New Appointments to Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission

Three new appointments to the Board of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) have been announced by Attorney-General Robert Clark.

Abeselom Nega, Josef Szwarc and Damein Bell (name checked) have already taken up their new appointments.

Clark said the appointees, with their wide and first-hand experience in helping those facing disadvantage and promoting equal opportunity and a fair go for all, would make a valuable contribution to the VEOHRC Board.

Nega is CEO of iEmpower, a highly regarded youth rehabilitation, education, training and recruitment service that works to help disadvantaged young people from refugee and other newly arrived backgrounds to overcome problems and develop their skills and capacities.

He has previously served as Chair of the Federation of African Communities Council of Australia and as a member of the Centrelink Multicultural Advisory Committee.

Szwarc is the manager of research and policy at the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, an organisation that provides a wide range of services to people from refugee backgrounds who have survived torture or war-related trauma.

Bell has over twenty years’ experience working in Indigenous education and development.

He has been Chairman and CEO of the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and has served as a board member on a range of bodies including Parks Victoria and Native Title Services Victoria Ltd.

The appointments will be for a period of five years.