REFUGEE EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (REEN) TERM 2, 2026 - Thursday 7th May - Meeting Recap

Written By River Nile School

Hello wonderful Refugee Education & Empowerment Network (REEN) members,

Wow. What an incredible meeting - and how lucky were we to learn from such powerful speakers and presentations.

For those who joined us, thank you for bringing your energy and passion into the virtual space (and for the thoughtful questions shared with the young people from the Power Collective!). We hope you left feeling as galvanised as we did.

We had our highest registration yet, with 192 people signing up via Humanitix and around 110 attending across the two hours. As of today, our network has grown to 370 members, something that continues to inspire us, especially as we lean further into advocacy. Just imagine the collective impact we can have with this growing community of passion and commitment.

For those who couldn’t attend, here’s a brief recap.

With a focus on advocacy, we kicked things off with a short survey to better understand the issues members are passionate about, helping us share more relevant opportunities moving forward. We also previewed our upcoming shared platform, which will allow members to connect, share resources and initiatives, explore advocacy opportunities, and more.

If you’d like to be added to the shared contact list or share your advocacy interests, you can complete the consent and survey here.

We also heard from Maddie about some advocacy Foundation House and River Nile School had submitted to Engage Victoria’s work-based learning and work-experience consultation and learnt about two other advocacy opportunities from Engage Victoria on the State Disability Plan and Victorian Autism Plan, and the Victorian Multicultural Health Survey.

We were thrilled to have Refugee Education Australia’s Sally Baker deliver an insightful presentation on Mobilising for Change. As Sally put it - it feels like one of the most necessary times to be having this conversation! Her presentation unpacked what advocacy looks like across daily practice, organisations and systems, reminding us that we are all advocates, and that recognising the wins is key to sustaining hope.

We were then joined by Lizzy Kuoth and Sidiqa Faqihi, where we not only heard about the incredible work of the Refugee Council of Australia’s Refugee Stories for Change program, but held an extended panel discussion centering lived experience perspectives on advocacy and ethical storytelling, offering powerful reflections on moving beyond tokenism and ensuring meaningful participation in decision-making. A huge thank you to Sidiqa and Lizzy for their passion, rawness and generosity (and for their patience as we navigated our way through a glitchy Canva!).

With such rich discussions, we did run over time (despite our best intentions!). We hope the brief breakout conversations still sparked connection. We will continue to work on creating more space for this in future sessions!

To close, we heard from students from Braybrook College’s Power Collective, alongside educator and Anti-Racism Contact Officer (ARCO) Claire Wilkinson. Nayna and Sumaiya shared their inspiring youth-led anti-racism work, reminding us what’s possible in school-based advocacy when young people are given space to lead.

Maddie wrapped up by sharing key advocacy resources to support members moving forward.

To borrow words from Sally’s presentation, let’s keep working together, sharing ideas, and “keep the pressure on.”

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In this email, you will find resources and key information that were both shared in the meeting, and which arose from the chat and discussions. 

Term 2, 2026 Meeting Resources

Refugee Council of Australia’s Refugee Stories for Change

Website - Home - Refugee Stories for Change

Email - stories@refugeecouncil.org.au

Phone - 0406 129 119

Refugee Week Teacher Resource Kit - https://www.refugeeweek.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/RW26-Teachers-Kit-FINAL.pdf

Braybrook Secondary College’s Power Collective

Inspired by the work of the youth-led Power Collective? Interested in inviting them to speak at your school or organisation?

Contact: Claire Wilkinson - wic@braybrooksc.vic.edu.au

REEN Convener Information 

Information was shared about the three convening organisations - Foundation House, Refugee Education and River Nile School. 

Here's some key links and resources shared in the meeting, as well as key contact for any queries, for each organisation: 

Foundation House 

Refugee Education Australia 

River Nile School 

Certificate of Participation (for Professional Development) 

If you were in attendance at the launch meeting on Thursday 7th May and would like a certificate of participation to contribute to your professional development hours, please email Francine.Sculli@rivernileschool.vic.edu.au to request a certificate. 

2026 Network Dates

Please mark the remaining network dates for 2026 in your diaries. Our Term 3 Meeting will be online via zoom, but we are excited to announce that our Term 4 meeting will be an in-person gathering that will take place in the afternoon (more details to be announced in the near future!)

Stay tuned for details of the Term 3 meeting focus and Humanitix event registration link, which we will share soon! 

Term 3, 2026: Thursday 30th July 2026, 9AM-11AM (online)

Term 4, 2026: Thursday 22nd October 2026, time TBC (but will be afternoon!) for in-person meeting

Events, Professional Development and Initiative Opportunities of Interest

Wattle Pathways ‘Thriving in Maths and Speaking’ 12-Week Program

Wattle Pathways are delivering a low-cost 12-week program to support young people from refugee and refugee-like backgrounds to build strong maths skills and confidence to speak up in class, presentations and every day life. The program will be delivered at Wattle Pathways Dandenong Office and is suitable for primary school students in Grades 4-6.

For more information, contact - admin@wattlepathways.com.au

Register here - https://forms.office.com/r/5Tue9Yrueq

Threads of Change Launch Event with Adongwot Manyoul

River Nile School (RNS) and City of Melbourne are collaborating to deliver a new quarterly event series - Threads of Change - bringing together community members, educators, service providers, artists and advocates to explore how we work, walk and learn alongside refugee and migrant communities.

This opening event on Thursday 21st May features a powerful 90-minute interactive experience grounded in the SEEDS Framework (See, Embrace, Expect, Disrupt, Support). Through storytelling, live reflection and audience participation, five young people - together with Adongwot Manyoul - will share personal stories connected to one of the SEEDS that challenge assumptions and centre lived experience.

Participants will be guided to reflect on their own practice, unpack dominant narratives, and gain practical insights to support more human-centred and informed ways of working.

 Learn more and register here - Threads of Change with Adongwot Manyoul

River Nile School's Melton Bus Service

For Schools and Services  in the Melton area, River Nile School has started a a FREE bus service to service some areas of Melton, assisting in transporting young women to River Nile School and increasing access for those who need it! 

If you have any young women from refugee or refugee-like backgrounds in your school, aged 15-18, who are facing barriers to learning and engagement at your school, and who you think would benefit from a referral to River Nile School and use of the free bus service, please reach out to our amazing Community Engagement Officer, Mary Aung - mary.aung@rivernileschool.vic.edu.au - to discuss the young person's needs and arrange a time for them to come check out River Nile School! 

View the bus route here.

River Nile School's Refugee Week Exhibition

Step inside a living, breathing exhibition of stories that have shaped our community and beyond — and are still shaping what comes next.

Join us during Refugee Week 2026 as River Nile School opens its doors to share the stories, strengths and contributions of refugee communities connected to our school and beyond.

Spanning three levels of the school, this immersive exhibition takes you through the past, present and future of our community.

Expect storytelling, music, food, talks, displays, interactive activities, performances, arts, artefacts, conversation and energy, creating a welcoming environment for reflection, learning and celebration.

📅 Thursday 18th June
🕚 1PM–3PM
📍 River Nile School, Level 1-3/117 Capel Street, North Melbourne


Learn more and register here: https://events.humanitix.com/river-nile-school-refugee-week-exhibition-a-million-stories

Refugee Stories: Youth Voices - Refugee Week Event

To celebrate Refugee Week, Melbourne Polytechnic - in partnership with the City of Whittlesea, Yarra Plenty Regional Library and Arabic Welfare - presents Refugee Conversations: A Million Stories. Featuring -

  • A panel sharing of young people sharing their refugee and refugee-like experiences

  • Cultural performances by young people

  • Light refreshments

📅 Saturday 13 June 2026
🕓 2-4:30PM
📍 Lalor Library, 2A May Street, Lalor

Free tickets (registration essential): Refugee Week Event Tickets, Saturday, June 13  •  2 PM - 4:30 PM | Eventbrite

Polaron Connect’s Insights 2 Impact (I2I) Leadership Series (2026)

Polaron Connect’s Insights 2 Impact (I2I) Leadership Series (2026) is a five‑theme professional development program running through to December 2026, delivered both in person and online. Across five seminars, the series equips community leaders and communications professionals with practical, evidence‑based skills to engage diverse audiences and turn insights into meaningful impact.

Registration Essential: Polaron Connect’s Insights 2 Impact (I2I): Professional Development Leadership Series

Workskil Parent Pathways Program:

Parent Pathways Program supports Parents who are caring for a child under 6 years, not currently working and they receive Parenting or carer payment from (Services Australia) Centrelink to help them achieve your goals while they look after their family.

Parent Pathways is free, flexible, voluntary and can help Parent to build a bright future for your family, and can help to access:

  •  $1,250 of funding annually

  •  $100 gift card at first appointment

  • $50 gift cards at following

  •  Support Parents with driving lessons cost

  • To learn English language or formal study

  • Purchase a Laptop to finish your course

  • Food relief / vouchers to ease cost of living

For more information: Contact Yasir – 0461 305 617 or email yasirm@workskil.com.au

Deepest Gratitude, 

On behalf of Foundation House, River Nile School and Refugee Education Australia.

River Nile School
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REFUGEE EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (REEN) TERM 1, 2026 - thursday 12th february - meeting recap