To say Naseema Mustapha is connected is to err on the side of understatement.
A native of South Africa she is heavily involved in the activities of the Queensland African Community Council. She also has strong and vibrant links with an ever-growing Muslim community in southeast Queensland.
For the postgraduate tourism student at Griffith University, therefore, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) could not have come at a more opportune time. She has seized the moment, volunteering at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) to be a Multicultural Community Ambassador representing South Africa at GC2018.
“It’s an appointment focused on the inclusion of Australia’s culturally diverse communities,” she says. “I’m using my networks to build a sense of ownership and excitement about the Games here in different communities.
“It’s an awareness-building role where I’m helping to generate interest in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games among people from countries like Zimbabwe,
Category: Griffith University Feed
New Access GC app elevates accessible tourism on the Gold Coast
A new app developed by Griffith University is helping people with disabilities access venues, public transport and more on the Gold Coast.
The Access GC app, designed by the School of Information and Communications Technology features a variety of locations around the Gold Coast, including restaurants, hotels, parking, ramps, toilets and even wheelchair repair locations.
The easy to use location filter and map allows people to search for facilities that are disability-accessible. The app also includes common audible phrases that can be used by people with speech impairments.
Spearheaded by Dr Jolon Faichney from Griffith’s App Factory, the development team comprising ICT students started work on the app in September 2017 and began developing it in December.
“The Access GC app is easy for people to use and it’s literally a tool that is at their fingertips,” Dr Faichney said.
“There are over a thousand key sites that people with disabilities can access to make
Big event experience inspires good sport Bruno
From his base in the beautiful French Riviera, Griffith University graduate Bruno Favretto is exploring opportunities to advance a career in sports management that already includes roles at Olympic and World Cup level.
Brazilian-born Bruno completed a Master of Sports Management at Griffith in 2013, revelling in the Gold Coast lifestyle and complementing his study by volunteering at several major sporting events. His advice to other international students is simple: do the study; live the experience.
“I really loved my time at Griffith,” says Bruno from his new home in Nice. “I came because the University is highly ranked globally, including in the sports management area, and I really enjoyed the international environment and opportunities. There were stadium visits, real case studies and targeted learning.”
Having earned a business degree in Sao Paulo in 2004, Bruno worked in several fields — telecommunications, industry, banking — without ever feeling complete career satisfaction or connection.
Asia-Pacific women on the air for sports journalism program
An innovative training and mentoring program developed by a Griffith University graduate is helping to improve career prospects for female sports journalists from the Asia-Pacific.
It was during a sports broadcasting collaboration in Papua New Guinea in 2010 that award-winning ABC journalist Aaron Kearney became keenly aware of the dearth of opportunities for women in sports media.
Eight years later – time that included completing a Master in Communication at Griffith University in 2014 – Aaron is now Commentary Lead for the innovative Women in News and Sport (WINS) program.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has partnered with ABC International Development to deliver WINS through which female journalists from the Asia-Pacific are learning the skills to forge careers in a traditionally male-dominated sector.
The program works across three areas to –
provide skills training and industry knowledge;
improve multi-platform content creation, with a special focus on women’s sport;
network with other women in media and
Scott has his “Games face” on for new mini-series
The media career of Griffith University journalism graduate Scott Bidmead continues to impress, recently wrapping a six-part mini-series for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The Communities of the Games is being delivered across online and social media channels and 24-year-old Scott says it has been a rewarding experience.
“For instance, we filmed a segment with Australian discus thrower Matt Denny and got to know a lot more about his journey, not just his sporting ability and stats,” says Scott.
“We also filmed a segment looking at a small business operating in South-East Queensland during the Games, and a segment on the island nation of Nuie – the smallest nation in the Commonwealth Games.
“It’s been a lot of time in the making, but I couldn’t be happier to be presenting and producing the series. It’s been a great experience.”
Scott graduated from Griffith in 2013 with a Bachelor of Journalism. Since then he has
Two’s company as Adam, Gabby combine skills for success
Though a long time coming, the biggest event in Australia this decade – the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games – is now just a few days away.
For Griffith University graduates, professional partners and married couple Gabby and Adam Daniels, the anticipation surrounding the event is tempered with a steely attention to responsibility. Both have played important roles in the lead-up to the Games and these will continue throughout the 11 days of the event.
As Manager Accommodation, Gabby commenced with the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) in late 2014, and she knows her business and hotel management credentials are about to face their most daunting challenge.
“Daunting, yes, nerve-wracking, yes, but mostly exciting for me and my amazing accommodation team,” says Gabby, who graduated with a Bachelor of Business (Hotel Management, Finance) in 2003.
“It’s our role to source, contract and book accommodation that meets the needs and service levels for
Griffith University shares impact of heritage conversations on local communities
Unlike many other industrialised centres around the world, Australia’s cities and towns are well-served by the laws and community goodwill which help protect our heritage architecture.
And it’s this attention to conservation which Associate Professor Karine Dupre wants to impress upon those taking part in Griffith University’s latest online course ‘Cities of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Why Heritage Conservation Matters’, available on the FutureLearn social learning platform.
Beginning on April 9, the two-week course will cover a wide range of heritage conservation issues including understanding the true value of architectural conservation and the different global strategies for heritage assessment and conservation.
“Heritage is what we leave for the next generation and that creates community identity by linking our past and informing our future, “Associate Professor Dupre, one of the lead educators on the course said.
Associate Professor Karine Dupre
Young Australian architects and urban planners receive a tick of approval from the Griffith academic who
Regionally Speaking: Cultural Advocacy, Diplomacy and Leadership from ASEAN to Australia
In mid-February 2018, Griffith Asia Institute (GAI) Director Professor Caitlin Byrne and Professor Ruth Bereson, Dean (Academic) Arts, Education and Law group, designed and led the project “Regionally Speaking: Cultural Advocacy, Diplomacy and Leadership from ASEAN to Australia”.
ASEAN-Australian Art Practitioners, GAI Director Professor Caitlin Byrne and Professor Ruth Bereson, Dean (Academic) Arts, Education and Law group.
The five-day Regionally Speaking project, made possible with funding from the Australia-ASEAN Council (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), brought together cultural practitioners from ASEAN and Australia to explore, through personal narrative, how contemporary arts and cultural practice can serve to shape engagement within and between nations.
The process aims to develop a network of influential “regionally minded” cultural advocates and leaders and to form a sense of collective agency and responsibility. Attention was paid to the diplomatic skills from which arts leaders can benefit, engendering understanding of participants’ respective countries and cultures, and deepening
Business Student Leaders learn global responsibility in Nepal
Griffith Business School Student Leaders experienced the school’s ethos of global responsibility firsthand during a unique community engagement project in Nepal. The trip, which saw the students immersing themselves in Nepalese culture before working with locals, helped participants gain a deeper knowledge of their role in a global environment.
For Rachel Perkins, this was her second cultural exchange with the Leaders and she was thrilled to be attending this year as a mentor. “I knew that I wanted to go on another trip as soon as I had gotten home from the first volunteer trip,” she says.
“On our trip to Borneo, my whole perspective on life changed and I was looking forward to another trip that had the potential to change my perspective yet again. I saw it as an opportunity for self-growth and development, as well as giving back.”
The eager group of Leaders, including Rachel, Leah Brokmann and
Griffith farewells contingent of Games hopefuls
Griffith University has bid farewell and wished the very best to a contingent of students, alumni and staff who will compete at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Ian O’Connor AC, has congratulated the group on an “exceptional performance” in being selected to compete at the Games.
At a farewell ceremony at Griffith’s Gold Coast campus, Professor O’Connor also paid tribute to the work of the Griffith Sports College in supporting students who are elite athletes, drawing special attention to the “high level of individual care” it gives to students who are involved in high-performance sport.
“University is about the formation of the total person and sport is obviously part of that,” Professor O’Connor said. “I congratulate Duncan Free (OAM, Director of Griffith Sports College) and all the academic staff at Griffith for creating an environment which is welcoming and supportive of students who want to be the