October Community Research & Fieldwork Symposium
This event has already taken place.
Come along to hear students from our Community Development courses give insights into current innovative community development programs.
At the Symposium you will learn from the breadth of projects students have been involved in and what they have discovered in their research projects.
Agency supervisors, friends and family are invited to attend this celebratory event.
Most of the the presenters are completing the Master of International Community Development or Bachelor of Arts (Community Development).
Sessions in this symposium will be around various themes related to community development, including:
- gender equality
- mentoring and support programs
- community networks, education, health and wellbeing.
Program
Opening: 9.30am
Coffee/tea and welcome
Annie Feith & Siewfang Law, Community Development at Victoria University
Acknowledgement of Country: Shagufta Ali, President VUSU
Session 1A: Towards gender equality
Time: 10 - 11am
Chair: Nikki Wemyss
- Family violence issues in Melton
Melissa DeSantis. - Exploring experiences of domestic violence among South Sudanese women in Melbourne’s west
Deruka Dekuek. - Owning our strengths: an evaluation of the new women’s program at the Women’s Circus
Miriam Hamel-Green.
Session 1B: Community networks in the west
Time: 10 - 11am
Chair: Rachel Hanley
- Resource sharing and social networking for community organisations in conjunction with Lentil As Anything Footscray
Jenna Gandolfo. - Community Grants at Maribyrnong City Council
Shiru Muiru. - Community arts projects with The Welcome Group
Sarah Shaefer Rivilla. - Health and well-being of elderly people at the West Sunshine Community Centre
Malek Madol.
Session 1C: Postgraduate session
Time: 10 - 11am
Chair: Sara Abbay
- NGO Straight Arrows – developing an information resource for sero-discordant couples living heterosexually with HIV
Ngoc Thuy Nhien. - Outlandish from the heart
Jannett Nieves Cortes. - Establishing a Women’s Business Support Centre in Port Vila, Vanuatu
Jane Bateson.
Session 2A: Mentoring/support programs
Time: 11am - 12pm
Chair: Azja Kulpinska
-
Evaluation of the Innovative Community Action Networks (ICAN) school mentoring program
Nikki Wemyss.
- Victorian Cooperative on Children's Services for Ethnic Groups (VICSEG)'s school mentoring program in emerging communities
Emanuiel Abraham & Lukas Kibrom.
- Supporting activists after traumatic events through Street Medic Collective
Jasmine Morrish.
Session 2B: Community education
Time: 11am - 12pm
Chair: Jessie Lopez
- Horn of Africa male parenting
Abdishakur Qalinle. - Empowering students through participatory approaches to English language and literacy education at the Yarraville Community Centre
Rachel Hanley. - Using theatre in civic education: challenges in realising information, Solomon Islands
Lionel Dau. - Inclusive education for children with disabilities in Timor Leste
Angelo Venceslau.
Session 2C: Postgraduate session
Time: 11am - 12pm
Chair: Siewfang Law
- Empowering young people to improve environmental sustainability in rural Nepal.
Daniel Ryan. - Grasslands Organic Cooperative
Karl Michael Adap. - Multicultural language and communication approaches, City of greater Dandenong
Qutbiallam Timor. - The Arkana Alliance, Peru – film presentation
Soraya Bozzetto.
Lunch & performance
Time: 12pm - 1pm (performance until 12.20pm)
Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place Choir – provided by Lentil As Anything Footscray.
Guest speaker
Time: 1pm - 1.20pm
Moira Kelly, Founder of Global Gardens of Peace.
Session 3A: Community health and wellbeing
Time: 1.20pm - 2.20pm
Chair: Yien Wang
- What does Mullum Mullum mean to community members?
Jessie Lopez. - An Evaluation of The Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association (SIPPA) Mobile Clinic
George Pitakoe. - Client services evaluation with Victorian AIDS Council
Alex Zerna. -
Young people from migrant/refugee backgrounds and sexual health
Azja Kulpinska.
Session 3B: Settlement challenges
Time: 1.20pm - 2.20pm
Chair: Kelly Karutz
- Developing the Kensington Neighbourhood House’s community cook up project
Sara Tesfamichal. - Challenges facing South Sudanese refugees in Dandenong
Bak Mut. - Intergenerational relationships in emerging communities
Tut Kuichloch. - Barriers to migrant employment in Melbourne’s west
Emmanuel Jessy.
Session 4A: Multicultural youth issues
Time: 2.20pm - 3.20pm
Chair: Shiru Muiru
- African youth contact with the justice system in greater Dandenong
Yien Wang. - Drug and alcohol abuse among South Sudanese youth in South Eastern Melbourne
Khan Ruon. - South Sudanese youth and law enforcement officers’ interaction, the role of cultural difference, South Eastern Melbourne
Chuol Bong. - Understanding domestic violence in a multicultural society
Roselyn Weereratne.
Session 4B: Social inclusion
Time: 2.20pm - 3.20pm
Chair: George Pitakoe
- Developing a women’s social support group, Moongala Women’s Neighbourhood House
Jackie Dillon. - Undertaking an audit gap and analysis in health, finance, civic, digital and language in Melton
Girma Nigussie and Debbie Plymin. - Researching mental health
Joe Mangan. - Connecting communities: a community mapping of multicultural groups in the Moreland area
Emma Harvey.
Session 4C: Marine connections
Time: 2.20pm - 3.20pm
Chair: Lionel Dau
- Crowd funding for community development organisations
Kaiyura Albery. - The impact of marine tourism on fishermen in Amed, Bali, Indonesia
Kelly Karutz. - The social value of surfing
Sam Suendermann.
Event wrap-up: 3.20pm.
Community Development courses
Fieldwork placements form an integral part of our Community development courses, providing an opportunity for our students to gain practical experience working with NGOs, community groups, local government and or on campaigns.
Students at this event present on fieldwork and research from these programs:
- Master of International Community Development
- Graduate Diploma in International Community Development
- Bachelor of Arts (Community Development).
To date, students have had placement experiences in countries including Timor Leste, Fiji, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Kenya and Botswana.You can find out about some student's experiences on Community & International Development.

When?
This event has already taken place.