Launch of Harmony Alliance
On 11 October 2017, the Federal Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, launched the Harmony Alliance: Migrant and Refugee Women for Change at the Adelaide town hall. The launch coincided with the International Day of the Girl Child and was attended by about two hundred guests, including representatives of civil society, the multicultural and settlement sectors and community leaders, as well as the South Australian Minister for the Status of Women and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Zoe Bettison MP and the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Jing Lee MLC.
Auspiced by Migration Council Australia, the Harmony Alliance seeks to provide a platform for migrant and refugee women to engage with issues impacting their lives and to facilitate positive change. It is the sixth National Women’s Alliance funded by the Federal Office for Women.
Minister Cash said, “central to the alliance is the right and necessity of migrant and refugee women to advocate for themselves on issues that impact their safety, wellbeing and economic empowerment.”
During the launch, the inaugural Harmony Alliance Award for Lifetime Contribution to Empowering Migrant and Refugee Women was presented by Senator Cash to Ms Eugenia Tsoulis OAM, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Migrant Resource Centre (AMRC). The Chair of the Harmony Alliance, Ms Maria Dimopoulos, spoke about the vision and key directions for the alliance.
Transcript of Launch Speech by Senator Cash:
https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/cash/2017/launch-harmony-alliance