September 2018 Newsletter
Marketing & Fundraising Advisory Committee
The inaugural meeting of ISS Australia's Marketing and Fundraising Advisory Committee was held on the 4th of August 2018. The Committee is made up of three ISS Board members (Fiona McIntosh, Bec Cowan and Mary Griffin), two staff (Fionn Skiotis and Damon Martin) and six external members who contribute their experience and expertise to assist with apects of ISS Australia's marketing and fundraising. The meeting proved a great success for the development of ISS Australia into the future, the team looks forward to meeting again before the years end.
At the beginning of August we were lucky enough to have a visit from Martin Lau from ISS Hong Kong, he provided great insight into the work done by ISS Hong Kong. Here is a bit about Martin and his visit!
‘Hi! I’m Martin Lau, the Regional Development Manager of the ISS Asia-Pacific Regional Office. I had my first visit to the Victorian and NSW Offices in early August to gain an insight into the services provided by ISS Australia. I learnt a lot about the unique work that is done, such as intercountry adoption and tracing, international family mediation as well as services dealing with international parental child abduction. All these services are vital to individuals and families in migration, and work within our mission of
"Uniting families across borders". I not only enjoyed meeting the ISS colleagues in Australia, but visiting VICSEG, CatholicCare, and Uniting Counselling & Mediation.
I was impressed by the multi-disciplinary and culturally diversified services in place to support the needs of individuals in regards to adapting in a new living environment, as well as dealing with family disputes and conflict.
During this visit, I was able to understand why there is a need to further develop the network in the Asia-Pacific Region, which is also one of our regional development tasks. ISS will keep strengthening our network in the Asia-Pacific Region, every ISS member in the region is playing an important role to support the well-being of children and families in transition.’
On Tuesday the 7th of August, staff members Helen (social work) and Lizie (intern) from the Victorian office along with Martin Lau (ISS Hong Kong) visited VICSeg in Coburg. VICSeg is a non for profit community organisation that focuses on the support of families, children and young people who are apart of refugee, asylum seeker and newly/recently settled migrant communities. It was a great opportunity to meet with the team at VICSeg to discuss our collective views on global issues that impact us on a domestic level and how to cater for those who are new to the Australian Community. It was especially insightful to have Martin join us as he provided an insight into the inner workings of the
systems in the Asia-pacific region, that have an effect on the welfare of families and children, and how the work of ISS Hong Kong provides safeguards for individuals, children and families.
The programs developed and implemented by VICSeg in their New Futures sector provide excellent support for non English speaking immigrants to assimilate and develop a sense of inclusion in what can be imagined as a daunting new experience when coming to Australia from a foreign country.
The New Futures sector provides a friendly and culturally appropriate way for individuals to integrate into the Australian community, learn English and create relationships. It was great to meet with the team at VicSeg, and we hope to continue our partnership into the future!
2018 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Conference
In mid August this year, ISS staff members from both NSW and Victoria attended the AFCC Conference in Adelaide.
The AFCC Conference brings together Australian Law Professionals including lawyers, judicial officers, psychologists and social workers to share and take part in formal and informal education seminars as well as training, research and professional collaboration sessions.
Social Workers and Lawyers from both our ISS NSW and VIC offices attended this event and found it extremely eye opening and worthwhile. Speaking to other like minded individuals in the industry and partaking in sessions that promoted the work of ISS in the parental abduction field was especially encouraging. The ISS team particularly enjoyed meeting and chatting with Justice Diana Bryant (AO) (QC).
Team members at the AFCC Adelaide Conference with Justice Diana Bryant (AO) (QC)
If you’re interested in the work we do or think that you’d make a great addition to the team, we’re always looking for volunteers. Shoot us an email at iss@iss.org.au to get in touch! We have a team of students working alongside our staff to further promote the services we provide. We’re looking to diversify and advance this team so regardless of your background from fine arts and law to IT, we’d absolutely love to hear from you! Our team is ever growing and we’d love to add another smiling face to the office!
Make a Change ISS Australia defends children and connects families separated across international borders as a consequence of relationship breakdown, migration, trafficking, abduction, asylum seeking and other factors. We also assist vulnerable children where there are protection concerns. ISS Australia provides support through a range of professional Social Work, Legal and Mediation services.
We’re committed to making every dollar count.
Further information on our organisation can be found on our website
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ISS Australia - Victorian Office
Level 2, 424 William St,
West Melbourne, VIC 3003 Phone: (03) 9614 8755
Email: iss@iss.org.au
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