Connected Women NT celebrate The Joy of Many Colours expo at Charles Darwin University
An NT-based program, which aims to support women of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking background, has caught attention of leaders interstate. See the pictures from the program’s latest fun-filled festivity.
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An award-winning program which aims to support migrant and refugee women has caught the attention of interstate leaders, with other jurisdictions now keen to adopt the Territory-born model.
Connected Women NT, overseen by the Australian Red Cross, is a program purpose-built to assist women of refugee, migrant, asylum-seeker and even Indigenous background to overcome social and economic barriers.
Consisting of interactive workshops, mentoring and more, the program’s most recent event on Sunday, The Joy of Many Colours, brought together hundreds of women and their families to celebrate fashion, culture and cuisine in a fun-filled festivity.
Australian Red Cross NT state manager Sabeeha Nihad told the NT News that Connected Women provided participants vital support in modern, competitive Australia.
“We create a safe space while building capabilities and provide economic stability to women, especially from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker background, but also from First Nations (background) and the wider community,” she said.
“We showcase their talent and bring their families and together.”
Driven by volunteers, the program has grown since 2019 where it started with 20 women.
Now, the program boasts a whopping 726 women and their families with more than 200 volunteers in tow.
Ms Nihad said she was confident that the program had positively impacted its target audience.
“If you speak to these women, they will you how this program changed their life for the better,” she said.
“It could be that they were provided a skill, or that they now have the confidence to do what they love, or that they were given cultural understanding and appreciation.”
The effectiveness of Connected Women NT has earned recognition previously, having won the Fitzgeralds’ Diversity Award at the NT Human Rights Awards 2022 and the INPEX Community Volunteer Organisation/Team of the Year Award from Volunteering NT in 2023.
Despite its award-winning success, however, Ms Nihad said she had ambitions to grow the program, with plans to bring the Connected Women NT events to Katherine and Alice Springs regularly.
“We’re very keen to expand the program across the Territory and nationwide as well,” she said.
“As an organisation we have discussed taking this model to other places – Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia are very keen to learn from this model.”
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