Jawaria blazes trail for a multicultural Western Australia

Jawaria Mahmood has been volunteering since 2015, and during that time she has been involved in a variety of roles. She stands out as a beacon of dedication and commitment to multiculturalism and the advancement of communities from diverse backgrounds, spending hours of her own time to make an impact in the community.

Jawaria thoroughly enjoys finding organisations that are aligned with her passions and interests, including advocating for language diversity, promoting community, diversity and belonging, and enhancing confidence and leadership capabilities, among many others.

Since 2023, Jawaria has been an Advisory Group member for the Healthy Respectful Families Initiative by the City of Stirling, playing a role in fostering strong, diverse communities. During her time in this role, she has advocated for safety and freedom from violence, and was instrumental in developing in-language resources to promote healthy, respectful relationships within her community, directly contributing to the improvement of services for diverse communities. Her contributions have helped community members connect with relevant services, leading to a more informed and supportive community. Jawaria has also been a member of the Engineers Australia Diversity and Inclusion working group since 2022, where she facilitates projects and initiatives, such as creating networking opportunities for overseas qualified engineers, thereby contributing to the professional advancement of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Jawaria’s volunteering resume doesn’t stop there. Her commitment to advancing multiculturalism and removing barriers for diverse communities has seen her volunteer for both Multilingual Australia and Auspire.

“Volunteering has given me an opportunity to serve the diverse communities in various ways. I brought in my technical knowledge to improve understanding of complicated concepts for the disengaged community. It gave me an opportunity to advocate on their behalf,” says Jawaria.

Her time with Multilingual Australia has been “transformative”, as she has advanced the organisation’s initiatives and advocated for linguistic and cultural diversity within the Australian community. Her work in promoting the benefits of multilingualism and supporting families in maintaining their native languages has been pivotal in fostering a linguistically diverse and inclusive Australian community. As an Auspire ambassador, Jawaria actively provides a practical demonstration of living Australian values for people coming from different countries. She emphasises the importance of maintaining own culture and heritage that is an integral part of making Australia a true multicultural country where everyone has freedom to maintain their cultural identity and don’t feel forced to blend in.

As a multicultural advocate, Jawaria has also helped foster cross-cultural understanding through volunteering as a storytime presenter and a mentor. She has been hosting Bilingual Storytime with the City of Canning since 2022, where she reads children’s books in Urdu and provides translations for non-Urdu speakers. Not only does her volunteering promote linguistic diversity, but also fosters a sense of inclusion among different cultural groups and younger generations. From 2022-2023, Jawaria was also a mentor in the Kaleidoscope Mentoring Program. This role allowed her to provide invaluable support to migrant women and in turn helped them overcome employment barriers, advancing from survival jobs to meaningful career opportunities.

Jawaria’s dedication to volunteering and to the betterment of services and opportunities for cultural diverse groups in Western Australia is outstanding. Volunteering WA wishes to thank Jawaria for her significant contributions to the community and looks forward to seeing what she accomplishes next.