LODDON Campapse Multicultural Services' new chief executive will use her human rights law experience to support migrants and refugees in Bendigo.
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Sonia Di Mezza moved into the role last month, after interim chief executive Rose Vincent stepped away from the organisation.
Mrs Di Mezza is a human rights lawyer who has held roles including resettlement consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She said she was excited to move to Bendigo.
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"I want to work with my staff - who are just wonderful and have a lot of skills and abilities - to continue and to build on the strengths that we already have," she said.
"So ensuring that the multicultural communities feel supported, that they are able to access the services and supports that they need to settle in, belong, and become part of Bendigo."
Mrs Di Mezza said the COVID-19 pandemic would be one of her first points of focus.
She said the coronavirus had posed challenges for people who came from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Mrs Di Mezza said Multicultural Services would continue to support those who were struggling to access COVID-19 information.
"My experience working with the multicultural community is that we need to continue our online connections," she said. "But it can never stop there.
"It's really important that we have face-to-face conveying of information they need and that it is done by people in the languages they understand and sources they can trust.
"So it's about continuing to build those communication bridges to the community so they have the information they need."
Mrs Di Mezza said she would use her own experiences in her line of work.
"I'm a woman from an intergenerational CALD background," she said. "I was born in Australia to migrant parents who came from the south of Italy after the war.
"I lived my whole life navigating cross-cultural issues - so really being able to understand how to live within two cultures, being able to celebrate what having another culture to contribute is all about, and being able to support my parents with English challenge issues.
"That lived experience of multiculturalism in my own life is something that I bring to my work. It's important to me that everyone - no matter what their background - is able to belong, participate. and enjoy their rights."
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