A home for Brisbane’s multicultural community
The Multicultural Community Centre in Brisbane has re-opened its doors. Director Jeannie Mok invites the public to be part of the centre’s mission to support our multicultural communities.
A new home for our Multicultural Community Centre called ‘Diverciti’ is now officially opened. This self-funded building, formerly the Italian Club, holds many memories for Brisbane’s Italians. Brisbane’s other communities knew the building extremely well in its heyday: it was a multicultural centre for festivals and celebrations opened to the general public.
Three years after its closure, MCC is thrilled to signal the re-establishment of a multicultural hub on the northside, knowing that it will once again attract the people of Brisbane to a place where diversity, cultural events, ethnic festivals, great cuisines, weddings and cross-cultural conferences will be celebrated with great enthusiasm and vigour. Just recently we invited children with disabilities and their families, who play bowls every Thursday at the Bocce Club (located in the same building) for supper, and we offered them assistance should any needs arise in the future.
Since its incorporation in 1996, MCC has run so many activities for the CALD communities, targeting especially the education and employment of disadvantaged refugees and migrants. This has included Cert III Aged Care /Child Care, Hospitality /Kitchen Operations Cert II, Assets Maintenance and much more. Our graduates have been warmly welcomed at Nursing Homes and childcare centres. Thus, even though we have in recent times experienced major cuts in funding, it has been ‘business as usual’ as MCC, which through creative means is still offering this training practically free of charge.
Currently, MCC’s Aged Care and Child Care students are out doing practical work experience. A recent email from a Director of a Child Care centre at Graceville, informed me that she had offered one of the students a casual job after just two days working there: “We have had many students come through our centre and very few have been up to M’s calibre so it is excellent to see providers that are really preparing their students for the workplace and send students who have a good work ethic and sound knowledge and perform to a high standard”.
MCC is in the process of setting up a ‘not for profit’ arm, so that it can work towards being self-sustainable and not totally dependent on the vagaries of government grants. It already conducts periodically First Aid-CPR classes open to the public and will soon operate a cleaning company that will train and then deploy job-seekers and students in domestic and commercial sites. MCC has also assisted over thousands of unemployed to seek employment, equipping them with job-interview skills. MCC will now operate a professional Resume Writing service for a small fee. It will also run a Fusion restaurant and café where all profits will go towards supporting orphanages in Nepal and Chennai.
MCC looks forward to doing so much more for all the communities, now that it is in the new spacious premises. Thus an invitation goes out to people who would love to be part of the MCC’s mission to assist, support and encourage especially the disadvantaged from Brisbane’s multicultural communities.
Jeannie Mok OAM is Director (Volunteer) of the Multicultural Community Centre and Foundation Principal of the Asian Pacific Institute. Jeannie, a university lecturer, serves on the Queensland Chinese Museum Committee, Women’s and Newborn Services Birthing Services Consumer Forum and the Queensland Chinese Forum. She has served on the Multicultural Ministerial Advisory Committee, the Queensland China Council, the Queensland Cancer Screening Reference Group, Queensland State Library Multicultural Advisory Committee, Queensland Psychology Board and has served on the Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council to the Federal Government. In 1997 Jeannie received the Premier’s Multicultural Service Award, in 2003 the Centenary Medal and in 2006 the Mayor’s Cultural Award. In 2013 Jeannie received the Governor’s Medal of the Order of Australia. She has written 6 books, 5 of which were funded by the Queensland Government. She is also a cross-cultural trainer and freelance journalist. With her husband David she founded the International City Church 25 years ago, a multicultural church with over 50 nationalities.
