The Multicultural Association of Canberra(MAC) and GOPIO had a great mental health session at Jewel Of India on 16/10/22. The event drew over 85 attendees, and the restaurant was completely booked. Nishi Puri president of the Multicultural Association of California (MAC), opened the session by stating that this was the fifth mental health workshop in one year, as a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings. The community’s participation and ability to voice their opinion have been very helpful to keep the community engaged and express their views. Senator David Smith, a Labor Party member from Bean, MLA Nicole Lawder, MLA Peter Cain, community representatives from different Multicultural Associations, and members of the community also attended the ceremony.
The event’s facilitators, Fahmida and Dinushi from MIEACT, shared their heartbreaking experiences of dealing with mental health problems.
Dr. Deepa Singhal, an imminent psychiatrist, then gave a speech on anxiety and self-care. The Audience posed questions and some of them discussed therapeutic techniques that helped them cope with stress.
We appreciate Mental Health Month ACT’s kindness in allowing us to conduct this event and also thank all the members of the Association and the community members for their presence.
We thank “Jewel of India” for serving the delicious THREE-course meals.

The Multicultural Association of Canberra (MAC) and GOPIO (4th Sep 2022) are proud to partner with cultural perspectives to deliver an interactive workshop on respectful conversations with children, and develop a deeper understanding of respect in relationships at home, school and in the community. This workshop provided participants with a safe and supportive environment in which to have conversations about what RESPECT means to them, especially as it relates to children. The event was attended by Hon Senator David Smith ,MLA Nicole Lawder , ACT multicultural honorary Ambassador Mainul Haque, President Int community language school Dr Fuxin Li , IWIN chair Madhumita Iyengar, Safact President Hari Iyengar, Pravati founder Pink Umbrella International, Amardeep Singh, Divya Vice President Finact , Shahira Tess and representatives  of subcontinent community and dear friends The workshop was facilitated by Rea from cultural perspectives and Eman.
We will be screening the video of attendees’ thoughts in future events which we hope will lead to more open conversations.
Thank you to everyone who attended this event. Everyone had a chance to leave their mark on the experience by talking about what Respect means to them, in light of domestic violence and early childhood learning. This is a great example of how cultural perspectives can facilitate open dialogue about difficult topics such as domestic violence and its impacts on young children.

The ACT government has presented Nishi Puri president (MAC & GOPIO) and Mainul Haque ( MAC Patron) with an Honorary Ambassador Award for their work in Australian multicultural communities.
Award was presented by international engagement commissioner Brendon Smyth and Minister Chris Steele. Both Nishi Puri and Haque have made significant contributions to the lives of many people from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds in Australia. (19-07-2022 ) ACT Multicultural Ambassadors

Nishi Puri, President of the Multicultural Association of Canberra (MAC & GOPIO ) Date: (21st June 2022) Multicultural aged care needed for Canberra, ethnic communities say – Ms. Puri runs three multicultural senior age groups, and her own mother, now 86, has lived with her for 25 years … read more …..  June 21, 2022 –!

MAC & GOPIO – Supporting Community Health and Well Being–16/06/2022

Connecting with local community to foster their Mental health and Well Being. MAC & GOPIO together organised YOGA for Health , Date: 16th June 2022

“Nishi Puri” (President MAC) The Multicultural Association of Canberra says there is a dire lack of culturally appropriate aged care facilities in the ACT, with many culturally and linguistically diverse Canberrans dreading the prospect of entering a facility.
For many, English is not their first language, religion is important and they are used to eating traditional meals.
Association president, Nishi Puri, says the capital needs multicultural aged care homes. “They can’t have meals of their choice, for example, it’s all western cooking that they come across,” Ms Puri said. “The carers may not speak the language that they are speaking and because of the age of some of the multicultural community they may not know English”.

MAC and Gopio in collaboration with Feros care and Wellways Australia organised a very informative session on suicide prevention and aftercare. It was followed by a book launch of HOPE which contains very important and useful information on who to contact when seeking mental health support.
Many thanks to Shravan from Wellways and Richa from Feros care for their support and presentation of the excellent workshop. It was sad to hear some real stories but MAC is glad that it was able to provide a platform for such a forum and that a lot of support is available.
Post-Covid, the community requires more support relating to mental health and we will be organizing more such events for community mental health and well-being.
Thanks to MLA Peter Cain, Dr. Fuxin Li President of Multicultural Language school, FINACT President Shanthi Reddy Ji, community leaders, and members who attended this event which was fully booked out Jewel of India’s catering was superb as usual

Mac & Gopio Celebrated Holi and Harmony Day on Sunday the 20th March 2022, at Jewel of India.. The objective of the event is to spread the message of Harmony and celebrate through the vibrant colours of the Holi festival. It was a great experience to mash up Eastern Tradition with Western Culture together and get a different but Delicious Flavour out of it. The Indian cuisine with the Holi Colours of love and Harmony among a diversity of cultures Heated Up the level of the event to its top.

The event was attended by dignitaries and multicultural community members and friends from different cultural backgrounds. Among the dignitaries who attended the event includes, Hon  Senator David Smith Opposition leader Ms. Elizabeth lee, Nicole Lawder MLA, Deepak Raj Gupta OAM, Shanti Reddy, President FinAct, and all Indian community leaders,  Ravi Krish, Amardeep Singh, Cheema Manpreet, Niranjan Aggarwal and all our friends who made this a memorable event.                                                                                                      The event was inaugurated with an amazing Harmonic Tune of flute by Mr. Gana (Srilanka). followed by the Holi and Hearth touching songs by Moin Qureshi (Pakistan). The Cusine was arranged with great variety and all the people highly enjoyed it. Our special thanks to the management of ,“Jewel of India”. The food is a chance where you physically taste the warmth of the other culture and feel their love and care through your own Tastebuds. MAC & GOPIO, thanks to those who turned up in this event and made it successful. We appreciate people, the sponsors, and all those who are a part of our team, We believe in diversity and “Together we can do miracles”.  

We had a very successful Movie day on 15_^th March 2022 at the Hoyts cinema Woden. MAC and GOPIO screened the film “Kashmir Files” exclusively for its community members.  Over 80 people participated in this eye-opener movie which is based on the plight of Kashmiri pandits in 1990. We express our gratitude to the event sponsor Rakesh Bhutani Ji for his generous help and support. Thank you Hon MLA Ms. Nicole Lawder, we appreciated your attendance, and we also thank you, everyone, for their presence to watch the movie “Kashmir Files” at the Hoyts Cinema. Thanks to Hoyts Cinema for accommodating our needs.

 The University of Canberra has formally thanked the Multicultural Association of Canberra (MAC) and the Global Organisation for People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) for helping to support the University’s international students.  Click to Continue Reading …… (22/02/2022).

On 22/2/22 the University of Canberra presented a plaque to President Nishi Puri who is president of both organisations. This plaque was presented for the ongoing support of MAC & Gopio for their contributions to UCX which is a food pantry for international students in UC.