The Cultural Perspectives team was delighted to launch their Social Model of Disability multilingual video series – a new, informative, and empowering resource for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, developed as part of MiAccess. The event held at the Australian National Maritime Museum on 7 June 2023, brought together federal government representatives, disability peak representatives, CALD community stakeholders, and ethno-specific media outlets in support of the initiative.
Yvonne Weldon, independent councillor for the City of Sydney (the first Aboriginal councillor in the City’s 180-year history), extended a welcome to county, welcoming everyone present to land of the Gadigal people.
Managing Director and Chairman for Cultural Perspectives, Pino Migliorino reflected on the company’s work in the disability space as he made his introductory speech.
“This is our 29th year of providing high level services across research and marketing. I am so proud of the work we are doing in the multicultural disability space, influencing a more inclusive and responsive attitude to the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with disability. We hope our work will change the prevailing narratives around disability and its associated taboos within communities,” he said.
Achieve Australia supported the event and their CEO Jo-Anne Hewitt, launched the Social Model of Disability videos, featuring CALD community members, with lived experience of disability, speak to the importance of the Social Model of Disability, their own experiences, and in their language. Talking about the influence of the videos on society, she said, “Social Model of Disability aims to integrate people with disabilities into society, promoting belonging, respect, and support for their interests and aspirations. The video series launched today echoes the need for inclusion, through the voice of people from the community
The video series is available in Cantonese, Dinka, Hindi, Mandarin and Turkish with English subtitles and can be found on the MiAccess website.
Sarah Migliorino, Director Communications & Engagement, Cultural Perspectives provided a preview on the MiAccess Journey.
“We at Cultural Perspectives have been delivering a series of community information sessions for the CALD community aimed at educating them about disability and how to successfully use MiAccess on multiple devices. We collaborated with various organisations, participated in leading conferences, and conducted community consultation session to optimise and enhance the reach for MiAccess.” she said
The event ended with a panel discussion introducing the talents from the Social Model of Disability Video – Jonathan Yung, Nidhi Sekaran, Nyrob Majak, Yasamen Rasheed, and Yousif Assafiri. They echoed the need for a Social Model of Disability while sharing their own experiences of being part of the project. They all hope that the video will bring awareness and understanding to their experiences and those of people with disability from CALD backgrounds.
Jonathan Yung, one of the talents from the video also performed a song at the event.
What is MiAccess?
Multilingual Information Access, MiAccess, is a website developed by Cultural Perspectives which brings together available translated information relevant to people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, their carers, and wider community with an aim to facilitate access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for people whose first language is not English.
The MiAccess website and resources is available in over fifty languages, including Bengali, English Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Urdu, that is crucial for understanding disability environments, gaining access to the NDIS, and identifying the unique challenges faced by people with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.