State Library of Queensland

Join us on Thursday 12 November, 6:30 pm-8 pm, for a thoughtful conversation about where Australian multiculturalism has come from, where we are today and what our increasingly diverse future might look like.

Host: Kelly Higgins-Devine

Kelly is the award-winning Evenings Presenter on 612-ABC Brisbane. Kelly is a mad Lions fan, with a coffee and cat addiction and in this Explainer, she is most interested to ask the question: Australia has been multicultural since colonial settlement, why is this still a difficult concept for some?

Speakers: Mark Cully and Aleem Ali

Mark Cully was the inaugural chief economist for the immigration department and chaired the OECD’s working party on migration. He was born a dual national, but his heart beats for the third one he acquired, aged ten (Australia). For the Explainer event on multiculturalism, he is most interested in exploring what obligations we owe to one another to solidify the “most successful multicultural nation in the world.”

Aleem Ali is CEO of Welcoming Australia, leading the country's largest network advancing social cohesion, working with councils, universities, workplaces and sporting clubs to build communities where everyone belongs. His first and last names are Arabic, but his middle name is Shaun, Anglo-Celtic, like the sheep. At our upcoming Explainer Series event, he's most excited to explore the systems and stories that shape who we think we are as a nation and who gets to be part of that story.

Book now to secure your seat. Link to The Explainer Series in bio.