Multicultural Queensland Charter Speaker Series

About the Speaker Series

• The Multicultural Queensland Charter Speaker Series is one of the key ways the Queensland Government is promoting the Multicultural Queensland Charter (the Charter).
• The Series aims to build understanding of the Charter’s principles, and how these can be brought to life in a practical sense.
• Each forum has its own theme, and features knowledgeable and influential guest speakers presenting on topics related to the Charter.
• The Speaker Series is invite only and specifically targets corporations, organisations and institutions who are on our Multicultural Queensland Ambassador Program, as well as senior officers from across Queensland Government.

Speaker Series #3 – 'More than words – turning the Charter principles into actions' – 29 March 2019

After coming together for A Taste of Harmony networking morning tea, we heard from the Australian Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, on translating the Multicultural Queensland Charter principles into reality through meaningful actions.

Chin then joined a panel discussion on the practical ways all corporate, non-profit and public sector organisations can bring the Charter principles to life in these contexts. The expert panellists who joined Chin for this discussion were: Ian Stewart, Commissioner of Police, Queensland Police Service; Kathleen Forrester, Deputy Director-General, Strategy Policy and Planning Division, Queensland Health; and Sara Parrott, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Suncorp Group.

Speaker Series #2 – 'Leading Inclusion' – 7 June 2018

• The theme was 'Leading Inclusion', and focused on inclusive leadership and how everyone can champion the cultural diversity and inclusion agenda.
• Our keynote speaker, Tasneem Chopra, spoke about the importance of inclusive leadership, making the most of multicultural talent and moving from tolerance to understanding.
• The panel discussion was also incredibly engaging as Tasneem joined Dr Jane O'Leary (Diversity Council Australia), Joshua Griffin (SBS) and Mackayla Jefferies (Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland) to discuss a range of topics including unconscious bias training, current research, and the need for individuals to visibly demonstrate they are inclusive.

Testimonials

Hearing practical advice about how to embed inclusive practices in the workplace was really useful. Raising the issue of how we can tackle systemic, unconscious exclusive behaviours was very thought provoking, a big thanks to all the panel speakers

—Jane Storr, TAFE Queensland

Tasneem was an inspirational and mesmerising speaker. I could have listened to her all afternoon! I appreciated an update on the latest initiatives and research that best promotes diversity and inclusion.

—Angela Powell, Hudson

Speaker Series #1 – 'Diversity Works' – 13 March 2018

• The theme of the first forum was 'Diversity Works', and focused on how to build more diverse and inclusive workplaces.
• We were honoured to have Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Tim Soutphommasane(external link), and the Queensland Public Service Commissioner, Mr Robert Setter, speak at the forum and share some important insights to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace, its challenges and benefits.
• We also heard from an inspiring panel consisting of Access Community Services(external link), MDA Ltd(external link), CareerSeekers(external link) and Refugee Talent(external link) to hear about the great work they do to link people from culturally diverse backgrounds to meaningful employment.

Testimonials

Great session, great speakers and very engaging. Great opportunity to network

—Scott Harrison, Surf Life Saving QLD

Excellent event, broadened my thinking on this topic from a different perspective. Will make me think more about diversity and how I can support this in my role at work and at home!

—Nick Shaw, Department of Transport and Main Roads