Australia India Business Council

Australia India Business Council & Export Council of Australia forge strategic partnership to boost exports and bilateral trade

Australia India Business Council Ltd (AIBC), the peak body for promoting and enhancing bilateral business and trade between the two countries, has established a strategic partnership with Export Council of Australia (ECA), the peak membership body for companies involved in international business, with a joint goal of fast tracking the bilateral Australia-India economic relationship and boosting exports and bilateral trade.

The strategic partnership is based on a three-pillar strategy of Policy, Education and Engagement. ECA members will gain more information about Indian opportunities and AIBC members in India and Australia will gain more access to ECA informative sessions to do business with each other.

Jim Varghese AM, National Chair of AIBC said: “I am confident that this Australia India Business Council & Export Council of Australia strategic partnership will generate more opportunities for members of both councils moving forward. ECA has a long history of supporting Australian businesses and is an ideal partner for AIBC to promote and facilitate the bilateral trade

between the two countries. India’s scale is one of the largest opportunities for Australian businesses.”

The India Economic Strategy to 2035 report outlines that Australian exports to India will grow to $45 billion and outward Australian investment to India could cross the $100 billion mark reflecting the transformational expansion and opportunities of this relationship.

Dianne Tipping, Chair of Export Council of Australia said: “The Export Council of Australia and Australia India Business Council strategic partnership promises to make it easier for exporters to do business with India and avail the huge opportunities in many sectors in India that are available. The global pandemic has emphasised the importance of maintaining healthy global supply chains. Australian businesses will need to broaden their horizons in exporting and looking towards India is a logical port of call.”

The AIBC-ECA partnership has come about following an AIBC webinar, during which distinguished speakers – including ECA’s Dianne Tipping - discussed the implications on bilateral business and economy of June’s virtual Australian and Indian Prime Ministers summit, during which nine Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) agreements were signed, with the unanimous message being ‘the time is ripe now’ for bilateral engagement. Trade between India and Australia has immense possibilities.

AIBC and ECA have established a joint working committee to plan and implement identified programs and initiatives in line with the strategic partnership strategy.

Mental Health Showcase

- A Virtual Festival of Multicultural Engagement

By Joseph F. Kolapudi

During COVID-19, it has been a challenge for many people, especially within multicultural communities, to engage together over the last several months, especially due to the extending lockdown. However, virtual engagement has grown and has now become the norm for almost every major event, conference and now, even festivals - especially to highlight the importance of vital connection.

Since certain states have been slowly reopening borders, businesses and community bases, certain events are now being given the go-ahead to run in a small-scale, hybrid format, which has given opportunities for nonprofit organisations and initiatives to take on the challenge. To this end, the Australian Multicultural Festival 2020 will be going ahead this year, although with a slightly different format. In Brisbane, the event is to be held in-person, at the Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre (BEMAC), and will also offer virtual options for participants and performers alike. Being a national event, the festival will feature cultural performances from multicultural groups, organisations and community collectives who will be live-streamed across the country. In addition, local community representatives will be able to show their support by participating in-person.

Being hosted by the Mental Health Foundation of Australia (MHFA), the event will focus on both the challenges and the felt needs of the community in regards to mental health, and especially its effects and impact on society on both a local and national level. As the current chairperson of the organisation, being the first of Indian origin, has been able to shed light on what is often seen as a “taboo topic” across the South Asian community, this festival will be able to shine the spotlight on what good mental health practice looks like, as expressed in creative outlets, such as the cultural and performing arts, amongst others.

As the event will also be featuring presentations during the day, as well as virtual sessions and special talks, the festival will be an opportunity for the local community to show its support for multicultural engagement and cultural talent on a bigger stage for a greater cause. Despite mental health being a conversation mostly discussed behind closed doors, especially within the Indian community, the momentum for speaking up and speaking out against the traditional stigma surrounding the topic of mental health is slowly becoming less hostile. However, the individuals that are able to share about the struggles of mental health concerns can have a difficult time without the support of their community; which is why the MHFA has been able to provide a platform for multicultural leaders within the wider community to become spokespersons for their cultural enclaves. The MHFA has been establishing both the Youth Ambassador and the Multicultural Ambassador program, which this year has seen quite a number of individuals, both young and old, increasingly from the Indian community, becoming involved with the organisation and in their community. In addition to the festival, a virtual walk and other online symposiums will be highlighted through the work of the organisation.

As Mental Health Month approaches in October, this is the perfect opportunity for people who support their communities to represent their cultural talents on a national stage, and be able to showcase their engagement and their communities at the Australian Multicultural Festival 2020. The festival will be taking place on October the 3rd, and tickets are available online; with registration now open for local community representatives to represent their communities in-person in Brisbane as a free event for anyone to join and participate in for all ages :

https://events.humanitix.com/australianmulticulturalfestival2020

It is time to change the conversation and celebrate our communities, together.