This event, hosted by the City of Cockburn in collaboration with Multicultural Futures and the Cities of Melville and Fremantle will explore community forms part of Women’s Health Week and Welcoming Week 2025. It will enable participants to explore community service providers, listen to informative presentations, join wellness activities, and enjoy cultural demonstrations. Click here to download a printable flyer.

If you are reading this newsletter, my assumption is that you are someone who wants to make a difference in the world, intentionally taking steps each day to make building a better world become a reality. Over the last five years, I have been a part of the See Me See You cultural responsiveness team. It has not just been a job for both Rika and I. It is something that we lived and breathed- the belief that by giving participants tools to help them communicate with anyone from any culture could help make Australia a society where everyone could feel like they have a new home and that they belong.

Above all, it was a delight to be part of this growing movement. I truly believe that delighting in all the different cultural backgrounds in Australia helps us cultivate a legacy of effectively helping people make their place here, putting down their roots in good soil. Delight keeps shining the spotlight on the good work rather than the darkness of division.

This is also the privilege of Multicultural Futures to help and advocate for people from a migrant or refugee background to be part of a connected multicultural community where to take up have opportunities to create healthy, empowered and meaningful lives in Australia. Although this is my final day at Multicultural Futures in my capacity as Program Lead, I believe that through my work as an Placemaking and Identity Mentor I will be able to continue collaborating with Multicultural Futures and other partners in the industry.

From the Editor
Erika von Kaschke

The Dinner and Show event features some of Perth’s highest quality global musicians including Slide Summit with LUCKY OCEANS and PRAASHEKH BORKAR, plus Latin jazz quartet NOVOS ARES, and a delicious three-course meal by the Casa Latina, the World Music Café catering team.

Slide Summit was born out of the unusual migration of two of the world’s top slide players to Perth: Sarod player Praashekh Borkar from India and pedal steel guitarist Lucky Oceans from the United States of America, have both won the highest music awards from their respective countries.

Completing the quartet are Indian Australian multi-instrumentalist Tao Issaro on percussion and Manoli Vouyoucalos on bass. Together, their unique global repertoire covers Jazz, Blues, Indian Folk, North African grooves, and Irish reels. There’s nothing like the Slide Summit ensemble anywhere else in the world, their boundless musical curiosity and desire to tell emotion filled musical stories with outstanding musicianship makes this new group truly exceptional.

The Novos Ares quartet performs Latin jazz from Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina. The group features accomplished Cuban pianist Moha Builo Michel, who has a distinguished career performing with many Cuban ensembles. He met his musical partner, Australian jazz flautist Annalisa Powell, at a Brazilian roda de choro on the magical island of Florianopolis and after relocating to Australia, has become a highly sought-after Cuban pianist across the country.

The Dinner and Show concert also includes a delicious three-course menu created by Venezuelan chef Tamara Rodriguez and the World Music Cafe catering team to complement the musical cultures you’ll be listening to for an all-round aural, visual, and taste sensation.

Given shows often sell out, patrons are encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment. Group Table discounts are available, so book a group table together with friends or colleagues here.

World Music Café acknowledges event partners – KMAM, Scanlon Foundation, Multicultural Futures, City of Kalamunda and project assistance by the Australian government through Creative Australia, it’s principal arts investment and advisory body.

These classes, running from Wednesday, 30 July until 24 September will be facilitated by a Kirundi speaking facilitator, at Hillview Intercultural Community Centre, 1-3 Hillview Place, Bentley.

The citizenship classes prepare participants for Australian citizenship, gives them information about Australian Citizenship eligibility, and covers practice questions for the citizenship test. Thus far, Multicultural Futures citizenship class participants have had an almost 100% pass rate for the citizenship test.

Although this is a free class, registration is required. Please call the Multicultural Futures office number 9336 8282 or Jeanette on 0416 801 184.

Since the first session in August 2020, See Me See You has trained nearly 3,500 participants and worked with around 70 organisations this year alone. Despite the early challenges of COVID-19, the program has consistently delivered at least 45 sessions annually, growing stronger each year.

Designed to build confidence and capacity in working across cultural differences, See Me See You equipped staff with inclusive communication tools, promoted self-awareness of cultural biases, and supported equitable access to services across WA. Known for its interactive and welcoming style, participants often say it’s the most practical and engaging cultural training they’ve done. It created a welcoming space for people to connect and ask the hard questions.

This year, the program expanded to include face-to-face regional training, broadening its reach even further. The continued demand for SMSY is a testament to its impact with many organisations now considering it essential training for their staff.

As we look back on the conclusion of our free training program, we are proud of what See Me See You has achieved and grateful to all who’ve been part of the journey. However, we are excited about the opportunity to provide new options to participants across Australia both online and in-person. If you are interested in equipping your organisation with these tools, contact us at seemeseeyou@mfwa.org.au for a free quote.

Photo: Victoire Mafuta (Cultural Ambassador), Erika von Kaschke (Program Lead), Rika Asaoka (Program Facilitator), and Stuart Tomlinson (Former CEO, Multicultural Futures) at the See Me See You program launch.

Traditionally, a legacy is seen as something material—money or property left in a will. But a legacy can also be the values you live by, the kindness you show, or the positive influence you have on others. It might be the love you’ve given your family, the lessons you’ve shared, or the changes you’ve helped make in your community.

So why do people care about legacy? Because it gives life a sense of purpose beyond the present—it’s a way to live for something bigger than yourself.

At Multicultural Futures, we aim to leave a legacy of inclusion and belonging. Our work is about creating a better future for people from migrant and refugee backgrounds—one where every person feels valued and empowered. That’s a legacy we’re proud to be part of, and one that benefits all Australians. Just as mothers go about building legacy through the everyday mundane little tasks, most of the work we do, are also behind the scenes. It’s in the advocacy we do for our clients, helping the children in the accommodation program go to school with a new backpack, helping migrants learn English or give them the tools to pass the citizenship test. Whatever it takes, we work with our clients and other likeminded organisations to build a future we can all be proud of.

METRO: In fact, See Me See You is seen as such an outstanding training that one ONE free session is available in the Perth metro area this financial year. Limited places are available for this In-Person session on Thursday, 8 May 2025 in Bentley.

See Me See You covers intercultural awareness and communication, acknowledging one’s own cultural bias, how to apply cultural responsiveness to everyday life, the complexities of cultural differences and English as a Second Language as Global English, to name a few. See Me See You, funded by the Office of Multicultural Interest, is free for those who work for, serve on the board or volunteer at a community-services organisation.

BUNBURY: Those who work in this sector and live in and around Bunbury will be able to attend one of two sessions in-person session on 30 April in Bunbury. Click here to book the morning session and here for the afternoon.

New Zealand was the first independent country to pass suffrage laws. A year earlier, the Corsican Republic, Pitcairn Island, the Isle of Man, and the Cook Islands had granted women the right to vote, but as colonies, they later lost these rights. Nine years after New Zealand, Australia passed suffrage laws, enacting them in 1902. Whether we reflect on the Suffragettes worldwide or the Russian women who sparked the first International Women’s Day, we must acknowledge that our freedoms didn’t happen by chance—they came through intentional action.

At Multicultural Futures, we know that values and belief systems shape how we live and, ultimately, how society functions. They determine whether we flourish as a people. To ensure we stay true to our values, we continue discussing what matters, staying informed about the marketplace, listening to our clients, and focusing on our strategic goals.

See Me See You is free for anyone volunteers at, serves on the board of or works for a not-for-profit or community services organisation. Click here to book your spot in our virtual session.

The See Me See You cultural responsiveness program is funded by the Office of Multicultural Interests.

According to Reconciliation Australia, at its heart, reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.

Generations of Australians have fought hard for meaningful change, but there is still much to be done to see a just, equitable and reconciled Australia, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children will have the same life chances and choices as non-Indigenous children, not based on race.

Reconciliation Australia envisages reconciliation based and measured on five dimensions: historical acceptance; race relations; equality and equity; institutional integrity and unity. They believe that true reconciliation comes when the rights of First Australians are not just respected but championed in all the places that matter, and that it must transcend the political arena and promote a sense of national unity.

Many of our clients from a migrant or refugee background, have also had to walk a journey of reconciliation in their countries of origin. Their lived experience could potentially make them suitable partners in working towards this ongoing journey of reconciliation. Perhaps as ‘New Australians’ become citizens, they could be invited to join this cause. Dialogue between people from a migrant or refugee background and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates may help build momentum towards this goal, and bring unity within Australia.

#NowMoreThanEver #NRW2024 #PracticalReconciliation #TakeAction