FISA 2010 Summit

29 May 2008

The Federation of Indian Students of Australia Inc will convene a FISA 2010 Summit in Melbourne on 27 July 2008 to help shape a long-term strategy for the young community.

FISA hopes to attract the input of community builders from a spectrum of industries and backgrounds. The participants will discuss the issues impacting the young Indian community and suggest solutions that will focus on improved assimilation and equalization of opportunities for all.

To do this, the Executive will bring together 30 leading community members to debate and develop solutions.

The Summit will run in two sessions. First session will be run from 11am – 1pm and Second session will be run from 3pm to 5pm. The First sessions will focus on identifying the top three problem areas in community building and in second sessions the participants will develop an action plan.

Recently, FISA has been inundated with issues and problem areas. FISA membership has identified the issues is the following categories:
1. Racism
2. Discrimination
3. Housing
4. Employment
5. Quality of Education
6. Exploitation
7. Safety
8. Relationships

The Executive has identified a range of solutions. Almost all solutions revolve around:

1. Community Building
2. Representation

FISA noted that all the top issues are all very individual and based on individual experiences but their solution may lie with the community.

The Executive has decided to focus on solutions rather than problems. ‘Community Building’ is the chosen theme for this Summit. FISA Executive will lay the foundation for discussion that will revolve on topics around community and how it can help its young assimilate better and address the issues facing them.

The Executive will select up to 30 participants for the Summit who will attend in a voluntary capacity. The participants will be drawn from business, academia, community and industrial organisations, the media and a number of individual eminent Indian-Australians across all age groups. Summit participants will be invited in their own right rather than as institutional representatives from any particular organisation.

The Summit will have the following objectives:
• To harness the best ideas
• To apply those ideas within FISA’s long-term strategic vision
• To provide a forum for free and open public debate in which there are no predetermined right or wrong answers
• To produce an action plan from the Summit
• For the FISA Executive to produce a public response to the recommendations by the end of

2008 with a view to shaping the FISA action plan for 2009 and 2010 with a view to establishing direction from 2010 and beyond.

In providing this response, the Executive may accept some options and reject others – but will provide its reasons for embracing its course of action for the future.

FISA has been engaging the wider community and highlighting the issues. FISA agrees with most criticism where the community has said time and again about the lack of cohesiveness and unity. Unfortunately no organisation had taken the lead to produce solutions.

It is known that the Indians strength lies in arguing, forgiving, hard work and education. We are a community of the educated and intelligent people and FISA’s interest is in harnessing and harvesting ideas from the community that are capable of being shaped into concrete policy actions.
FISA believes that for Indians to be successful as a community and to thrive and prosper in the future we need to draw on the range of talents, ideas and energy from across the community.

For too long the Indian community has left policymaking for our community to third parties. Most of these policies lack any credible input. In fact, most of the Government funding has been directed towards ensuring that the Indian community remained focused on having dinner/dance parties rather than educated response forums. If our community is to effectively confront the challenges of the future, we need to develop an agreed direction that looks forward at the next couple of years and beyond.

In addition to those participating in the Summit, everyone will be invited to make submission / recommendation on each of the issues and solutions identified. The FISA website (www.fisa.org.au) will provide a digital forum for this purpose.

Raman Vaid, President is inviting everyone to come forward and help the community be better. He invites everyone to send an email to him with an expression of interest and to participate in the online FISA Forums.

For all Media Queries contact Mr Raman Vaid, President, FISA via email president@fisa.org.au