Engaging Multicultural Communities Beyond COVID-19

For over 25 years Viv has worked as a business executive and a community leader in corporate, community and government settings agencies applying her business knowledge, leadership and technical expertise to help organisations with funding, governance, risk management, stakeholder relationships and to advance their social objectives. Viv has held roles at the AustChoice Financial Services, AMP Asset Management and ANZ Banking Group where she led the global organisation’s diversity strategy. Along with her corporate career, Viv’s community activities span across many different cultures to provide input into public policy on asylum seekers, civic engagement, participation, anti-racism and human rights.

Viv served on the council of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Victorian Chapter. Viv’s significant contribution was recognised and as a result she was recorded on the Victorian Honour Roll in 2002 for advocating for women in leadership and work with Vietnamese young people. In 2003 she was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal.

With a background in strategic communication, social media, content creation and issues management within a PR agency environment, Mandy joined Multicultural Affairs at the Department of Premier and Cabinet (now Department of Families, Fairness and Housing) in 2018. When the pandemic began in March 2020, Mandy was a founding member of the DPC COVID Communications team, before leading the communications response for multicultural communities when the CALD Communities Taskforce was formed in August 2020. In that time, the CALD communications team has created new channels of communication and new ways of working to improve access to information for all Victorians.

Manager of Connected Communities at the City of Casey, Callum Pattie has over 15 years’ experience as a local government leader and is passionate about delivering programs and services that develop community capacity, social connection and positive health and wellbeing outcomes.

Callum has worked across an extensive range of portfolios including community development and engagement, sport and recreation, emergency management, community care and inclusion and wellbeing.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Callum and his team worked closely with Council’s Communications Department alongside community service organisations, State Government Departments and local health services to develop and deliver highly targeted community driven content.

 Zione is a lawyer, facilitator and Executive in the Victorian public service, presently working as Director, Community Engagement at the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. Zione has extensive experience in systemic, structural and organisational change through roles at Victoria Police, Women’s Legal Service Victoria, Victoria Legal Aid, and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. Zione co-founded Incubate Foundation; a mentoring organisation for young African Australians and sits on the IPAA Victoria African-Australian Community of Practice committee. Zione describes herself as a global citizen, having attended schools in Nigeria, Russia, England, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Callum and his team worked closely with Council’s Communications Department alongside community service organisations, State Government Departments and local health services to develop and deliver highly targeted community driven content.