Greek-Australian Adriana Christopoulos, a proud and active member of the South Australian Greek community, was recently appointed the Chair of the SA Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission (SAMEAC). She will serve along with 14 new member-representatives of South Australia’s multicultural communities.
SA Premier Steven Marshall, together with Assistant Minister Jing Lee, took to social media to announce the commission’s new appointments.
Ms Christopoulos served on the Australia Day Council from 2008 through to 2015. She chaired the council from 2013 to 2015.
On 1 July, 2018, she became a member of SAMEAC.
“I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been appointed Chair of the SAMEAC,” Ms Christopoulos told Neos Kosmos.
The Greek-Australian mother of two, whose family originated from Kalamata, has undertaken numerous management roles over the years, predominantly in areas relating to the provision of advice, policy development, governance and economic development.
She has been active in many community groups and is a councillor for the City of Mitcham and a former councillor for the City of West Torrens.
“I feel that I have a sound understanding when it comes to community needs, issues and challenges faced by our culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community and I hope to use my extensive experience and knowledge from working in both the state government and local government to carry out the responsibilities of SAMEAC for our CALD community. My ability to work with all levels of government and business ensures a coordinated approach and I will use this same approach to ensure the advancement of multiculturalism and inter-culturalism within the South Australian community,” Ms Christopoulos said.
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SAMEAC plays an important role in prompting social inclusion and multiculturalism by raising awareness of the many diverse communities across South Australia. The priorities for the commission include the safe passage of the Multicultural Bill that is was being debated in the state parliament’s Upper House.
Asked about the commission’s immediate priorities for the next 12 months, Ms Christopoulos said that if the bill were passed, it would allow for a “more modernised SAMEAC Act.”
“I think the first six to 12 months will be focused on developing that (SAMEAC) Charter and working with the communities to make them familiar with other communities. We’ve been using the Act for the last 30 years and this is an opportunity for the government to modernise the Act and the process the Commission works with,” Ms Christopoulos said.
She added that she was keen to foster and promote closer intercultural communications and relations across SA’s different cultures and social groups.
“We want some of the established communities like the Greek, the Italian and some of the northern European communities that have been in South Australia for a long time to assist new and emerging communities (to) strengthen their bonds and share their experience and their knowledge,” she said.
Greek-Australian Eugenia Tsoulis OAM, Chief Executive Officer of the state’s Australian Migrant Resource Centre (AMRC) has also been appointed as member of SAMEAC.
Ms Tsoulis has over 40 years of experience in multicultural policy research and change management within a human-rights framework. She has held leadership positions in the mental health, education, arts, and employment and training sectors. As director of the Migrant Workers Centre, she furthered migrant women’s employment, training and participation, and managed cultural diversity in the workplace.
Over the past 20 years, Ms Tsoulis has overseen the expanding work of the AMRC in South Australia, supported social, cultural and economic development and ensured the AMRC’s critical leadership position in Australia’s settlement sector.
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Ms Tsoulis was a founding member of the Settlement Council of Australia and has contributed to a considerable number of research reports and allied publications. She has also served on a number of state and commonwealth boards and advisory committees.
She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for Services to Multiculturalism in the Arts in 1994, the 2007 ZONTA Woman of the Year Award and the 2012 Governor’s Multicultural Award – Individual Achiever of the Year.
“We have an amazing group of very capable people from different backgrounds join the commission and I look forward to working with them towards making a real impact on SA’s multicultural communities,” Ms Christopoulos concluded.