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2020 Women’s life skills
Fostering Integration Dinner

Her Excellency Margaret Beazley

Her Excellency, the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW was Chief Guest of the Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia’s Dinner at Ambassadors Lounge in Fairfield Sydney
(Exclusive Coverage by; Syed Zafar Hussain, Editor-in-Chief Sada-e-Watan Sydney)

On Friday,14th February2020, the Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia held a celebratory dinner at the Ambassadors Lounge in Fairfield Sydney to honour and recognised the achievements of women who participated in the life skills workshops. The five innovative workshops were held to facilitate an opportunity for women, predominantly migrant women to acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence that will effectively help them establish a successful life in Australia.

Governor Margaret Beazley

Her Excellency, the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW and Barrister Mr. Dennis Wilson was Chief Guest of the event.

MC; Noura Awad

Noura Awad was MC of the evening.

President Faten El Dana and Hon Dr. Anne Aly MP

The series of five workshops were funded by the Department of Home Affairs and were held every four weeks across the span of five months. The turnout was absolutely sensational, and they were nothing short of popular!

Series 1 of the Life Skills Workshop involved - Resume Writing & Essential Oils. Part 1 of the workshop equipped women with the first step to gaining employment including resume writing and interview tips.

Part 2 of that workshop involved making essential oils that can be used for cleaning, cooking and even remedies.

Series 2 of the Live Skills Workshop involved Interview Skills & Cake Decorating.
Part 1 involved learning about the second stage of gaining employment including the top tips and tricks to preparing and nailing an interview for a job presented to by a professional HR Consultant in the Recruitment field.Part 2 of this workshop involved a cake decorating tutorial whereby participants acquired the key tips to decorating their own cake.

Workshop 3 was about pathways to Higher education and dressmaking essentials. Women gained professional insight on how to excel in Higher education.
Part 2 of the series involved learning the basic essentials to sewing, stitching and other dressmaking skills with a professional dressmaker and fashion designer.

Workshop 4 was about volunteering & Basics to Floristry. In part 1 of the series, women gained knowledge of how to boost their resume by connecting with professionals, community members and specialty services to further their reach in society.

Part 2 of the series involved learning the basic essentials to floristry from selecting flowers, cutting flowers, arranging them and making a breathtaking bouquet.
The fifth and final life skills workshop educated women about how to start their own business which followed a session about photography basics from a professional photographer and graphic designer.

All of the workshops took place in an informal and safe atmosphere which gave women the opportunity and flexibility to ask questions, express points of view and share related experiences.
Loads of PowerPoint presentations were provided, handouts were available to correspond with the topic, and of course, free promotional items for use throughout the workshop.
These five workshops provided a very relaxed, inclusive and thrilling environment for women to grow and develop their skills. For that reason, there was a lot to celebrate at the fostering integration dinner held on Friday, 14th of February.

They celebrated the new skills they acquired, the lifelong friends they made, the confidence they gained, the knowledge they learnt and the capabilities they grew
There was truly a lot to celebrate, most predominantly the celebration of women going out and doing something for themselves, building that self-esteem and courage to pursue their dreams and aspirations.

Governor H.E. Margaret Beazley and Hon Dr. Anne Aly MP

Not to mention acquiring effective communication skills, networking skills, self-esteem, goal setting, and decision-making skills.
Many migrant women face barriers to education and often denied opportunities to participate, whether that be in the workforce due to language barriers or financial limitations.
Through a series of five workshops, migrant women were given the opportunity to develop the skills and confidence to better enable them to increase their employability and achieve their individual goals and what facilitated that even further is the accessibility of these workshops. The fact that they were all held free of charge speaks volumes about MWWA’s objective of paving the way for women to access education in order to build on their skills and enhance opportunities for them to participate.
So, the Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia saw that there was a need to run these workshops that are focused on building various knowledge and life skills through interactive and engaging activities.
Therefore, upon completion of these five workshops, the participants were presented with a certificate of completion at the celebratory, ‘fostering integration dinner’ held on the 14th of February.

Among the list of dignitaries who attended the award ceremony were

Mr Dennis Wilson and Governor Her Excellency Margaret Beazley

-Her Excellency, the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW,

-Hon. Wendy Lindsay MP, Member for East Hills representing the Premier of NSW, Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP, and Hon. Geoffrey Lee MP, Member for Parramatta, Minister for skills and tertiary education and acting Minister for Multiculturalism.
-Hon Dr. Anne Aly MP, Member for Cowan, representing the Labor Federal Leader - Mr Anthony Albanese MP,
-Hon. Julia Finn Member for Granville and Shadow Minister for Consumer Protection, and Shadow Minister for Carers
- Councilor Nadia Saleh representing Canterbury -Bankstown Council Mayor, Mr Carl Asfour.
-Acting Mayor Mr Ali Karnib, Liverpool Council
- Councilor Bilal Hayek, Canterbury -Bankstown Council

Mohammad Mehio and Mr Dennis Wilson

- Mr Mohammad Mehio, President of the Islamic Charity projects Association.
- His Eminence Sheikh Ibrahim Al Shafie
-Mr Mohammad Al Qadi, President of Australian Jordanian Community Association
- Sergeant Michael McClafferty From Liverpool Police PAC
- Syed Zafar Hussain, Editor-in-Chief of Sada e Watan Sydney
Representatives from Department of Home Affairs, Multicultural NSW, Antidiscrimination Board, and Indonesian Consulate. Also, in attendance were community Leaders, dignified sheikhs, academics and Media representatives.

The ceremony officially opened with a very heart-touching recitation of the Holy Quran, recited by Sara Kahil.
The attendees were then invited to stand and sing along to the ‘Australian National Anthem’ performed by Miss Mariam Saad.

Faten El Dana OAM (President)

The President of the Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia, Mrs. Faten El Dana OAM was then invited to speak about why the life skills workshops were launched, what was achieved and any future plans that the association has in terms of upholding similar workshops.
The speech delivered by the President of MWWA was followed by a short video display which gave a summary of all the five workshops that were conducted from September 2019 to January 2020.

This was followed by a speech delivered by Her Excellency, The Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW.

Federal MP Hon Dr. Anne Aly

Having travelled from Perth to be at the event, Hon Dr. Anne Aly MP, Member for Cowan representing the Labor Federal Leader – Hon. Anthony Albanese delivered a speech as well.

Hon. Wendy Lindsay, MP

This was followed by a speech given by Hon. Wendy Lindsay, Member for East Hills, Representing: the Premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian & Mr Geoffrey Lee, Minister for Skills & Tertiary education & acting Minister for Multiculturalism.

Hon. Julia Finn, MP

The final speaker was Hon. Julia Finn Member for Granville and Shadow Minister for Consumer Protection, and Shadow Minister for Carers.
All guest speakers commended the work of the MWWA and had kindly assisted in presenting the certificates to the participants.

NSW MP Hon. Wendy Lindsay and Federal MP Hon Dr. Anne Aly

The fostering integration ceremony held by MWWA, was concluded with a heart-touching, closing performance regarding the recent catastrophic bushfires.
The success of the five life skills workshops are a testament to the Muslim Women’s Welfare of Australia’s hard work, commitment and dedication. Congratulations to helping women gain confidence and knowledge through your classes and workshops and all the best for future and upcoming projects aimed at helping women thrive, develop and grow!

Finally, we would like to thank all the women participants who have helped to make this project a success and wish them a prosperous future. Our thanks also go to the department of home affairs for their much appreciated and generous support and we look forward to cooperating with them in future upcoming community projects. Last but not least, I would like to thank all MWWA staff and the volunteers who have worked tirelessly during the five workshops to make this project a success.