In this edition of our monthly newsletter:

New funding for 2023! 

Community Survey - Have your say

CAMS Updates - Welcome Thili! 

Members of the Month - Australian American Gold Coast Division (AAAGCD)

 Youth Advisory Group - Plans for 2023 

Constitutional Recognition for First Nations peoples - What will it change? 

...and much more! 

We'd love to start off the year with some feedback from community around the issues that matter most to you and how we can continue to support you through our programs and services. If you have a few minutes to spare, we'd appreciate your input through a short survey. If you'd rather give your feedback via email, phone or in-person, please contact membership@mccgc.com.au. 

We are happy to announce we have received funding for some amazing new programs & events! 

Care Finders 

Care Finders is a new initiative funded by the PHN to provide localised, face-to-face, specialist assistance to seniors who need intensive support to understand and access aged care and other relevant services in the community. The program is committed to delivering a person-centred approach that respects individual needs, preferences, values, life experiences and choice. MCCGC will have a Team Leader and two Navigators delivering the program to the Gold Coast community to support seniors through the My Aged Care process and help them connect with other services. 

We are currently recruiting a team for this program! 

• Team Leader - Care Finder Program - Full Time >> Apply Now 
• Navigators - Care Finder Program - Full Time >> Apply Now

Skilling Queenslanders

for Work

We're bringing back our Train 2 Care program to offer free Certificate III - Individual Support training. If you know anyone who is keen to get into the aged care industry but needs qualifications, we will be offering two intakes this year, the first one starting Mid March. For more information email WorkTowards@mccgc.com.au. 

We currently looking for a Program Coordinator to facilitate  the program! 

Program Coordinator - Skilling Queenslanders for Work - Full Time >> Apply Now

CAMS Updates 

Our wonderful CAMS Officer, Candice, has begun her maternity leave and we are wishing her all the best on this next adventure! Candice has been an incredible advocate and resource for our Southern Gold Coast communities and started several new initiatives including our Youth Advisory Group, Student Cultural Identity Training, and English Language & Culture Classes.

While Candice is away, the amazing Thili will be stepping in as our Community Development Officer. 

Please join us in congratulating Candice and welcoming Thili!

We sat down with Thili and asked her a few questions about herself! 

"I'm very passionate about sustainability and climate action and has recently submitted her Doctoral thesis on climate change and children’s perspectives on the future through drama – a study that looked into 14–17-year-old Australian and Sri Lankan young people’s worldviews on climate change. I've called the Gold Coast home for the last four years and have been ‘here, there, and everywhere’ when it comes to community work.

I believe that volunteering and being a part of the community makes life worthwhile. I am a past employee of Study Gold Coast, where I worked as the Student Experience Manager, I was able to provide support to international students on the Gold Coast with many issues they face.

During my study at Southern Cross University, I was involved in several research projects related to climate change, worldviews, and cultural identities. I believe that multiculturalism is key to the development and progress of any community. With this in mind, I look forward to my role at MCCGC and being a part of a team that creates safer and inclusive communities for all.

I love chasing sunsets (literally), clicking photographs of streets covered with trees, enjoying different cuisines, meeting new people, and making friends every day". 

We are very lucky to have you on board Thili!

You can connect with Thili through the email CAMS@mccgc.com.au. 

Our English Language and Australian Culture classes are back on next Tuesday, 10th Jan, at the 11th Ave Community Centre in Palm Beach!

These free classes are open to all levels; everyone is welcome. Book your spot via email at cams@mccgc.com.au or call 0409 322 645.

Hope to see you there!

Happy Lunar New Year! This is an annual 15-day festival, also known as Chinese New Year, chūnjié or Spring Festival, is celebrated in communities around the world that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and lasts until the full moon. 

2023 is a year of the Water Rabbit, starting from January 22nd, 2023, and ending on February 9th, 2024. The sign of Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture. 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope.

This year is YEAR OF THE RABBIT!

Lucky things for Rabbits

• Colors: red, pink, purple, blue
• Numbers: 3, 4, 9
• Directions of auspiciousness: southeast
• Directions of wealth: northeast, southwest
• Directions of love: east

Local Events 

Australian National Chinese Women’s Federation (ANCWF) presents 2023 Chinese Lunar New Year celebration of family fun and entertainment "Year of the Rabbit" at 23 T.E Peters Drive, Parkland and Seniors Centre, Broadbeach on Saturday January 28th from 9am.

Australian American Gold Coast Division (AAAGCD) members are Australian and American citizens, as well as those of many other nationalities and we encourage all members of friendly nations to consider joining the organization. AAAGCD believe that the Australian American relationship is linked across both sides of the Pacific Ocean, with a common heritage and many ties. Our focus is on the social part of members lives, particularly the family.

AAAGCD are a not-for-profit voluntary social organization, which provides a helping-hand to newly-arrived Americans and others facing any transition issues. They also advise our members and others, of when the US Consulate visits Brisbane, and provide help with any US Government requirements.

With very low-cost annual membership tiers, AAAGCD members are able to have:

• The pleasure of making new friends, social and business contacts,
• Discounted prices for over 12 organized events each year, a monthly Meet & Greet at SYC,
• Timely Newsflashes and Quarterly Newsletters,
• The opportunity to attend commemorative events,
• Contact with VIP’s such as our Governor, the US Consul General, Australian Federal and State Government Ministers and officials, Australian and US Military Leaders, US Ambassadorial staff and members of other kindred organizations.
• There are 6 divisions of the Australian American Association throughout Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Northern Territory, Brisbane and the Gold Coast

There are 6 divisions of the Australian American Association throughout Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Northern Territory, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. 

If you are wanting to join the Australian American Gold Coast Division (AAAGCD) please give AAAGCD President Carole a call on 0403 86 4567 or check out their website https://australianamericanassociationgoldcoast.com/. 

We're looking for more people to join our MCCGC & CÜRA team and support community across Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Moreton, and Tweed! 

We're currently hiring:

• Team Leader - Care Finder Program - Full Time >> Apply Now 
• Navigators - Care Finder Program - Full Time >> Apply Now
• Program Coordinator - Skilling Queenslanders for Work - Full Time >> Apply Now
• Financial Accountant - Full Time >> Apply Now
• Company Secretary - Volunteer >> Apply Now
• In Home Domestic Workers Gold Coast - Casual >> Apply Now
• Home Care Workers Gold Coast – Casual  >> Apply Now 
• Home Care Workers Tweed Shire – Casual >> Apply Now 
• Home Care Workers Sunshine Coast – Casual >> Apply Now 
• Home Care Workers Moreton – Casual >> Apply Now 

Please share these opportunities with your networks! 

Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia - FECCA launched a national survey that seeks to understand the everyday reality of multiculturalism in Australia from the perspective of Multicultural people who live here.

If this is you, please take your time to fill out this important survey: https://bit.ly/3Xkio7H

Constitutional recognition through a Voice to Parliament is a body enshrined in the Constitution that would enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide advice to the Parliament on policies and projects that impact their lives.

A Voice to Parliament gives the Australian Government the opportunity to make policies with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, rather than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

WHAT CHANGE WILL CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION THROUGH A VOICE DELIVER?

Constitutional recognition through a Voice would enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to give advice to the Federal Parliament about laws and policies that impact them through a simplified policy making process and structural change.

This means that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are included in the law-making process, rather than having bureaucrats and politicians deciding what is best for them.

Constitutional recognition through a Voice will deliver real and practical advice to Parliament and the Government on how laws and policies can best improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who know and understand the best way to deliver real and practical change in their communities have a say through a Voice, we will finally be able to close the gap that still exists between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians. This is why it is so important.

To find out more about what the Voice to Parliament is, please visit From the Heart or the Uluru Dialogue to find great educational resources

YOU CAN GO NOW! @ Dendy Cinema's Southport 

On screen from Thursday 26^th January

This title is rated M (Coarse language and crude sexual humor)

You Can Go Now is a 2023 Australian documentary film directed by Larissa Behrendt

About the film

Richard Bell. An activist masquerading as an artist. 50 years of First Nations activism in Australia seen through the lens of contemporary Australian Aboriginal artist and provocateur Richard Bell.

Cultural Identity Training in Gold Coast Schools

Throughout 2022 our MCCGC Community Development Officer and a number of MCCGC staff members conducted over 20 Cultural Identity Training workshops to over 450 Miami State High School students. 

We are excited to get the program up and running for 2023 and educate as many students as we can about the vibrancy and value multiculturalism brings to the Gold Coast. 

If Cultural Identity Training is something your or your child's school would be interested in, please feel free to email us at cams@mccgc.com.au. 

Recruiting participants for an exciting research project

MCCGC has partnered with academic researchers at the University of Queensland and the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia in successfully obtaining funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project Scheme. The 3-year research project Integrating Community and Family Aged Care for Diverse Australians aims to support older Australians from CALD backgrounds to age well at home and in their communities. This ARC project is aligned with MCCGC’s strategic plan to provide culturally responsive and tailored care to meet the diverse needs of older CALD Australians. MCCGC is committed to incorporating the project’s findings in our training programs for care providers.

We are currently recruiting participants for Study 1 that aims to understand aged care experiences from the perspective of older CALD people through interviews. The participants will be provided with a $30 Coles gift card, as a token of appreciation for their participation in the study.

If you are interested in participating in the study either as an individual person aged 65 or over, from CALD backgrounds, living at home and receiving some level of community care support, or as a community service provider, please contact Professor Shuang Liu via email at shuang.liu@uq.edu.au or phone 07 3346 8242.

MCCGC Youth Advisory Group meets once per month to connect with like minded individuals, champion advocacy for young people of multicultural backgrounds & learn new skills!

Vision for 2023 and goals for the new year

The Youth Advisory Group has been instrumental in the decision-making processes throughout last year at MCCGC. They have volunteered their time to collaborate and connect with multicultural communities on the Gold Coast and this year too, we look forward to an array of activities with the Youth Advisory Group, or the YAG as we call it.

This year some key areas that the YAG would contribute would be to enhance the youth developmental and cultural connections in the multicultural community on the Gold Coast. As representatives of YAG, the young people will be given opportunities to enhance their public speaking skills, to understand inclusivity, platforms for creative engagement, and climate action and sustainability.

As a part of the program for this year, YAG members will be provided with public speaking workshops, arts workshops, guided nature tours, and many more exciting programs.

Want to join our MCCGC Youth Advisory Group? 

Do you know of or are a young person (18-25) wanting experience in a NGO? Do you identify as being from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background?  As a volunteer you can help to advise MCCGC, a peak regional multicultural body, to support better services for young CALD people on the Gold Coast. 

What's in it for you? 

• Professional development 
• Have an edge over others when pursuing your career 
• Ensure the voice of CALD young people are heard. 
• Paid work opportunities 

There are many unique opportunities to get involved.  

Contact us on cams@mccgc.com.au to get involved! 

Applications for Round 2 of the Community Partnership Innovation Grants are closing soon. The Queensland Government is seeking to engage local communities, businesses and organisations in trialing new ideas and locally driven projects that improve outcomes for young people by addressing the drivers of offending.

Grants of up to $300,000 are available for short-term or one-off projects that support young people who are or could become offenders, to change their behaviours and improve community connection.

If you have an idea that will deliver better outcomes for young people, their families, and the broader community, apply before midnight Monday 30 January 2023. www.cyjma.qld.gov.au/yjcommunitypartnershipgrant

Needing some support around applying for grants? 

Come across a great grant opportunity but not quite sure where to start?

ECCQ - Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland online Project Planning for Grant Writing course is self-paced and covers everything you need to know – including project plans, getting ‘grant application’ ready and evaluation.

Check it out their new online learning hub here: https://bit.ly/3QGJYKx

Cultural Key dates

January 2023 

22 January

Seollal (Korean Lunar New Year—Year of the Rabbit)

Known in South Korea as Seollal, Lunar New Year typically lasts three days (the day before and after the New Year). Centred on charye—paying respect to elders—the new year is a time to remember a shared heritage and look forward to the future.

22 January

Chinese Lunar New Year (Year of the Rabbit)

For Chinese communities across the world, the Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays of the year. It is celebrated through a range of traditional customs, including ancestor worship, family gatherings, special foods and gift exchanges.

22 January

Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year—Year of the Cat)

Tet is considered the first day of Vietnam’s spring, a time marked by new beginnings. The Vietnamese community celebrates Tet with many customs, ancestor worship, family gatherings, special foods and gift exchanges.

27 January

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day is a memorial for the six million Jews killed by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. Many people of Jewish and other faiths observe this day. It was designated by a United Nations General Assembly resolution on 1 November 2005. Many countries have instituted their own Holocaust Memorial Days, such as the UK's Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January), while others, such as Israel's Yom HaShoah, are observed at other times of the year.

LATEST FAMILY FILMS JUST $8 AT DENDY SOUTHPORT UNTIL THE 29TH JANUARY

Dendy Cinemas Southport will close out the school holidays with five family films on offer and tickets are just $8 to catch them on the big screen.

Escape the heat and make an outing to catch the latest Family Films with all tickets only $8.00 from Thursday 12 – Sunday 29 January 2023.

More information and session times: https://www.dendy.com.au/offers/family-films-265

Work Towards Program

Workshop Updates 

Do you know anyone looking to improve their English for employment? We are offering FREE English courses for all levels through our Work Towards Employment Hub beginning Tuesday, 31st January.

To enquire or register simply email worktowards@mccgc.com.au.

For more information on our Work Towards program, visit: https://www.mccgc.com.au/mccgc-services/work-towards/

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we operate, the Kombumerri people, the Gubbi Gubbi people, the Jinibara people, the Turrbal people, the Quandamooka people and the Bundjalung people. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging and extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and acknowledge their ongoing connection to land, sea, culture and community.