2024 winners
Winner: Ms Sara Shams
Ms Sara Shams is a disability advocate, speaker, model and health care professional. Born in Bangladesh, she had a congenital anomaly which led to her becoming a bilateral above-knee amputee at the age of six.
Sara’s physical vulnerability affected her confidence and self-esteem. She also noticed that people with disabilities and people of colour were not adequately represented in the workforce and media, so she decided to become an advocate for inclusion and diversity.
Through her advocacy work and public presence, Sara represents culturally and linguistically diverse people living with disabilities. Her Instagram account @nolegs_noworries, which has more than 24,000 followers, provides a platform for education and connection. Her work as a model, participating in fashion shows such as Designer Q and Brisbane Fashion Week and also in advertising, has courageously advanced representation of culturally diverse people with disabilities. Sara also shares her unique story as a motivational speaker at various events.
As a member of the Carers QLD board, she has also become part of the policy-making process.
Winner: Ms Lei Hua
Ms Lei Hua is the founder of the Australian National Chinese Women's Federation (ANCWF), a non-profit organisation. The ANCWF helps women and families in crisis, especially due to domestic and family violence or loneliness.
Lei Hua works to safeguard women’s rights, improve their quality of life, promote their career and social development, and help women contribute to their local communities.
Lei Hua also supports the broader community. For example, during the Covid pandemic, when many workers, backpackers and international students were stranded in Australia, she set up a network to help people find accommodation and work. She also taught people how to fill out relevant forms to extend visas, apply for tax file numbers, and access relief payments.
Winner: Dr Zakaria Amin
Dr Zakaria Amin has helped culturally and linguistically diverse communities to gain employment skills and opportunities through his non-profit organisations Multicultural Mailer Inc and Queensland Training and Employment Services.
As a result, members of culturally and linguistically diverse communities have better employment prospects, enhanced job readiness, and they are able to integrate into the community more successfully.
Zakaria Amin’s approach to success is collaborative, characterised by his ability to forge partnerships and mobilise resources effectively. He has worked closely with government agencies, community organisations and businesses to coordinate and tailor initiatives according to the needs of community groups.
Winner: ECCQ/WEN
Established in 1978, the Women’s Ethnic Network (WEN) works to integrate the issues and concerns of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds into government policies, projects, and initiatives. The WEN is supported by the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland (ECCQ) and its priorities are advocacy, education, and empowerment.
Since 2022, the WEN have established a leadership team, with the support of ECCQ. The WEN have refreshed their Terms of Reference and rebuilt the group, which now has a membership of more than 100 active participants from more than 40 countries.
The WEN leadership team writes policy, delivers workshops and training, and works with experts on issues that disproportionately affect culturally diverse women such as domestic and family violence, and sexual harassment.
Winner: Mrs Rachael Carter
Mrs Rachael Carter works with culturally and linguistically diverse women in Toowoomba to encourage and facilitate their participation in the community.
Through the Learner Driver Mentor Program initiative, refugee women in Toowoomba have been able to obtain their driver’s licenses. This has transformed their lives – giving them greater mobility, access to employment, and ability to participate in the community.
Rachael has also established a diverse women's network and delivers Flourish – Diverse Women in Leadership workshops.
Rachael is the co-founder of Mosaic Hues, a Toowoomba social enterprise that supports culturally and linguistically diverse people. It helps them to make social connections and provides them with pathways towards economic independence.
Winner: Aitkenvale State School
Aitkenvale State School in Townsville is a leader in promoting inclusion, participation and diversity. Over the past 20 years, thousands of students from refugee backgrounds have successfully graduated.
It provides comprehensive, tailored support to newly-arrived students, ensuring their successful integration into the school and community.
The school also facilitates a safe, inclusive space for migrants and refugees through the Aitkenvale Community Hub. The hub brings together more than 25 community organisations and businesses to support culturally and linguistically diverse students and families, increasing their engagement and social participation.
Winner: Ms Donata Sackey
For more than 30 years, Ms Donata Sackey has dedicated herself to improving the health and wellbeing of newly-arrived refugees and people seeking asylum. She migrated to Australia when she was 10 years old, which inspired her life’s work.
During her career, Donata has worked in counsellor advocate, capacity building and management roles in the multicultural sector. She has worked with international student services and with the Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT).
Donata is currently Director of the Mater Refugee and Multicultural Health Service, Chair of the Refugee Health Partnership Advisory Group Queensland and Deputy Chair of the Refugee Health Network of Australia.