Newsletter #9 - March 2022

Dear SAARI Collective, 

Thanks for supporting our work and welcome to our March newsletter. 

If I think of one theme for March, it’s about tackling and responding to risk, and that we often define our actions by how we respond to the risks in our lives. On the spectrum between risk, reward and inaction, what we do and say in moments of uncertainty or injustice tells us a lot about who we are as individuals, family members, communities and society.  

We started the month with a brilliant International Women’s Day Series focused on the IWD 2022 theme ‘break the bias,’ coordinated by our editor Pranjali Sehgal.  In Australia, especially at the political level, we are sorely lacking for women of colour in leadership roles. There are so many capable and brilliant women leaders excluded from these roles due to the pervasive bias in our society. What we see is a risk scenario - that those more capable continue to be excluded, to the detriment of true representation and good, inclusive decision making. So highlighting inspiring women leaders from diverse backgrounds is a paradigm we fully embrace, to see the change before this country can make the changes it needs to make. 

March also brings with it ongoing war in Ukraine, where Indian and other South Asian international students have been trapped and treated in a discriminatory manner as they flee to safety. How many of us or our family members were international students, or came to a new country to seek a safer, better life? These heartbreaking stories repeat the same pattern: the powerful and wealthy can create misery and flee it more easily, and the vacuum of responsibility leads to the suffering of the most voiceless - both the people of Ukraine and the visiting students. 

We stand with Ukraine, the students and all those who oppose this war, but more importantly, we support those who see risk and take action, like the digital volunteer ‘cyber-army’ groups, who risk serious repercussions but act to counter Russian disinformation aimed at Asia instead of offering ineffective platitudes. As we pass the International Day for the Elimination of Racism, we know there is a lot of work that remains to be done on immediate and longer-term systemic responses to racism, but we know that we must continue to stand up for those who don’t have the power to stand up for themselves. Our ability to take a risk from relative safety is a privilege not everyone is experiencing right now.  

In Australia, we’ve been witness to destructive flooding across Queensland and New South Wales, and many members of the SAARI community have been impacted. I spent many years working on disaster response, and I know the long-term impact of emergencies and the long road that recovery can often take. One way our community has come together is to support the Red Cross Appeal, raising $25 million, and to advocate for more, easily accessible support for flood victims. 

If there’s one thing I learned from working in disaster response, it’s that our greatest asset in responding to environmental risk is the strength of our community. That strength is built in small moments of compassion and sharing, in times when we look after each other with no economic incentive, like the Sikh Volunteers Australia’s support in Lismore. In these moments, our human connection overrides all other things, and we need it more than ever in the isolation and heartache of disaster and rebuilding. 

On a lighter note, March also brings Holi, the Hindu festival of colours. I’ve been getting my kids to read about Holi through the Maya And Neel series and other books, and we’ve brought these books to school so my kids can share their culture. Looking back on it, when I was young I loved Holi but saw it as something we did outside the mainstream, aka white, institution of school. 

Last week, I saw my son’s teacher tell the class they were all going to make a Holi drawing with all the colours they could use. It brought joy to my heart to see my son’s pride in sharing his culture, in having it recognised and celebrated. If there’s anything, it reminded me that often we are conditioned by discrimination to hold back from being vulnerable, but even within that there is a risk. It’s the risk that we overweigh risk and undervalue the rewards that might come if we take a chance. The feeling of inclusion is a powerful one, and yes, it’s not the job of minorities to constantly have to do the work the system should do to include us. But we can take small risks, small chances, because sometimes they do work out. In other words, if we don't act, there’s no possibility for things to come to good.  

On a personal level, one risk I took was taking a leap to start SAARI. Despite some days of waking up feeling fraudulent or disheartened, there are just too many days when it’s so clear that we need this community and platform. Just have a look at the lack of diversity in this year's Quill award winners. In the last month, we were able to help two of our SAARI Editors find a platform to visibility - one performing their play to a full house at the Melbourne Theatre Company and the other finding a job with ABC News because of their excellent work with SAARI. These are South Asians who we took a risk on before anyone else did, and we couldn’t be prouder. 

I wanted to take a moment to thank this community for believing in SAARI and in me. A few days ago I was recognised with an Impact25 Award for helping create social change. It reminded me of what we can achieve together with action as we see the rise of South Asians in Australia, and the power of a values-led community. It also reminded me of this quote by Sahil Lavigne in The Minimalist Entrepreneur, one that flipped my approach to risk versus reward on its head: 

“Just get going, and keep going. Your failures will fade while your successes will stick around and compound. You didn’t believe you’d get this far, yet the data shows that you did. Remind yourself of that as often as you need to. I certainly do.” 

The next time you see risk, ask yourself first - am I safe? If you are physically and emotionally safe enough, ask yourself this second question we often fail to ask - what can I do about it? Take that first step or make a leap. Part of creating is embracing risk. You may realise that, over time, taking a risk means a reward can find its way to you, whether for yourself or others.  

-Sandeep Varma, Founder & CEO

News

Welcome to our new editor, Maya Pilbrow! Maya is a Naarm (Melbourne) based writer and editor who is currently working as he media manager at the Suburban Review, while completing her Masters in Journalism at the University of Melbourne. Maya is very passionate about emerging writers and making stories as accessible as possible to a wide audience. We are super excited to have Maya on board our editorial team! You can connect with Maya via LinkedIn.

Congratulations to our founder Sandeep Varma and the three other South Asians who won Impact 25 Awards for 2022! Sandeep has been recognised for the work he has done in building SAARI Collective to platform emerging South Asian writers, as well as for his work as the Chair of the social enterprise 100 Story Building, which helps young writers in Melbourne’s West. In addition, a huge shout out goes out to the other South Asian change-makers that were part of the Impact 25 awards list, including Asha Bhat, Tarang Chawla, and Mandy Dante. Check out the full list of winners here. 

Congratulations to SAARI Editor Pranjali Sehgal who has recently started a new role as a Journalist at the ABC. Pranjali has been working across various print, radio and television stories at the ABC and we are so excited to see incredible South Asian talent like Pranjali as part of mainstream Australian media.

SAARI x Transgender Victoria Takeover the Malthouse Theatres! Earlier this month, SAARI and Transgender Victoria did a Takeover of the Malthouse Theatres in Melbourne to promote inclusion on stage and Sri Lankan playwright, Aran Thangaratnam’s play Stay Woke. A full-house viewing of the hilarious dark comedy was followed by SAARI’s Sandeep Varma and Transgender Victoria’s Mama Alto MC-ing the great night of food, drinks, DJ Mohini’s solid tunes and Raina Petersen’s incredible dance performances. Watch our socials for a recap reel coming soon!

And for those of you in Sydney, Stay Woke is coming soon to Darlinghurst Theatre. Do not miss it! Get your tickets here.

Huge congratulations to SAARI’s own Chenturan Aran whose hilarious play And A Side of Cut Chilli was selected as part of Melbourne Theatre Company’s annual Cybec Electric play reading series. Click here to check out Chenturan’s interview with Melbourne Theatre Company discussing his imagination and the inspiration for his play.

Marisha Nair, Head of Community at SAARI Collective was recently featured in The Collective West Podcast chatting about her journey creating global change through local action. Marisha made a career switch from digital marketing into human rights work with a focus on climate migration in an effort to make her career more purpose-driven. Check out the great episode here.

Sandeep Varma was a recent guest on Emily Unity’s Multicultural Minds podcast to share his experiences of reclaiming South Asian culture and the power of creativity and community in defining your narrative. Check out the episode here.

New SAARI Collective members

We’ve kicked off 2022 with a number of new writers and ideas in the works and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 

From publishing emerging South Asian Australian voices from all across the country to working with them and turning creative sparks into tangible productions, we smashed our initial goal of publishing 100 pieces in our first year and are so thankful for all the support we received to do so. We published over 40 new writers, and working hard to continue to grow this impact. 

SAARI is looking for new voices - so please pass on our newsletter to your friends, family and colleagues who want to scratch their creative itch and join our dynamic community. You don't need experience - just an idea and desire to work on it. We're there to support you.

We’d love to work with new writers to publish more voices and grow our Collective. We know that's you, so please get in touch! 

Click here to  join the SAARI Collective   

LATEST PIECES

SAARI EVENTS

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

LATEST WRITING BRIEFS

Want to write but not sure what to write about? Check out the latest paid SAARI briefs. The list includes: 

• Sexless marriages - New research shows one-fifth of marriages are sex-less. What's at the heart of this disconnection? 

• Men with more melanoma - Men are more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma. What's the relationship between sunscreen and having melanin?

• Speech pathology in playgroups - Explore how a free speech pathology screening program in playgroups impacts children. 

• Mandatory consent education in Australia explainer - There is now mandatory consent and relationships education in Australia. What does it explain and why did this change happen? 
   

• Over the Metaverse already? - Do people care about the metaverse? Or is it the sleeping giant? 

• South Asians creating NFTs - A number of great South Asian Australian artists are developing non-fungible tokens are visual art. 

• Caffeine gum without the hangover? Exploring the surge of interest in products like Nutropics gum.

• Is Aussie Ayurveda getting a bit white? Bringing a South Asian perspective to the release of recent Ayurveda books and written by white people and Aussie Ayurveda products created by South Asians.
   

• Cultural celebration in Liverpool NSW - Want to cover a South Asian festival on George Street in Liverpool? We need multiple writers. 

• TV Review: Desi Me Dating is an all new South Asian dating show.

• Book industry and diversity: Why are there no South Asians on Reading’s top 100 bestselling book list?

• New Tech: Veena Nair and new Aussie tech for printed social panels.

• The Anatomy of a Racism Complaint: The journey of Shankar Kasyanathan, Commissioner at Victorian Multicultural Commission, who recently lodged a formal complaint against Hotel Sorrento for racial discrimination.

• Film review: Writing with Fire - Review the Oscar-nominated film that follows the brilliant journalists of Khabar Lahariya, the only all-female news organisation in India, founded and run by rural Dalit women. 

• Foreign policy and feminism: Does Sri Lanka need a more feminist approach to foreign policy? And what can Australia learn? ​​​​​​

• Legal review of online safety protections: Deep dive into the protections offered to us by the new Online Safety Act.

• Parents and kid's vaccination: Back to School, RAT’s and children's vaccinations - How are parents responding to all this?

• Post-Covid Weddings: South Asian weddings and the financial implications of COVID. Do people still want a big wedding? 

• Podcast profile: Let's hear the origin story of the popular Stuck in Between Podcast. 

• Business Leader Profiles: Vivek Katial, Executive Director at Good Data Institute; and Arj Ganeshalingam, COO at Porter Novelli Australia. 

️⭐️Check out the full list of paid SAARI writing briefs and put your name down for one.

OPPORTUNITIES & IDEAS

• Ideas - Sydney-based kick-ass dance company Bindi Bosses is releasing a  collaboration between South Asian and First Nations artists expressing the devastating effects of, and intersections between, climate change, colonisation and rising temperatures in Western Sydney. Check it out - dropping at 7 pm on 23 March. 

• Ideas - Free travel vouches! Sign up for free travel vouchers from the Victorian government - opens 2 pm on 23 March. Check out details here. 

• Opportunities (Aus): Are you an author, creative artist or teacher of English or literature? The Copyright Agency has a number of fellowships and partnerships available. Check out the details here. 

• Opportunities (NSW): Want to help make it easier for people to access government services? NSW Department of Customer Service is looking for a Content & Engagement Advisor. Check out this well-paid role here. 

• Opportunities (AUS): The West Australian and the Minderoo Foundation are sponsoring the Best Australian Yarn short story competition. We'd love to see a South Asian take out the prize for best short story. Check out the competition here. 

• Opportunities (VIC): Like to know what’s going on inside the City of Melbourne and think you can make it better? The City of Melbourne is looking for a Head of Internal Communications. Apply here. 

• Ideas: Check out Varsha Yajman's piece on Coakey 'Decolonising my mind as a woman of colour in the climate movement.'

• Opportunities (AUS): Are you an experienced humanitarian? Save the Children is looking for a Deputy Director - Centre for Humanitarian Leadership. Bring your passion and experience to this great role. Details here. 

• Opportunities (VIC/AUS): Do you know a lot of people with moustaches? What about helping mo’bros fight for men’s health? Movember is looking for a Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships. Check out this impactful gig at this link. 

• Ideas: Less than a third of workers nationwide believe their employer is taking steps to prevent workplace racism. There's a lot of work to be done. Read the article and the research from Diversity Council Australia. 

• Opportunities (AUS): Diversity Arts Australia is looking for a Creative Projects and Campaigns Producer. Check it out and apply ASAP here. 

• Opportunities (VIC): Speak Urdu or Nepali and passionate about sustainability? The Australian Energy Foundation is offering the Mike Hill Sustainability Fellowship. Check out details here. 

• Opportunities (AUS): More than $100k to help save animals? If that lights you up, check out this Head of Campaigns job at World Animal Protection. Details here. 

• Opportunities (NSW): Westpac is looking for a Senior Media Relations Manager. Get amazing corporate connections in this role. Details here. 

• Opportunities (AUS): Fast-growing startup Airtree is looking for a Community & Programs Manager and a PR Manager. Check out the jobs here. 

• Ideas: Not sure how to get into a startup if you don’t have a tech background? Check out this great advice from Shilpa Mohan. 

• Opportunities (AUS): Entries for the SBS Diversity in Food Media Awards are open until 21 March. Check out this link to apply.

• Opportunities (AUS/INTL): Rare Media and Google are offering an amazing fellowship for creatives. Apply by 20 March and check out the details here. 

• Opportunities (VIC): Are you a young woman of colour based in Victoria? You should look at Victorian Government’s Joan Kirner Emerging Leaders program. 

• Events (VIC): Want to float down the Yarra river with thousands of other people? Check out the Inflatable Regatta on 2 April. Tickets here. 

• Opportunities (AUS): Looking for a great feminist media job? The International Women's Development Agency is looking for a Communications Manager. If you want details, check out the job here. 

• Opportunities (VIC): PS Media, a profit-for-purpose model for local news, is looking for a new Reporter. More details here.

• Ideas: Independent media producers in Australia are going dark for 24 hours to fund the #waitingforZuck Facebook news payment protest. You need to know about it - read the story here. 

• Opportunities (NSW/QLD): Like making videos? The ABC is looking for a video producer in NSW or QLD. More details here. 

• Opportunities (VIC):  An Australian start-up company based in Melbourne, with world-changing and innovative projects, seeks a Copywriter with a passion for social change through technology. Details here. 

• Opportunities (VIC): The Salvation Army Australia is looking for a Journalist in Melbourne. More here.

• Ideas - Heartwarming images: A photographer travelled to India to take photos of strangers smiling. Smile back at the heartwarming images here. 

Thanks for being a supporter of SAARI. It means a lot to have you with us, and we’re really grateful.

If you know any friends who would like this newsletter, please forward it on, or let them know it’s free and fun to join the SAARI Collective at our website. 

Kind regards,

The SAARI Collective team