The Explainer Series: Multiculturalism with Mark Cully

The Explainer Series is about exploring the questions we’re all asking.

Australia is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Our food, neighbourhoods, workplaces, languages and traditions reflect generations of people and cultures coming together – but what does it really mean to be a multicultural nation? The Explainer Series: Multiculturalism explores how cultural diversity has shaped modern Australia and our evolving ideas of identity and belonging. How did we become the multicultural society we are today? What makes multiculturalism work? And as Australia continues to change, how do we create a shared sense of belonging while celebrating the many cultures, experiences and identities that make up our communities? Join us for a thoughtful conversation about where Australian multiculturalism has come from, where we are today and what our increasingly diverse future might look like.

Meet the Speakers

Aleem Ali is CEO of Welcoming Australia, leading the country's largest network advancing social cohesion, working with councils, universities, workplaces and sporting clubs to build communities where everyone belongs. His first and last names are Arabic, but his middle name is Shaun, Anglo-Celtic, like the sheep. At our upcoming Explainer Series event, he's most excited to explore the systems and stories that shape who we think we are as a nation and who gets to be part of that story.

Mark Cully is the author of Waves of Plenty, a newly-released history of immigration to Australia. He was the inaugural chief economist for the immigration department and chaired the OECD’s working party on migration. He was born a dual national, but his heart beats for the third one he acquired, aged ten (Australia). For the Explainer event on multiculturalism, he is most interested in exploring what obligations we owe to one another to solidify the “most successful multicultural nation in the world.”

The Explainer Series

The Explainer Series is a space for thoughtful conversations with people who really know their stuff, sharing insights and context so we can better navigate the big and small questions in our lives