ECCQ Members Meeting – Celebrating Multicultural Queensland
When: 5:30 pm, Thursday 17th August
Where: Online via Zoom and in person at Queensland Multicultural Centre
Click here to register
Christian Nduwimana is a Burundi born former refugee who has made Queensland his home. Before fleeing Burundi Christian was studying medicine and coordinating chronic disease prevention initiative for the local community. After settling in Australia, he completed a diploma in nursing, while studying English. Since then, he has also completed a biomedical science degree at UQ.
He has recently co-founded the Mental Health Taskforce Inc. (MHT). This Taskforce was founded in response to the rise in mental issues. The team work closely with health professionals and other service providers to ensure access to culturally appropriate services. They also provides free mental health training to community leaders, to raise awareness around encouraging them to implement community-led preventative mechanisms.
Solange Lipcin was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has an educational background in Arts, Education and Community Services. She is the co-founder and Director of LatinOz, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to build stronger community bonds to enrich a multicultural Australia by bringing the Latin American community together and providing them with opportunities to promote a sense of belonging and connection. She also works as a Spanish teacher at Redlands College and is a professional singer, passionate about her heritage culture, so she often sings Tango music in multicultural festivals and events all over Australia.
Solange founded LatinOz out of her personal experience as an immigrant, facing the challenge of educating bilingual children in Australia. As she embarked on this journey, she connected with numerous families who shared similar concerns. This prompted her to establish Lazos LatinOz, a cultural immersion program that fosters multicultural, multilingual identities and the preservation of the Latin American cultural heritage and language for future generations. Today LatinOz is expanding to address other needs in the community, such as the challenges migrant women face when trying to adapt to Australia, not only because of language and cultural barriers, but also due to the difficulty faced when seeking validation of their past work experience and studies. Learning this inspired her to create QWINBIZ a new program for Queensland Women in Business that will launch this upcoming Saturday (August 17th). Solange is always looking for new opportunities to connect with the community and she recognises the value in working together as a whole.
Christine Mudavanhu, the Founder and Principal Consultant at Utano Global—a specialized boutique consulting firm dedicated to human transformation through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Christine’s passion lies in creating diverse and inclusive cultures, collaborating with organizations to foster a sense of belonging and psychological safety.
Through the innovative use of technology such as Virtual Reality and gamification, Utano Global achieves accelerated learning outcomes and empowers organizations to develop inclusive leaders. These leaders take accountability for managing biases and cultivating a thriving organizational culture where everyone can thrive. Christine firmly believes that our differences in humanity, cultures, experiences, and backgrounds are always an advantage. Beyond her impactful work at Utano Global, Christine serves as a Founding Partner and Director for Queensland at Migrant Women in Business, a renowned social enterprise. This national network, led by migrant women in business, education, politics, and community leadership, is devoted to empowering entrepreneurial migrant and refugee women across Australia. It offers invaluable opportunities for growth, learning, connection, and support, leading to remarkable success for these women. Christine also hosts the inspiring podcast “Sisters in Colour,” where she shines a spotlight on the incredible journeys of women of colour in leadership roles.
Emmagness Ruzvidzo is a Marketing Consultant with over 10 years’ experience in strategic marketing roles, most recently as Head of Brand and Marketing for a global Fortune 500 company. She helps businesses drive revenue growth through research based marketing strategies and training and coaching of marketing teams and business leaders. Em uses these skills as an Empowerment Coach specialising in nurturing empowered mindsets for skilled migrant professionals. She also sits on the advisory board for the African Professionals of Australia and was recently named one of Queensland’s 40 under 40!
