22. The sessions will cover breastfeeding, women’s and children’s…

AMES community guide Barat Ali Batoor has won the inaugural ‘Photo of the Year’ in the prestigious Nikon-Walkley Press Photography awards. Batoor’s photo ‘The First Day at Sea’ was entered as part of a photo essay on asylum seekers traveling the…

Melbourne’s Immigration Museum is host to a stunning new exhibition which showcases fashion created by or for Australian Muslim women. Titled ‘Faith, Fashion, Fusion, Muslim women’s style in Australia’, the exhibition explores an emerging fashion market and the work of a…

AMES has congratulated new federal Coalition cabinet members on their appointments and is looking forward to working with the Abbott government. AMES Chief Executive Cath Scarth said the appointment of the new cabinet would lead to a clear direction for the…

Asylum seeker families are struggling to make ends meet because of the high cost of private rental housing in Melbourne’s suburbs. An asylum seeker family on a bridging visa receives a maximum of just $770 a fortnight in benefits payments.…

Refugees and asylum seekers are not ‘swamping’ Australia, according to the latest State of Australian Cities report. The report, released by the federal government this week showed refugees and asylum seekers are a tiny fraction of the 30 million international border…

The skills of professionally qualified migrants to Australia are going unused because they need help in overcoming significant barriers to getting a job, according to new research. An evaluation study of the ‘Working the Australian Way’ program – which aims…

Time is running out for talented refugee artists to enter in the Heartlands Refugee Art Prize and be in the running to share in a prize pool of over $20,000. Paintings, drawings, photography and mixed media works from refugees who have arrived in Australia since 1970 are due for this year’s Heartlands Refugee Art Prize by Friday 10 May. This year, refugee artists are encouraged to share what they would like to see in the world and submit entries that reflect the theme ‘I wish to see…’ Now in its fourth year, AMES and Multicultural Arts Victoria present Heartlands Refugee Art Prize in partnership with Parks Victoria, VicHealth and the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Adam Baxter from AMES said distinguished members of the Australian arts sector will form the panel of judges. The judges include Carol Cain, curator of Asian Art at the National Gallery of Victoria, Daine Singer, curator and director of Daine Singer Gallery in Melbourne, Geoff Hogg, a painter, senior lecturer at RMIT and public art pioneer, Jill Morgan AM, Chief Executive Officer at Multicultural Arts Victoria, Damian Smith, curator and arts writer and director for Words For Art, and Monica Kelly, Acting Executive Manager of Participation and Equity at VicHealth. “We’re excited to have such a vibrant and well respected panel of judges to help recognise the talents and creativity that refugees bring to Australia, and the social and cultural contributions they provide to our community,” Mr Baxter said. The 2013 winners will be announced at the Heartlands Refugee Art Prize exhibition launch on Thursday 20 June.  Shortlisted and winning works will be showcased at fortyfivedownstairs in Flinders Lane from 18‐30 June 2013 during Refugee Week, at the Walker Street Gallery in Dandenong from 4‐27 July as part of the Emerge Festival and Werribee Park from 1‐14 September. The total prize pool of over $20,000 is to be shared by three primary prize‐winners, a newly arrived prize and an artist in residence prize. First prize is $12,000. Following her success in last year’s Heartlands Refugee Art Prize, winner Minela Krupic now has a new printing machine and has experienced a two‐week artist in residence program at Wilsons Promontory  National Park.  Minela said that the residency time was inspirational. She was able to embrace the picturesque bush surroundings to help her to start the creative process of drawing for her next series of etchings. Entries close Friday 10 May 2013.  For more information call 03 9188 3681, visit www.multiculturalarts.com.au/heartlands or email fiesta@multiculturalarts.com.au. For images, interviews and more information contact: SHANNON STACEY 0408 147 914 shannon@thelaunchbox.com.au Facebook: facebook.com/heartlandsprize Twitter: @heartlandsprize