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

Written By River Nile School

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

It was so incredible to have you all in the virtual space last Thursday 12th February for our first REEN meeting of 2026.

Thank you for contributing to such an energising and purposeful start to our 2026 gatherings.

And what a powerful meeting it was. With an incredible turnout and so much passion and knowledge in the space, both from attendees and our amazing presenters. We had 150 registrations and approximately 85 in attendance.

Since opening up expressions of interests for REEN, our members list has grown to 280+ people, which is an incredible demonstration of both the strength and momentum of this network, and your commitment to walking alongside refugee communities to shape positive outcomes! 

It was amazing to learn more about the advocacy work from Foundation House, River Nile School and Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, who recently attended and spoke at a Parliamentary Inquiry into student pathways to in-demand industries.  

And to deep dive into the work of Foundation House, with Lindsey, Tess & Thao delivering a rich presentation on their school-based offerings, trauma recovery framework, and counselling and advocacy supports.

An undeniable highlight was the Multicultural Education Aide panel, where Hussam and Sara shared grounded, generous insights into what helps young people from refugee backgrounds thrive. Their reflections on positive school experiences and family engagement were a reminder of the expertise held within our communities and the importance of elevating lived experience.

We were also very grateful to have Sobur from ASPYA and Maria from the Settlement Council of Australia for sharing about their organisations, as we use network meetings to spotlight the important work of people and organisations within our ecosystem! 

A huge thank you to all of our attending members and the wonderful facilitators from RNS, FH and REA, who gave so much to the break out room conversations, exploring five key themes—from strengthening data and evidence to promoting lived experience voices. Your contributions will help shape our collective work this year.

We have been made aware by some attendees that some people didn't receive the automated message from Humanitix with the zoom link, and that several people had tech difficulties with Zoom kicking them out, and they had to rejoin manually. We would also like to thank attendees for their patience with any technical difficulties experienced. We will explore these technical difficulties before our next meeting! 

Thank you again for your time, your insights, and the work you do every day to support young people and families of refugee backgrounds. We look forward to building on this momentum throughout 2026.

-------------------------------------

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 1, 2026 Meeting Resources

Organisation Spotlight Information

ASPYA Foundation:

Settlement Council of Australia:     

 

MEA Panel Resources

Meeting Follow Up Requests - 

  • We had a request to add a column to the break out room Padlet for people to suggest resources. We will be setting up an online system for members and attendees to share resources soon! Stay tuned at our next meeting! 

  • We had two questions that we didn’t get to answer about supporting families when they face soft expulsions from schools, and preparing local students who are not from multicultural communities to be welcoming of students from refugee backgrounds. We will return to these important questions in future meetings to support members with practical suggestions.

  • We had great feedback about the rich discussions from the breakout room sessions, but many requests for more time to deepen and enrich the conversations had! We will ensure more time is given in future meetings! 

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 

iver Nile School 

Certificate of Participation (for Professional Development) 

If you were in attendance at the launch meeting on Thursday 12th February 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 future network dates for 2026 in your diaries. Meetings will be online via zoom, but we will aim to have one of the meetings as an in-person gathering and will seek your input to determine the best day and time for this. 

For now, please save the dates for 2026, and stay tuned for details of the Term 2 meeting focus and Humanitix event registration link, which we will share soon! 

Term 2, 2026: Thursday 7th May 2026, 9AM-11AM

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

Term 4, 2026: Thursday 22nd October 2026, 9AM-11AM

Events, Professional Development and Initiative Opportunities of Interest

Foundation House Free Training - Supporting Senior Students 

Foundation House are delivering a free half-day online workshop on Wednesday 25th February from 9AM-1PM focusing on supporting senior students from refugee backgrounds. This workshop is aimed at teachers, school leaders and education support staff working with senior students in years 10-12 who are from refugee backgrounds. They will provide participants with a broad range of strategies to support student learning, behaviour, wellbeing, and pathways.

Learn more and register here - Supporting Senior Students 

Refugee Education Australia (REA) Research Seminar, April 22nd 2026 

Refugee Education Australia (REA) is hosting an online research seminar on Wednesday 22nd April from 3:30PM-4:30PM on Understanding Family-School Partnerships through South Sudanese-Australian Lenses. Hear from from John Jok (Deakin University) who will present findings from his research with South Sudanese parents and their engagement with schools

 Learn more and register here - Refugee Education Australia Research Seminar: Understanding Family-School Partnerships through South Sudanese-Australian Lenses

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 International Women’s Day Excursion – Invitation for Schools

River Nile School is excited to host a special International Women’s Day celebration dedicated to uplifting and empowering young women from refugee backgrounds.

We’re offering a free excursion for up to four female students (ages 15–18) from each school community who identify as having refugee or refugee‑like backgrounds.

📅 Thursday 5 March 2026
🕚 11AM–3PM
📍 River Nile School, Level 1/117 Capel Street, North Melbourne

Students will:

  • Hear inspiring stories of resilience and leadership from RNS students and a special guest speaker

  • Celebrate the achievements of young women in their communities

  • Connect with peers through youth‑led IWD activities

  • Enjoy a free lunch and a day of empowerment and connection

RSVP is essential – places are limited.
Register here: River Nile School's IWD's Excursion – Fill out form

River Nile School's Harmony Block Party 2026, Friday 27th March from 4-8PM

River Nile School is thrilled to host our second Harmony Block Party: a free community celebration showcasing the talents, cultures and creativity of refugee young people and their communities. 

📅 Friday 27 March 2026
🕓 4PM–8PM
📍 RNS Car Park, 117 Capel Street, North Melbourne

Expect vibrant performances, youth‑led activities, art, community stalls and incredible food from refugee‑owned vendors. Entry and activities are free; food available for purchase.

Free tickets (essential): River Nile School Harmony Block Party

If you know young people or community members from refugee backgrounds who may want to perform or run an activity (paid), please email - Francine.Sculli@rivernileschool.vic.edu.au 

Deepest Gratitude, 

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


River Nile School
Next

Refugee Education & EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (REEN) Launch meeting overview