On August 9, 2015, OHPI attended the community leadership conference organised by the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV).
The conference was opened by Hon Robin Scott, Minister of Multicultural Affairs for Victoria, who spoke of the importance of equality of opportunity and people’s right in a liberal democratic society to preserve their identity while also taking their place as leaders and contributors in the wider society. Other speakers included Hakan Akyol from the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, Nina Bassat, the past president of the JCCV and others.
The conference gave us an opportunity to meet with leaders from different ethnic communities living in Victoria, such as the South Sudanese community, the Chinese community, the Greek and Indian community, as well as people from different religious groups such as the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh community. As OHPI depends on different minority groups drawing our attention to hate speech against their communities on social media, the conference greatly aided our contacts, and capacity building by bringing so many community leaders on one platform.