Brisbane River and local waterways to feature in latest Outdoor Gallery exhibition

From Lord Mayor’s Newsdesk: The Brisbane River and suburban waterways will be the focus of new artworks installed this month as part of the Outdoor Gallery’s Indigenous Art Program.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said this year’s program, Reflections – A Reflection of Brisbane’s Waterways, showcases and celebrates Brisbane-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

“The Brisbane River, or Maiwar, has long held a special connection to First Nations people and continues to be significant to residents and visitors today,” Cr Schrinner said.

“The artworks in this year’s exhibition focus on the beauty and significance of the Brisbane River and surrounding waterways across our suburbs.

“The popular Indigenous Art Program provides more to see and do for residents and visitors while also supporting local artists.”

Council’s Indigenous Art Program is an important part of our Outdoor Gallery and features everything from large scale banners to showcase installations and night-time projections.

This latest exhibition showcases artworks from 11 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, including curator BINGKIN and Luke Mallie.

Cr Schrinner said the exhibition featured emerging and established artists who responded to a community call-out to share their stories.

“The Outdoor Gallery is a way to celebrate and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Canada rejects 595 Indian study permit applications this year till May: Data

Islander people’s depths and strength of culture, and understanding of the land,” he said.

“The exhibition also offers a range of events and activities, including walking tours, artists talks, workshops and some guided virtual reality experiences.

“These events give audiences an opportunity to explore and engage with the artists and their stories.”

Reflections runs from 19 June –2 October in various locations across Brisbane. Visit brisbane.qld.gov.au and search ‘Indigenous Art Program’ for more information and plan your visit.

The 11 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists include:

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) A total of 7,528 study permit applications from India were rejected by the Canadian authorities between January 2018 to May 2023 over misrepresentation, involving false or altered documents, according to an Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data. Beginning this year, a total of 595 of these applications by Indian students, which also included extensions, were refused till May 31, with 195 cases of misrepresentation detected in a single month, the data shared with IANS said.

Misrepresentation involves giving information that is untrue, misleading, or incomplete, which can make an applicant inadmissible to the country for five years, or permanent removal from the country. Consequently, the applicant is ineligible for permanent residency and has a permanent record noting fraud in their immigration file.

"The Government of Canada takes any kind of citizenship or immigration fraud seriously... We are committed to upholding the integrity of our immigration programmes and protecting our systems against fraud and misrepresentation," a spokesperson from the High Commission of Canada in New Delhi told IANS.

"IRCC employees receive training on how to detect and combat fraud, and they work hard to protect the integrity of Canada’s citizenship and immigration system," the spokesperson added. Most applications were refused under A40(1)(a), according to the data. In Canadian Immigration law, misrepresentation is defined in section 40(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Examples of misrepresentation include not mentioning a family member; not mentioning a change in family status; or providing a false document declaring employment experience, among others.

Recently, hundreds of Indian students faced removal from Canada after letters of acceptance submitted as part of their study permit application were determined to be fraudulent. Acknowledging the contribution of international students, Canada's Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced that the genuine students would be issued a Temporary Resident Permit. The minister stressed that the focus is on identifying those who are responsible for the fraudulent activity and not on penalising those who may have been affected by fraud.

The Canadian High Commission also told IANS that the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act require that people who provide paid immigration or citizenship advice or representation be "authorised".

"It is an offence for anyone other than: a member in good standing (lawyer or paralegal) of a Canadian law society; the Chambre des notaires du Québec; or the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants to represent or advise for a fee at any stage of an application or proceeding," the spokesperson from the High Commission said. With 226,450 students, India became the top source of new international students entering the North American nation in 2022, according to an IRCC data released this year.

The country’s primary department for immigrationrelated matters also announced last year that Indian citizens make up 35 per cent of study permit holders in Canada.

Home to the largest Punjabi diaspora in the world, Canada is the most preferred destination for students in Punjab, who roughly make up about 70 per cent of the Indian cohort in Canada.

A Canadian study visa offers these students easy passage to permanent residence within five to six years.

(Meenakshi Iyer can be reached at meenakshi.i@ians.in)

Indian-origin British expert to head UN Outer Space Office

United Nations, June 27 (IANS)

UN Secretary-General Antonio

Guterres has appointed Indianorigin expert Aarti Holla-Maini to head the Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Announcing the nomination, Guterres’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday that she “brings to this position over 25 years of professional experience in the space sector including in managerial and advocacy functions”.

Haq also said that Usha RaoMonari of India will be leaving her position as the associate administrator of the UN Development Programme which has the rank of Under Secretary General and will be succeeded by Haoliang Xu of China.

The Vienna-based UN space office “works to promote international cooperation in the peaceful use and exploration of space, and in the utilisation of space science and technology for sustainable economic and social development”, Haq said.

Holla-Maini, who is from Britain, has been the Secretary-General of the Global Satellite Operators Association, Executive Vice President at NorthStar Earth and Space, and founder and President of Orbitz Consulting. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Satellite Industry Association of India.

Rao-Monari, who is an infrastructure investment expert, previously served as CEO of Global Water Development Partners, a Blackstone company where she was also a senior advisor before her appointment to the UN post in 2021.

She was also a director of the Sustainable Business Advisory Group at the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @ arulouis)