Empowering women from refugee backgrounds

Workshop overview:

This is an engaging and interactive workshop designed to develop practical strategies that could empower women from refugee backgrounds in economic and social participation, women's safety, and leadership opportunities and support their role in promoting social cohesion. The workshop will be facilitated by a woman from a refugee background who fled conflict, persecution, and violence in search of safety. She will share her lived and industry experience and discuss the best practice principles and key service gaps in service delivery.

Target audience:

This workshop is developed for workplaces that are dedicated on embracing diversity and inclusion. This includes but is not limited to those working in the corporate, government and non-government sectors.

Zeljka Jovanovic is the founder of Apeiron Skills. She was born in Former Yugoslavia and arrived as a young woman in Australia. Zeljka has over seventeen years of experience working in the community service industry. She supported clients from refugee backgrounds with settlement, integration, employment, and connections to the services and broader community. Zeljka has experience mentoring staff and providing consultation services to community groups, service providers, and funding bodies. Her expertise extends to the education sector, where she has been teaching community services and mental health subjects and delivered numerous trainings across NSW and ACT. Zeljka holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Diploma of Leadership and Management, Mental Health First Aid, and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. She believes that lived experience and practical examples are integral to the learning process. She worked with numerous people from diverse backgrounds, and her greatest achievement is being part of someone's journey to a better life and positively impacting our community. Zeljka is dedicated to creating an environment where every individual feels included and has opportunities to thrive.